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There’s a common misconception that tree maintenance should be done in the warm weather. This likely has to do with the fact that tree work is lumped in with warm-weather gardening and yard work. But that isn’t necessarily the best time to care for and maintain your trees.
There are situations where trees need immediate attention, regardless of the weather, such as a tree with a branch that is precariously hanging over your house. Flowering trees such as magnolia and lilac, also do better with warm-weather pruning.
But the majority of deciduous and coniferous trees should be trimmed, pruned, and even removed in the winter. This includes maple, oak, birch, aspen, apple, honey locust, evergreens and more.
7 Reasons To Get Your Tree Work Done This Winter
There are many reasons that winter is the best season for tree work:
1. Visibility & Access
Winter strips trees of their leaves, providing unobstructed views of the tree's structure. Without foliage, it's easier to identify damaged, diseased, or dead branches, allowing for precise and accurate pruning.
Additionally, the lack of leaves simplifies access to the tree, making it safer and more efficient to work on the branches.
2. Less Stress
In the summer, your tree uses its energy to protect itself from heat, insects, infection, and other challenges. Cutting a tree during this time can stretch resources to their limits, causing your tree more stress.
Pruning during the winter minimizes stress on the tree as their not actively growing.
3. Improved Healing & Growth
Wound closure is also optimized in the winter just before spring growth. That's because trees have more resources available to heal themselves before redirecting resources in the spring for growing.
Fruit trees are especially susceptible to problems if pruned or trimmed too early or too late. That’s because fall cuts can lead to false dehydration while spring cuts can affect bud development.
4. Preparation for Spring
By preparing trees in winter through proper pruning and care, they are set up for robust growth once spring arrives.
This helps ensure trees are healthy before they become active again so that resources aren’t wasted on healing weak branches that are unlikely to thrive. This ultimately leads to stronger, more vibrant foliage in the coming seasons.
5. Less Disease Spread
Cutting a tree in the winter not only improves growth and healing. It also reduces the spread of disease and infestation to other branches and trees. That’s because most pests and diseases die or go dormant in cold weather.
6. Less Damage To Landscape
In the winter, plants are dead or dormant. The ground is also frozen and snow-covered. This means that your landscaping, plants, and root systems are better protected from falling trees and branches.
7. Enhanced Safety
Snow, ice, and strong winds during winter can make weak branches more dangerous. Addressing these potentially hazardous limbs before they become a threat in stormy weather can prevent property damage or personal injury.
Despite the chilly weather, winter presents an opportune time to tend to the trees in your landscape.
That doesn't mean tree work shouldn't be done in the warmer months. But winter is the season where trees are dormant, so it’s the perfect time for crucial maintenance, ensuring their health, safety, and beauty in the long run.
