Four Tips For Successful Tree Height Reduction
An overgrown tree can pose a danger, especially if it is too large for your yard. Ideally you will only have trees with a suitable mature size in your landscape, but if you don't, there are methods to help manage larger trees.
1. Start Young
It's much easier to prevent a tree from growing too large than it is to rein it in once it has outgrown its location. When possible, begin pruning to maintain size when the tree is still well within the size constraints you have in mind. By carefully pruning back branches and thinning the canopy annually, you may be able to prevent the tree from ever growing beyond its space. This type of minor annual size maintenance is also less stressful to the tree.
2. Reduce Gradually
If a tree is already too large, then there is hope. You must simply plan to reduce the overall height of the tree gradually, as this is not a task that can be done in a single season. Use the rule of three. For example, if the tree is three feet taller than desired, then trim it back by one foot for three years. If it is six feet too tall, then trim back by two feet each year. Further, never remove more than a third of the canopy in any single year. Trimming a tree back too severely in a short period can lead to tree decline or even death.
3. Use Correct Technique
The right technique is also vital if you want to ensure that the tree doesn't decline from such drastic pruning. Drop-crotch pruning is the standard method used for crown reduction. To achieve a drop-crotch reduction cut, you must trim back a branch to where it connects to another branch. This connecting branch must be at least one-third the thickness as the one being removed -- another iteration of the rule of three. At the very least, every cut should occur just forward of a branch or bud to ensure proper healing and future growth.
4. Stay Consistent
It's best to be consistent in your pruning each year. Don't prune back drastically one year and then wait several years for the next reduction trim. Instead, plan to prune annually in the same season until the crown is the desired size, then continue to perform maintenance prunes annually on the same schedule. Late winter is the ideal time for major pruning, before the buds burst and the sap begins to run. This way the tree is dormant when the trimming occurs but the burst of spring growth will ensure it recovers quickly.
Contact a residential tree trimming service in your area for more help.