Best Time of Year to Trim Trees in Missouri
Tree trimming in Missouri has a designated time during the year that’s critical to adhere to for robust and healthy growth. The recommendation is to trim when trees are dormant or not growing, from winter through early spring. When trimmed outside this timeframe, the pruning can lead to weakness.
Several other variables play into the timing when trimming is appropriate, such as the tree type, weather conditions, and branch health. When you’re uncertain about a particular tree or overall tree maintenance in your garden, reach out to a qualified tree service such as Trufast.
Trufast Tree Service
4386 N Farm Rd 159,
Springfield, MO 65803
(417) 413-4729
https://www.trufasttreeservice.com/
Services like these have extensive knowledge and the proper tools and equipment to provide precision care to trees of every size and condition. The team prioritizes safety and producing healthy trees that will thrive as the year progresses.
The Logic Behind Winter Tree Pruning
Keeping trees and shrubs trimmed and pruned encourages strong, healthy growth. Some question the logic of winter trimming, but skilled tree service teams will explain that this practice will produce a more spectacular specimen in late spring and summer.
According to experts, major pruning can be performed when the trees are in their dormant state, from roughly November to March. This routine maintenance for trees and shrubs occurs when no active growth is happening.
It allows you to accomplish more dramatic trimming, which they can readily withstand. Reinvigorating the overall health and beauty of the trees is your primary objective. In the process, you will be able to manicure the garden’s landscaping for an appealing spring presentation.
Dormant pruning is hard trimming, a corrective action that means to accomplish the following:
- Remove dead or dying branches or those that are diseased
- Shape overgrowth so the tree can flourish when coming out of dormancy
- Suffering trees are restored through proper pruning techniques
It’s recommended that pruning and trimming be handled by a knowledgeable and experienced tree service to encourage a thriving tree lifespan and optimum safety with trimming services.
Go here to learn why tree trimming is essential for trees. When trimming in the winter, you can expect the following benefits for your trees and shrubs.
Reduced tree stress
A primary benefit when pruning and trimming in the winter is that trees experience less stress. During the other seasons, active growing occurs, making it stressful to trim or prune during these stages.
The trimming process can potentially stimulate the growing process and create challenges for hardening before the cold temperatures set in. Winter is ideal for pruning and trimming because the trees go dormant with no chance of stimulating growth. Trees can withstand extensive trimming, reshaping, and removal of branches with minimal impact.
Dormancy lets a tree know when to prepare for water and nutrient shortages, protect soft tissues from frosty temps, and get ready for dry weather. The tree understands how to preserve its energy and stop the growth process until the warm weather returns again.
Favorable results
The results from pruning in the winter are more favorable. With no leaves obstructing the view, you have better insight into the ideal areas for pruning, allowing you to maintain the tree’s integrity.
Diseased and damaged branches or vulnerable areas will be prominent and accessible, making the process more effective. Trees send many nutrients to dead limbs or damaged branches in an attempt to restore them.
Removing these allows the nutrients to redirect to the healthy areas of the tree. This allows a better chance for a thriving, healthy tree.
Pests and disease
The emergence of pests and diseases can impact pruning. Fortunately, these are also dormant during winter, making winter ideal for working on tree health. With bare trees, the damaged and diseased wood is apparent.
Some trees should only be pruned in the winter for this specific reason. Oak trees are an example of this. This tree is susceptible to oak wilt and infestations of beetles, which are detrimental to the tree overall. In the spring, open wounds from pruning leave the tree more vulnerable to disease and pest infestation.
Winter trimming reduces this risk. This allows optimum safety when working on trimming. As age progresses, the limbs grow weak and become diseased and damaged.
Refraining from removing these poses a safety risk as they’re more prone to falling. It’s essential to remove them when you notice them. Damage and disease can also spread to the healthy areas of the tree when left in place.
Enhancing the landscaping
Bare trees in the winter allow a visual of their shape. This gives you the opportunity to trim overgrowth and create an appealing shape for your spring landscape.
Pruning allows you to either constrain growth or encourage it to ensure it doesn’t interfere with the house structure, foundation, or walkways. Winter is the perfect time to work on the garden because there’s no chance of disturbing other plant life.
Winter gardening is much more straightforward since the only focus is transforming the trees. In the warmer months, the entire landscape needs attention and often the trees take a backseat.
One thing to remember is that a younger tree that receives adequate pruning early in life will need less corrective pruning as it ages.
Better growth in the spring
When trees are well taken care of in the winter with adequate trimming and pruning, they will present at their healthiest in the spring, prepared for new growth.
The likelihood of a healthy and extended life is high when the trees are trimmed and properly maintained. Many homeowners reach out to tree services for their knowledge and expertise.
Trees adequately cared for are strong and can withstand much abuse, such as harsh weather conditions, whether significant accumulations of snow and ice, gusts of high winds, heavy storms, and on.
Planting trees and having them thrive into maturity is time and maintenance-intensive. It requires patience and much energy. Ideally, you’ll work vigilantly to save the trees you plant from the ground up. Cutting them down is a major undertaking and expensive.
It’s in your best interest to learn essential maintenance techniques for your trees or research a reputable, quality professional tree service to keep them strong, growing, and long-lasting.
A team of tree experts relieves your stress by establishing proper tree maintenance, assuring that the pruning and trimming are done with care and accuracy so you can realize a stunning landscape when spring arrives.
Professional tree trimming is essential to ensure healthy, vigorous growth now and well into the future.
Final Thought
When trimming or pruning trees in your Missouri landscape, expert tree services encourage the process to be performed when the trees are in their dormant state or not actively growing. This occurs in the winter through early spring.
Because the trees are dormant, it’s suggested that they’re tolerant of more extensive trimming.
Professional tree services ensure that each tree is in its best condition upon completion of its work. Reach out for a consultation with an expert team to have any questions or concerns addressed before committing to the service. Your priority, and theirs, is for your trees to have a long, healthy life.
