Fall Pruning

It's finally starting to get cold! I don't know about you but I'm under a blanket as I'm writing this. That means that were getting close to Autumn, and that means it's almost time to bust out those shears, clippers, and trimmers.

You can trim anytime you want, but the best times to trim would be in the spring and the fall. The reason for this is that without leaves covering your trees and shrubs, you can deal directly with branches and limbs. This makes it easier to keep everything nice and tidy. Also it gives you the power to basically tell the tree where you want it to grow out and where you want it to let new growth in. Decorative trimming is not hard to do and just takes a little perspective and imagination. If you're looking for a cheap way to make your yard look awesome, trimming up shrubs like arborvitaes, junpiers, boxwoods and birdsnest spruces may be the best option.

How much did this cost? Probably a day of shaping. Worth it.

With the leaves being off the tree, it may also be easier for you to find any diseased or infected limbs and remove them. This works great with many different tree diseases because there are several diseases that reinfect the new leaves the next year. We don't want that. Not after all the work we've done to keep the diseases at bay. Look for discolored or spotted branches and remove them promptly. This may help get rid of an infection the next year or at least give the tree a chance to fight it off.

Now would also be a good time to increase the structural integrity of your trees. Some tips:

•  when you're trimming branches off not to trim them flush with the trunk. You want to leave about an inch of the only branch there. 
• if you want to stake a tree, the fall is the best time to do it because you can get further into the tree, making sure not to break any surrounding branches with the cables
• trimming off braches that grew irregularly, causing the tree to tip or bend can be trimmed off at "v crotches" along the main trunk. 

photos from nexus backgrounds