Trees obtain and use energy across their bodies. Parts of them can also die off, though the dead parts can still cling to the main body. Does cutting off dead branches help a tree recover or stay strong?
Barone’s Tree Pros provides top-quality tree services in Florence, MS, and nearby cities. Our arborists have several years of experience promoting healthy tree growth and ensuring your yard flourishes. Read more to learn whether dead branch removal can help or hinder your tree’s health.
The Benefits of Removing Deadwood
You can think of removing dead branches like amputating gangrenous or dead limbs from a person. Doctors complete those medical procedures to ensure bacteria or diseases don’t spread from the dead tissues into healthier ones. Since trees are also living organisms like us, they benefit from the same process.
Removing deadwood helps the tree focus its resources on the rest of its branches, trunk, and roots. It walls off the injured tissue and forms new wood and bark over it, similar to a scab and the formation of new skin. Preventing tree disease spread patterns from growing out of control and developing tree rot becomes much easier with deadwood removal.
Pruning: An Arborist’s Amputation Method
Does cutting off dead branches help a tree if you use a chainsaw? Not likely.
Using a chainsaw instead of more specialized tools could mean doing more harm than good. To use those tools well, you need to know how to prune.
Pruning involves removing dead, dying, or diseased branches from plants. This process differs from trimming, which removes the tips of branches and shapes the plant for aesthetics and sometimes protective reasons.
Removing deadwood efficiently requires proper tree pruning techniques to prevent additional bark wounds. When you prune well and use other preventative measures, you can even bring a tree back from the brink of death.
Can You DIY a Pruning Session?
Effective pruning has a few rules you need to follow, such as:
- Try to prune only once per year
- Always clean your tools after each pruning
- Don’t remove more than 25% of the canopy
- Don’t cut too close or too far from the collar
- Always wear personal protective equipment (PPE)
While pruning isn’t exactly rocket science, it can be difficult for the general homeowner. Moreover, trees can grow very tall in Mississippi. Dead branches can fall onto homeowners, neighbors, or property if you don’t cut them correctly.
As confident as a DIYer you may be, you could make mistakes, facing serious consequences to your health, wallet, or both.
Remove Dead Branches With Expert Arborists
Barone’s Tree Pros reduces the safety risks of dead branches with our expertise, top-quality equipment, and efficiency. Moreover, we have licenses and insurance, so if any accidents were to happen during deadwood removal, we have you covered.
Does cutting off dead branches help a tree grow? If you understand the importance of tree pruning properly, it certainly can. Call us at 601-345-8090 to schedule your expert pruning session today.