HOW TO PRUNE TREES

Keep your trees healthy and strong with good pruning. It will not only keep them in good shape, it will remove damaged and dead branches allowing room for new growth, while preventing the spread of viral and bacterial fungal infection.

Here are 5 simple steps to help you correctly prune and avoid damaging the tree. Trim with safety from the ground without a step ladder.

Equipment you will need:

Handsaw
Folding Pruner
Hand Pruner
Gloves
Loppers
Pole Pruner
Safety Glasses
Secateurs

STEP 1: Trim smaller branches with pruners

Start by putting on your safety glasses and gloves on. Make sure you have a sharp blade so you can cut through the branches with ease. Use the pruners to trim for low hanging small branches near the base of the tree.

STEP 2: Cut medium branches with your handsaw

Use the handsaw to cut any protruding or lower level branches too big for the pruners. Cutting the branch off close to the tree trunk and avoid cutting the main trunk so you do not damage the tree. Ideally the blade on your handsaw will be very sharp so you can make trimming with ease. Cut the branch on an angle that protrudes slightly off the trunk.

STEP 3: Prune hard to reach branches

Cut hard to reach branches from the ground with your pole pruner. There are attachments for the pole pruner, including a saw for thicker branches.

STEP 4: Cut thicker branches with loppers

To cut through thicker branches with ease is loppers. They are like giant secateurs designed to give your better leverage for use on pruning big branches

STEP 5: Saw thicker branches using an undercut

Undercut is a technique to cut the larger branches upwards, instead of cutting from the top down. Cutting top down can lead to the weight of the branch snapping off resulting in tearing the bark exposing the tree to diseases. Start under the branch and saw upwards until you have cut halfway through. Next saw from the top of the branch, starting about 3-5 cm up the branch from the undercut. Continue cutting until the weight of the branch pulls it away from the tree. Once it is removed you can then cut the remaining branch away from the trunk.

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from Garden force http://www.gardenforce.co/how-to-prune-trees/