Regular tree pruning does more than just improve the look of your yard—it’s essential for keeping your trees healthy and thriving. Trees add so much value to your property, and pruning is one of the best ways to make sure they stay strong, safe, and beautiful. Here’s why the benefits of tree pruning matter for homeowners in Northern New Jersey.
Key Takeaways
- Pruning improves the appearance of your trees, giving them a more uniform and healthy shape while maintaining their natural look.
- Proper pruning boosts flowering and fruit production by increasing light penetration and removing dead or diseased branches.
- Regular pruning helps protect your family and property by reducing the risk of falling branches, especially during storms or heavy snow.
- Pruning allows you to control the size and growth of your trees, preventing them from encroaching on structures or utility lines.
- Tree pruning enhances tree health by removing deadwood, disease, and competing branches, leading to a stronger, more resilient tree.
Equipment like spider lifts and bucket trucks can make pruning easier for professional tree pruning companies.
5 Reasons Why We Prune Trees in New Jersey
Pruning is an essential part of tree care, but many homeowners aren’t fully aware of its importance. While some hire professionals to prune their trees, it’s often done out of routine or simply because a neighbor recently had theirs done.
However, there are many reasons to prune your trees in New Jersey, some of which are purely for looks and others for the health of a tree. Whatever your reason for doing it, don’t skip out on pruning when caring for trees.
1. Make Your Trees Look Aesthetically Pleasing
Everyone in Northern New Jersey, from Clifton to Montclair, wants an aesthetically pleasing yard. An important step to getting the yard of your dreams is pruning your trees and shrubs.
Pruning can take a misshapen tree with branches going in every direction and turn it into something more uniform while maintaining its natural look.
Before trying to shape your trees and shrubs, consider speaking with an arborist first. They can provide guidance on whether your aesthetic designs are compatible with what’s best for the health of your trees. Pruning too much of your tree or taking too much from one side can leave it unhealthy, as it relies on its leaves for photosynthesis.
Remember, a tree’s health should always come before trying to make it look pleasing to the eye.
Strategically pruning your ornamentals can lead to better flowering, as is seen in this flowering dogwood, the New Jersey state memorial tree.
2. Encourage Better Flowering or Fruit Next Year
Ornamental trees are the perfect mix of size and beauty for most Northern New Jersey yards. These trees can be fairly small while producing eye-popping colors when their flowers bloom in the spring or summer. Pruning can make this dazzling display even better in the next year.
While you will hear many arborists say winter is the season for pruning, this isn’t the case for ornamentals. Pruning ornamentals in the winter will remove the buds and result in no flowers on the branches you pruned. Instead, wait until after the flowers finish blooming.
Pruning Ornamentals
Pruning ornamentals should focus on a few goals:
- Prune to Remove Deadwood: Deadwood includes broken, diseased, or dead branches on your tree. These branches won’t flower and increase tree stress, so get rid of them as soon as possible.
- Prune to Clear Older Branches: Older branches may have grown too large or no longer look aesthetically pleasing. You’ll want to remove these branches to clean up a tree’s appearance.
- Prune to Increase Light Penetration: Removing some branches in a crowded canopy for a larger ornamental tree can allow more light to reach the lower branches. More light penetration means better flowering.
Pruning Fruit Trees
Most of these same principles apply to pruning fruit trees. We recommend winter pruning for your fruit trees instead of waiting for spring and summer. Some objectives of fruit tree pruning include:
- Increasing Light Penetration: More light reaching the lower canopy will give you better fruit during the growing season.
- Controlling the Tree’s Size: Working with a tall fruit tree is difficult. Pruning can help control your tree’s size. Just be sure you use proper practices and avoid topping your tree.
- Removing Water Sprouts: These thin branches take energy from a tree and won’t produce fruit. Remove them to avoid a crowded, weak canopy.
3. Protect Your Family and Property from Damage
When you look at branches while in a tree, they may not look so heavy. It’s not until you see and hear a massive branch fall 40 feet to the ground that you really appreciate just how dangerous working with trees can be.
Tree branches pose a risk to your family and your property when healthy, especially when they are weak, dead, or broken. These branches are more likely to fail during a storm. Homeowners in New Jersey have to worry about storm damage throughout the year, and trees and branches can fall throughout Bergen County and beyond.
While you may think of storm damage as something to worry about in the summer, winters can be just as dangerous. Heavy snow can weigh on branches and cause them to break unexpectedly.
WARNING: Even with proper pruning, you should always use caution around trees during and after a storm. Removing weak branches will make your tree safer, but removing a tree is the only thing that removes the risk entirely.
4. Control a Tree’s Growth and Size
Trees do not grow with any regard for things like property lines, utility lines, or structures. They expand based on their needs. While this is fine in a forest, it’s problematic in a yard.
Having a professional prune your trees to reduce their size can prevent trees from becoming a headache. An ISA Certified Arborist can prune your trees to control their size while still leaving their natural shape and not removing too much. Over-pruning can kill your trees or leave them stressed.
5. Increase Your Tree’s Health
Healthier trees are less prone to failing and dying. Pruning can increase a tree’s health in several ways, including:
- Removing Dead or Diseased Branches: These branches do nothing for a tree except add stress and waste energy. Removing them will make your tree look nicer and remove a stressor.
- Removing Branch Stubs: A professional arborist will not leave a branch stub behind when pruning. But if you notice any from DIY pruning, removing them is beneficial to your tree’s health. Branch stubs can be an entry point for insects or diseases. The general rule of thumb is that if a stub is long enough to hang a hat, it’s too long.
- Removing Competing Branches: Branches may crowd each other for space as a tree develops. When the branches rub together, it can open up an entry point for insects and diseases to attack your tree.
Aspen Tree Knows How to Property Prune Your Trees
Tree pruning is essential for keeping your trees healthy, safe, and beautiful—benefits that every Northern New Jersey homeowner can enjoy. With professional pruning, your trees will thrive, enhancing the beauty and value of your property.
Ready to see the difference expert tree pruning can make? Aspen Tree is here to help! Our team follows industry best practices to ensure your trees get the care they need. Call us today at 201-939-8733 or request a quote online.
