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The 5 biggest mistakes homeowners make when trimming their own trees

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When it comes to keeping up with the health of the tree and offering it an array of vents to grow further, trimming it at regular intervals qualify as indispensable. If you are comparatively new to the experience of trimming trees or know that there something wrong with your method, then we would like to help you identify those loopholes. In the following segment, we will be jotting down the 5 biggest mistakes that homeowners make while chopping their trees.

The wrong time

The gravest mistake that one can make while trimming the trees of his compound is choosing the wrong time to do it. A common preconceived notion is that if a set of insects is already breeding on the trees, it is a wise decision to prune them; however, in this article, we would like to burst this bubble of myth for you. If you trim the trees while the insects are still actively thriving, it will only encourage the latter’s growth because the sap falling out from the cuts is their ideal catalyzers. Furthermore, trimming trees in the vilest time will seize their blooming and capability to produce fruits. Therefore, the best idea is to prune trees just after they bloom in spring except for dead branches that can be chopped off during any part of the year.

The incorrect branches

When you want to the trimming to bear healthy benefits on the plant, you cannot randomly prune some of them to grant it a fancy shape. If under any circumstance, you trim down some of the freshly growing branches, the tree will grow weaker with time and in fact, its shape will look out-of-the-place. Thus, to steer away from such potential prospects, we would recommend you to start with the dead or dying branches. After you are done in that area, you can move on to the branches that are attached to the stem of the tree in V-shaped angles; meaning the ones that have let sub-branches grow on them.

Cutting the branch collar

The last thing that you should do a tree is cut some of its branch collars. If you don't know the part of the tree we are talking about here then let us tell you it is that thick portion of the branch that lies nearest to the base and wider than most of the other parts. Because the branch collar is so thick and strong, it comprises several crucial vascular tissues which when cut off will let out a generous portion of sap from the point. This causes a wound to the tree retrieving from which will take a lot of time. If you at all have to cut it, do it after leaving behind an inch of the stub after the collar.

Not being careful about proper sanitation

Even though trees might seem extremely resilient and stout from the outside but, they too must be handled with care. If you do not comply with the regulations of proper sanitation while trimming a tree, chances are, that it will soon develop life-threatening infectious bacteria and fungi. Nevertheless, the worst part is that these toxins that enter the tree because of poorly-sanitized shears hardly take any time to infect the entire tree. Always make it a point to clean the shears with alcohol and eventually dry them before using on other trees. Moreover, do not simply leave behind the trimmed branches and leaves of the tree to rest around its base; after completing the process, make sure to dispose of the debris to make way for clean surroundings.

Implementing leaden shears

Trimming a tree with old or low-quality trimmers will require several blows before finally getting a branch or collar off from it. Also, the blows don’t necessarily land on the part that will be pruned out thus, inferring that the tree will take more time to heal from the wounds. The most efficacious recourse is to seek assistance from a professional but, if you are willing to do it by yourself, invest in a good pair of shears before getting started.

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