Winter Oak Tree Trimming/Pruning – Livonia, MI

Why specifying the work to be done is the most important part of the tree pruning process.

Quercus bicolor, common name swamp white oak, is an oak species native to the Midwest and parts of the Northeast.  This one is in a wooded backyard in Livonia, Michigan.

Our pruning plan consisted of a full crown cleaning and the reduction of a large limb growing into a smaller oak.  Crown cleaning means we removed all deadwood from the tree, along with any broken, weak, or crossing branches.  Reduction means instead of removing the entire lower limb, we pruned the tips back to smaller lateral branches.  We moved throughout the entire tree only removing what’s necessary for the tree to live a longer and healthier life.  We do not want to remove any living branches from the tree unless there is a reason for it.

Our competition will often provide a quote to “trim oak tree”.  The quote will probably be substantially less and the results would be completely different.  “Trim oak tree” will usually mean you have someone spike up your beautiful tree, hack off the lower limbs and call it quits.  What’s wrong with this is that most tress can not completely heal a cut larger than 4 or 5 inches in diameter.  Lower limbs are often the biggest limbs on a tree, so removing them is not advised unless absolutely necessary.  Also, only removing the lower limbs means all the deadwood is still in the middle and top of the tree.  The tree also looses all the energy that those big lower limbs would normally be producing.  Oh, and I almost forgot, the dozens or hundreds of small holes left in the tree from a lazy or uneducated climber spiking his way up the tree.

For more information on proper pruning techniques continue reading at these websites:

http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/pruning_mature.aspx

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/landscape/pruning/pruning.html

http://www.treecareindustry.org/public/about_faq_treecare.htm

Below is a time lapse video demonstrating proper pruning techniques on a mature oak.  This video was shot to help our customers visualize what we do.  Notice our climbers working the entire canopy of the tree, not just lopping off the lowest and easiest limbs to get to.