Trees are our most predominant and distinguishing landscape feature on the North Shore, many of us live here for our love of nature and the expansive forests that are the backdrop of our community. Large native species dominate our residential neighborhoods and for many of us, define North Vancouver living. Periodic tree pruning is often required to keep your trees’ healthy, symmetrically and aesthetically pleasing.
TREE PRUNING & TREE TRIMMING IN NORTH VANCOUVER
TREE PRUNING FOR CLEARANCE FROM HOMES OR BUILDINGS
In residential and commercial settings, tree pruning is often required to keep our trees healthy, aesthetically appealing, or for functional purposes. This commonly includes tree pruning to create adequate space between the tree’s branches and leaves (the canopy) and a building or home. This mitigates damages or premature wear to siding, gutters, or the roof of a structure, prevents rodents or other wildlife from having easy access to the roof, or simply to keep a tidy and neat aesthetic. In some cases, it can also be for fire hazard mitigation and many insurance companies will require a certain buffer zone between a tree and a building or home for insurance to be valid.
TREE PRUNING FOR CLEARANCE FROM SERVICE AND POWER LINES
It is very common for service or power lines to run in close proximity to, or directly through a trees canopy. It is important to ensure there is adequate space between service lines and a tree’s parts to prevent potential damage or disconnection of service lines. Service lines next to trees’ or that pass through a tree’s canopy should be inspected periodically to ensure they are not being damage, weighed down, or otherwise obstructed.
Over time, as trees’ grow and change shape and size, service lines that were once unaffected, can become entangled within a tree’s branches, pushed one way or another from larger branches, or in some cases, a service line can even become encased within a union or included bark. This often leads to added tension being applied to the service lines and over time, this can lead to damage or disconnection. This can often happen suddenly when a branch that is already creating tension on a service line become weighed down heavily by snow or is blown around by strong winds.
Ideally, a service line will pass through or next to a tree without coming in contact with the tree’s canopy, however, a service line touching a branch or tree is not always an immediate issue. Multiple factors are taken into consideration when determining what methods of tree pruning to implement to keep service lines clear in order to maintain a balance between function and safety and a tree’s health and aesthetics.
Our certified arborists can assess your homes service lines and recommend and carry out tree pruning techniques to mitigate or eliminate these issues
TREE PRUNING FOR LIGHT
The desire for more light is a very common request from our clients for a multitude of reasons. This can be to allow more light into a garden or yard, either to encourage the growth of grass, to allow more sunlight to reach smaller shrubs, plants, or vegetable gardens, or simply for a desire to have a brighter yard or property.
Whatever the reason may be, ArborGreen Tree Care has certified arborists (ISA) with the experience and expertise to properly perform any tree pruning needs and assist in getting more light where you want it, without compromising the health of your trees.
TREE PRUNING FOR A VIEW
The desire for a better view is often the reason for a client inquiry. Many factors must be taken into consideration when determining what can be achieved while ensuring the health, symmetry, and aesthetics of a tree.
Attaining a view or improving an existing view is often possible, however, as is the case with any tree pruning procedure, it is important not to overlook the long-term health and safety of a tree to attain a short-term goal.
For this reason, it is always recommended to call a reputable tree service and have a certified arborist provide a consultation in order to establish the proper plan of action.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HIRING A REPUTABLE TREE SERVICE
Proper tree pruning requires a great deal of knowledge and expertise to ensure the health and aesthetics of the tree are not compromised in the tree trimming process. Different trees require different methods and techniques of tree pruning depending on the species, the trees’ current state of health and vigor, the time of the year, and other factors. There are correct ways to prune a tree and incorrect ways.
No small number of trees have been destroyed or killed due to improper placements of pruning cuts, the use of inadequate or incorrect tools, removing too much of a tree’s leaf bearing foliage at one time, or the removal of structural branches that are too large a diameter for the tree to properly compartmentalize and heal. Visit our blog page to read this article on the importance of proper tree pruning techniques.
Improper pruning practices can be the catalyst to the decline and eventual death of a tree, and at a minimum, will invariably have a negative impact on the aesthetics or symmetry of a tree. For this reason, it is always advisable to hire a professional tree service with a good reputation and certified arborists on staff.
THREE PRIMARY CATEGORIES OF TREE PRUNING
No matter what your reason is for seeking out a tree service for you tree pruning needs, there are three primary pruning methods that are implemented to meet your goals.
Here is a brief overview of these three tree pruning techniques:
Crown reduction; this is the selective pruning of the outer portions of a tree’s branches to reduce the overall size (the diameter/circumference of the tree’s canopy)
Crown cleaning/thinning; crown cleaning is the removal of all dead, dying, or diseased branches within a trees canopy. Crown thinning is the selective removal of carefully selected living branches within the interior of a trees canopy, generally for the purpose of introducing more light and air throughout the canopy. This can contribute to the aesthetics of the tree, allow more light into the area around the tree, and promote healthy growth of foliage on the interior of a trees canopy. Crown cleaning and crown thinning are often done at the same time.
Crown lifting/raising; this is the removal of the lowest branches of a tree (typically of conifer trees) and is performed for the purpose of creating space below the tree for vehicles or people, for more light in the surrounding space, or simply for the tidy aesthetic it can create.
WHY CHOOSE OUR TREE SERVICE FOR YOUR TREE PRUNING NEEDS
ArborGreen Tree Care has a passion for educating our clients and will always take the time to gather all pertinent information in order to ensure we are offering the best advice and most suitable tree pruning techniques to meet our clients’ goals, and to keep their trees as healthy and aesthetically appealing as possible.
We are a local North Shore tree service that is passionate about what we do. Call our certified arborists today for a free quote for all your tree care needs. We are experts in our field, possess extensive knowledge and expertise, and we always bring a high level of attention to detail to every job. This is our guarantee.