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Tree Pruning for a View
Tree Trimming in Toronto to Improve Your Home’s Views
People call for tree pruning for many reasons: the tree’s health, dangerous branches or nuisances, along with regular maintenance pruning, but one of the most common reasons is to improve or restore a view.
We all want our property to look its best. When your home or garden starts to look overgrown and lacking light, tree pruning can open up a view again. If you chose your home or a favourite room for its beautiful views, don’t let an unruly tree interfere! Pruning can bring back a view of the lake, a park, garden or neighbourhood.
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Types of Pruning
Structural Pruning
Structural pruning contributes to a tree’s overall health and can help create an attractive shape. This involves removing or shortening larger branches and spacing branches out. In general, no more than 25% of a tree’s branches should be pruned in one season.
Structural pruning may remove lower branches that block sunlight or droop over a deck, driveway or walkway. This can help open up light to a space. A skilled arborist can often improve a tree’s structure without changing the overall look of the tree’s crown — the green leafy portion.
Reducing and Thinning
Reducing and thinning both aim to remove excess growth in the crown of the tree. This helps bring in more sunlight. Thinning the tree can also reduce wind damage. However, this method is one of the quickest to grow back, so repeat pruning may be needed sooner rather than later.
Thinning can also allow other light, like streetlights or outdoor lighting, to shine through. In addition to letting in sunlight and artificial light at nighttime, it can help show off a tree’s bark and trunk.
Reduction pruning aims to create a smaller and more compact crown and may be appropriate espeically with older trees. It can help maintain an aging tree. Relatedly, it helps keep branches from sagging. Thinning is usually easier on the tree, but reducing may make more sense depending on the tree and your needs.
With reduction pruning on a mature tree, an arborist may also recommend cabling or bracing to improve support.
Growth, Pruning and Privacy
An arborist may also use pruning techniques to slow growth of a tree to keep your view clear. This can be true both of young trees and larger growing trees.
The risk with pruning to clear a view is that it can eliminate some of the privacy your tree or trees provide. If you want to open a view from a window or outdoor space, but value the privacy that tree branches provide, work with your arborist to find a middle ground removing fewer branches.
Depending on the terrain, you may want lower or upper branches pruned back. Over a ravine or hill, upper branches may obscure views. This type of reduction pruning is best for young trees. On flat ground, lower limbs may be the most logical to prune back.
When to Prune
Regular pruning helps reduce the stress of each individual pruning job on the tree. It can also be more cost-effective for you to maintain a regular pruning schedule every couple of years.
Winter and spring are normally the best times for pruning, especially with the goal of opening up a view. Winter pruning happens in the tree’s dormant season, which reduces stress to the tree. It’s also the dormant season for insects, so you won’t expose your tree to additional risk of infestation as it heals.
Winter pruning helps prepare your tree for spring growth. A lack of leaves in the winter also makes it easier for arborists to have clear sightlines when pruning. Winter pruning is especially recommended for species like oak, ash, poplar, spruce and juniper.
Spring is also a good time for pruning, especially early spring before warmer weather sets in. For trees that bloom in the spring, pruning should be left until after flowering.
Summer pruning can slow growth, but this can be helpful for undesirable branches. Fall is not ideal for pruning, as it takes longer for trees to heal, leaving them vulnerable to fungal and other infestations at this time of year.
Tree Views
Not only can pruning improve the view through or around your tree, it can improve the aesthetics of the tree itself. Pruning helps your tree look its healthiest. An arborist can trim the tree to show off its best features. Additionally, pruning helps your tree to better grow leaves, flowers or fruit.
It can also clean up any unwieldy branches, twigs or sprouts that may affect the look of your property from afar.
Hiring a Toronto Arborist
Professional arborists and a Toronto tree service will make sure your tree pruning is done effectively. Overpruning or incorrect pruning can affect your tree’s health. They’ll also know the best pruning method to open up your view while ensuring your tree stays healthy for years to come.
We’re not called Vista for nothing! If you want to improve your views from your home, contact Vista Tree Management for a free consultation on pruning to make your home look its best!
