Tree Trimming and Pruning

Tree Removal and Pruning services in Montreal and surrounding areas

The Arbor Tree prides itself on the quality of workmanship that it offers and nothing gives an immediate visual impact like an excellent tree pruning – that’s why pruning should always be an arboricultural company’s signature service. We take pride in our trees. You’ll notice the difference!

Tree trimming and pruning are very similar terms, they involve selective cutting of branches to eliminate decay, to allow for more sun on the yard, to provide a better view, to eliminate structural defects, and to make a tree more resilient to weather conditions. As your Arborists, we are here to listen to your short-term goals, but will be able to help coach and navigate you through the long-term expectations for a particular trimming choice. Understanding the life-cycle of a tree is crucial because a tree will last far beyond our life time.

The arboriculture industry is a vast field of tree services, but lacks precise terminology for describing exactly what is meant by various trimming techniques. The Arbor Tree, our most common request is for advice. We are here to help advise and guide you on how to maintain trees and to keep them healthy, safe and beautiful. Trimming is the removal of branches, leads or deadwood for the purpose of making the tree look more uniform or neat; opening up landscaping for other plants to thrive; or to keep the tree away from power lines, houses, driveways, etc. Tree trimming often means that due to safety, construction, etc., though not necessarily detrimental to the tree, large leads or limbs or entire sections of the tree may be removed to accommodate client’s needs, as long as it does not harm the tree.

Tree pruning is done in an effort to change the long-term growth patterns of the tree. Pruning as with trimming is done to be better suit the needs of man’s structures and habitats, but pruning takes into the account of how the tree will grow in the future. Understanding how a tree grows is essential to effectively prune a tree; you must understand how much can be removed, where the cuts need to be made, canopy distribution of weight, and what the desired form of the tree is. Starting to train trees in the younger stages of their life cycle can help to promote them to grow in a complimentary manor to suit their location. However, that is not to say that mature trees cannot be trained to reach a desired effect.

The Arbor Tree offers both trimming and pruning services, depending on the needs of the client or the tree! Trimming and pruning account for about a third of our business. We specialize in making trees safer and more beautiful so you can enjoy mature trees at your home or business. Whether you want to remove limbs from over your roof or allow more sunlight to reach your lawn, we can help you live more easily with your trees. Allow us to prune your trees today so that you can rest assured that they will not become hazardous tomorrow. Our certified arborists have the knowledge and experience to give expert advice to our customers.

Some of the most common defects that trimming/pruning can help:

Co-dominant stems (this is where the tree has 2 main trunks)

Branch crossovers (limbs crossing each other can grow into one another and cause damage to the tree)

Broken, dead, diseased or deformed branches

Trees spaced too close together (when trees are positioned too closely, they will tend to grow away from one another and not allow for any interior canopy growth between the two trees)

Crown density (when the crown is too dense there will not be adequate sunlight penetration and there will be interior canopy die back)

Tree misshaped

Storm damage

Tree leaning excessively over home (trimming may achieve a more balanced weight distribution to reduce the risk of the tree falling over, also to remove the risk of allowing access to the roof for squirrels, roaches, ants, etc.)

Branches blocking a view (opening the view of the home can drastically improve its curb appeal)

Too much weight on the end of a branch (when branches get too large and weighted down at the ends there is a much higher chance of the limb snapping off from the trunk)

One branch too large in relation to the tree (trees will sometimes make one of their limbs the primary lead which can imbalance the tree)

There are several reasons to want to prune dead branches on your tree; one is to keep them from falling on your family or your property, causing major damage to your home. Regular pruning will also help the overall health of the tree by reducing the risk of dead branch migration into the live wood.

When is the best time to trim my tree?

There are specific times of the year when you tree trimming is more favorable to the general health and longevity of the tree. Although different trees respond better to trimming at different times, it is still necessary for one of our specialists to look at and identify the tree and the problem to make that call.