Pruning Do’s and Don’ts

Let’s Get the Don’ts Out of the Way 

1. “Lions Tail” Pruning

A common and unfortunate way of tree pruning has been done all around the United States. This pruning mistake is called “Lions Tail Pruning”. If you look down your street I can almost guarantee you that many of the trees will look like this below.

This type of pruning can look nice to an extent, but has many moderate to severe consequences for trees. As shown below. 

When you remove too much of the inner canopy and leave only a small amount of live leaf growth at the tips of the branch you get what is called a “Lions Tail”. Some of the consequences include, sun scorching on the bark, an unbalanced canopy, less photosynthesis, weaker branches, and do less well in stormy weather.

2. Ball Moss

Another large misconception with pruning has to do with ball moss. 

Most of the time when I would come to residence or business to consult on tree health, one of the first questions is “what is the mossy thing in the canopy” or “is ball moss parasitic. 

Ball moss is a type of plant in the “bromeliad family” (IT’S RELATED TO A PINEAPPLE). This plant harmlessly connects to the outside of the bark of a tree with pseudo roots. It filters minerals and water through the air and is not a parasitic plant. 

It has a symbiotic relationship with the plants it clings to by adding nitrogen to air and helping with pollution. 

This wonderful interesting plant does not have any proven negative effects on plants. Also, what tends to happen when removing ball moss, is that healthy canopies is accidently removed. It's almost always not worth it to remove ball moss! Save your money and invest in other beneficial pruning and plant health care practices.

Now Let’s Get to the Positive

1. Dead Branches

Many people tend to think that a tree needs more pruning than it actually needs. The vast majority of pruning that needs to be done with trees comes down to very simple factors. 

Dead wood on a tree can always be removed, throughout all seasons. Removing dead wood can open up airflow in the canopy and reduce useless weight on branches

2. Diseased Branches

Removing diseased branches is also always recommended throughout the year. A common disease that affects branches is called fungal wood rot. 

Diseased branches can weaken the structure of the branch which can lead to failure. Failed branches can cause damage to the main structure of the tree by tearing. Removing the problem, before it causes damage is always recommended. 

Also it's good to remove the disease branch before it can possibly spread to other parts of the tree.

Action

If you're interested in getting proper and evidence pruning done, we would love to take a look at your trees. Tree Scouts has the credentials and experience to get your trees to where they need to be !!!!