Orlando Tree Trimming

Be aware (or beware!) that you can get vastly different results from tree companies offering "tree trimming". Depending on who you hire, your trees may receive a proper prune from a certified arborist trained crew that increases the health, safety, and beauty of your trees. Or, sadly, you could get the opposite of all three, including some of the injurious yet surprising common mistakes below.

5 Questions to Ask a Tree Trimming Contractor

To avoid this disaster, here are five questions to ask about the metro Orlando tree trimming services you are considering:

Do they employ a certified arborist?
Do they exhibit adequate tree knowledge and passion?
Do they carry Worker’s Compensation as well as General Liability insurance?
Do their reviews reveal reliability, integrity, thorough work, superior communication, and praise for their safety, teamwork, and equipment?
Does your intuition tell you they would not sell unnecessary work or leave you with unaddressed damage to your property?

Top Three Pruning Mistakes:

Topping – Attempting to reduce the height of a tree by removing the top portion of its crown and trunk causes several problems. Over-pruning (removing more than 20% of the foliage) puts a tree into shock. This excessive stress triggers a mass of bushy new sprouts, often called “suckers” because they divert nutrients and water from the rest of the tree. This new growth is not structurally sound and rather quickly thwarts the homeowner’s desire to reduce the tree’s size, who is now saddled with an even larger and weaker tree. Our certified arborists can perform crown reductions to reach your goals in a way that preserves tree health.
Improper Cuts – Flush and stub cuts prevent proper healing and encourage rot that weakens trees. A flush cut is cutting the branch flush to the trunk, causing too large of a wound that takes longer (and more energy) to seal off and sometimes leaves a cavity that weakens the tree. So, don’t cut into the trunk when removing a branch. You know you’ve cut too much when your cuts are elongated rather than round. Now, let’s address the opposite problem. A stub cut is leaving too much of a branch stubbing out of the trunk, making it hard for the expanding trunk to enclose over it. Instead, the stub becomes a portal to diseases, pests, and moisture. Eventually it rots, leaving a cavity that weakens the trunk. Instead, when removing a branch where it attaches to a larger branch or trunk, leave a short collar since cutting too little or two much both cause problems. If you’re unsure of doing it yourself or have more pruning than you have time or proper equipment for, our certified arborist-trained crews are ready to serve you.
Sidewalling – Removing all of a tree’s branches on one side is often done to trim a tree away from a roof, sometimes as required by the homeowner’s insurance company. It is sometimes done along a property line as well. As you likely guessed, sidewalling causes the same emergency growth problems that come with topping a tree or other types of over-pruning. In addition, it can make your tree unstable in the wind—especially if your tree has a weak root system or the remaining branches are sizeable and leaning heavily in one direction.

Florida Certified Arborist

Treescape Assessment:

Our Certified Arborist can provide you a free phone consultation on the condition of your trees, recommending solutions that are best for their health, safety and beauty. We will offer recommendations pertaining to the:

SAFETY
of your home & family