Professional arborists recommend pruning for safety and tree health and to help property owners achieve beauty in their landscaping and views from their home. Knowing why pruning your Central Texas trees is important will alert you to conditions that require a call to a tree care specialist.
Safety
Tree branches that threaten power lines, loom over roofs, or create hazards where people congregate warrant attention. Branches that grow too long and droop over walkways or trees that have never been maintained in a residential landscape and have grown very heavy or dense need to be thinned. Plus, dangerous branches that threaten structures must be removed.
Beauty
Trees in the wild don’t care what they look like, and they aren’t concerned with whether you think they look pretty. It’s different, however, when you want your home to be attractive. Your landscape is a major part of the curb appeal of your home. Removing dead branches and creating more space in the crown can open up vistas and make a tree look lighter and airer.
Tree Health
Branches that rub against each other in the wind damage each other over and over again. Removing branches that harm the tree is necessary to maintaining the tree’s overall health. However, cutting branches too close to the trunk can damage a tree’s circulatory system, and selecting which branches to prune and which to leave requires a practiced eye. Our local tree service company is familiar with the particular needs of Central Texas trees and can provide advice.
Furthermore, Central Texas property owners who have oak trees on their properties are familiar with the danger of oak wilt, a fungal disease that can kill a magnificent tree in as little as a season. Connected or grafted root systems establish a base for this disease, and beetles carry it from tree to tree. The beetles that carry the fungal spores from tree to tree love oak tree sap from fresh wounds or cuts. Knowing why to prune Central Texas trees is important, especially with oaks. To lower the risk of this devasting disease, oak trees should be trimmed in colder weather—in the fall and winter.
