Municipalities and homeowners often remove the lower limbs for pedestrian and vehicular clearance or to let the sun shine in for grass to grow. Mature trees, especially evergreens, benefit when healthy lower branches are left intact. Removing large limbs can increase the risk of decay.
If desired, prune lower branches to make mowing under them easier and to allow sunlight to reach grass or plantings beneath the tree. You can slowly limb a tree up over a few seasons. Cut off any diseased or damaged branches.
Although spruces need very little pruning, bottom branches may die with age and can be removed. For a formal shape, prune new growth in the spring. Shear in late spring, after new growth has expanded. To reduce the size of a branch, cut back to a lateral branch or a visible dormant bud.
Crown Raising (Fig. 4) Crown raising is the practice of removing branches from the bottom of the crown of a tree to provide clearance for pedestrians, vehicles, buildings, lines of site, or to develop a clear stem for timber production.
When pruned properly, removed tree branches will not grow back. Instead, the tree will grow what looks like a callous over the pruning cut, which helps protect the tree from decay and infection.
Unless you're tapping sugar maples in the anticipation of making syrup, native maple trees are best left untouched throughout late winter and into spring. The best time for pruning a maple tree is in mid-summer, when the leaves have fully expanded and have turned a dark green.
If your tree has a less severe problem, one of the best times to remove trees is during the dormant season, between late winter and early spring. Here's why. Dormant trees are leafless and lighter, so it's much easier for a certified arborist to cut and handle the branches.
The only time you should definitely cut the lower branches is when there are dissimilar leaves growing on lower branches that look different than the branches higher on the trunk. How do you prune and shape a Japanese maple tree?
Not using the proper techniques can damage the health of your tree and can even lead to disease or premature death. In general, don't cut too close to the trunk. These cuts are too big and can delay the sealing of the wound. Don't cut too far from the surface of the trunk, either.
Ideally, winter is the best time to trim oak trees. And that includes the months between November and April. This is key to preventing the trees from a lethal disease called oak wilt. It is a fungal disease caused by insects buzzing around any wounds in the tree bark or feasting on the sap of a newly trimmed tree.
Only ever prune oak trees in winter. They can develop an often fatal disease known as Oak Wilt, spread by infected pests attracted to any open wounds (e.g., from branches rubbing against each other or pruning cuts) and feeding on the sap from the freshly shorn trees.
An improper cut like a flush cut (cutting too close to the trunk) or a stub cut (cutting too far from the trunk) can cause irreversible damage to a tree. A flush cut removes the branch collar and leaves a large wound in the side of the tree that won't heal properly.
Branches that Double-cross or Grow Inward or Grow Downward:
Similarly, branches that grow inward toward the central stem or trunk are likely to end up chafing against other parts of the plant, so it's best to prune them.
Other than one-off pruning sessions of sick, dead, or damaged branches, all of the branches and twigs removed from the tree in one go should make up no more than a third of the plant's total aboveground growth. Any more, and the physical stress may prove excessive.
The best times to prune maple trees are in midwinter and midsummer. In the winter, maple is dormant, and structural cuts are easier to choose and make when the branches are bare. During the summer, as long as the heat is not excessive, the tree is in full foliage, and pruning can be done to improve its overall shape.
The best time of year to cut down a tree would be during winter or early spring when the leaves have all fallen and the branches are free from them.
Over time, it will become too shady and the area too root-filled for grass to grow. Roughly, this will begin happening about year 15 with the tree. A maple or similarly large tree should not be planted 10 feet from a home. Even doing so for shade means the tree should be planted 20 or more feet from the structure.
Tree Death: Topping trees, obviously puts a tremendous amount of stress on the tree. Such stress could very likely cause the tree to die, especially if the tree is already under stress. If the tree already has cavities, and topping creates more wounds, the tree could fall apart after further decay has occured.
Maple trees rarely require pruning. However, the removal of broken, dead, diseased, crossed, or crowded branches within a timely manner is critical for the health of your maple tree. Prune in late spring or summer to avoid dripping sap. Minor pruning can be done at any time.
First, make a shallow cut on the underside of the branch, one or two inches beyond the branch collar. This will act as a barrier, preventing a bark tear if the branch falls while being cut. Second, cut through the branch two to four inches beyond the branch collar, removing the branch and leaving a stub.
There is never a bad time to remove dead, damaged or diseased branches. But most trees benefit from pruning in mid to late winter. Pruning during dormancy encourages new growth as soon as the weather begins to warm. The lack of leaves after autumn allows you to easily identify branches and limbs requiring removal.
Gravity pulls the branches downward. And branch growth is affected by the wind. Part of the trade-off any tree has to make is between gathering light, staying stable in the wind, and succeeding against nearby competitors. So when branches grow crookedly, that's part of a tree's overall survival strategy.