The Art of Pruning: Tips for Proper Tree & Shrub Maintenance

You must maintain your trees and shrubs if you want a healthy and well-groomed yard. Part of that maintenance involves occasional pruning. This essential part of tree care helps you to remove dead, diseased, or damaged branches and improve the appearance and health of your plant.

What you may not realize, though, is that pruning requires the utmost precision. Performing this task incorrectly or neglecting it entirely can harm your shrubs, trees, and yard. Keep reading as the experts at Wheat’s Landscape discuss pruning benefits, tips, and more.

Contact Wheat’s Landscape to schedule pruning services in Northern Virginia.

Benefits of Pruning Your Trees

Here are three benefits of pruning your trees:

• Improved appearance: Are you tired of all the overgrown trees and plants in your yard? Pruning their outer growth allows sunlight to access the inside more easily, ensuring healthier growth of the inner branches. Soon after this growth occurs, you’ll notice a much more lush, aesthetically pleasing tree.
• Better health: Regular pruning is critical for keeping your trees and shrubs healthy. By pruning off diseased, dead, or dying branches, you eliminate the disease and prevent it from spreading. Our tree experts also recommend pruning to stimulate new growth, especially with young trees.
• Increased safety: Damaged or diseased trees are often safety risks for homeowners and their families. Things can quickly become dangerous when branches hang over electrical lines or roofs, particularly during storms. Opting for routine pruning can help keep your trees from becoming a safety hazard on your property.

How to Properly Prune a Plant

Unfortunately, incorrect pruning can stunt a tree’s growth. Consider these step-by-step tips for pruning your tree:

1. Use the right tools: You may need hedge, pruning, or lopping shears, based on the job.
2. Remove dead branches first: Remove only the brittle branches without a green layer.
3. Remove other problem areas: Whether you’re pruning a tree or shrub, you may also need to remove water sprouts, suckers, branches with extremely narrow angles, or branches growing toward the plant’s center.
4. Thin out dense growth: This can improve light, rain, and air penetration and boost your plant’s health.

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Maintenance Tips for Your Plants & Shrubs

Remember these five maintenance tips for your plants and shrubs:

• Establishing a watering schedule: A plant care professional can tell you exactly how much water your plants need regularly.
• Mulching: The right mulching provides ample nutrients for your shrubs and plants.
• Pruning at the right time: The last thing you want to do is prune at the wrong time and remove buds that would produce flowers.
• Testing the soil: Quality soil can greatly affect your plant’s vitality.
• Setting a feeding schedule: In addition to water and sunlight, your plants need regular nutrients to thrive.

Hire a Professional for Landscaping Maintenance

At Wheat’s Landscape, our industry expertise speaks for itself. We’ve provided unmatched landscaping maintenance, from pruning to lawn care, since 1978. We even offer maintenance packages to help you keep your yard in tiptop shape year-round.

Why not see what our team can do for you? Contact us today to schedule landscaping services.