Crown Reduction, Thinning & Lifting
Careful pruning is used to keep a tree in good shape or to prevent a tree from getting too large for a space and to prevent branches becoming over-extended
Crown Reduction, Thinning and Lifting
Careful pruning is used to keep a tree in good shape or to prevent a tree from getting too large for a space and to prevent branches becoming over-extended.
Why prune trees?
- Reduce the weight of potentially dangerous limbs.
- Re-Balance a misshapen tree
- Preventing trees obstructing or damaging buildings or property.
- To prevent trees from interfering with overhead telephone and power lines or street lights.
- To reduce the amount of shading or light obstruction.
- To keep the tree at a more manageable size.
- To allow clearance beneath the crown of the tree for pedestrian or vehicular access.
Crown reduction
Crown reduction is a means for making the crown of the tree dimensionally smaller. This is usually carried out when a tree has grown larger than the space permitted on the site. Live branches are removed to lower the height of the spread of the crown. The branches are all be cut back to suitable pruning points. This allows the tree to cope with the foliage loss correctly, and prevents excessive shooting further back in the canopy.
Crown thinning
Thinning the crown involves selecting and removing a proportion of the branches from within the crown. This lets more light through the crown, creating a dappled shade underneath helping understory planting that may be struggling beneath the canopy.
Crown lifting
Crown lifting is the removal of lower branches. Crown lifting might be done to improve access under the tree. Where possible, this is carried out by cutting back secondary branches rather than removing the branch all the way back to the stem.
Pollarding
Pollarding is an extreme method of tree control, only appropriate when other options are unsuitable or insufficient. The branches are all cut back to leave a framework of primary branches. The tree will then reshoot from the cut ends and any dormant buds along the branches. This is only suitable for specific tree species and is usually considered a last-resort treatment.
