Trees in front of your home or in your backyard boost curb appeal, add beautiful landscaping opportunities, and provide shade for you to enjoy your outdoor space. Like any landscaping, however, they do require maintenance to stay healthy and vibrant.

Today, we’re looking at how to trim a tree for longevity and health. Learn the difference between trimming and pruning, when to trim a tree, what you’ll need, and how to do it safely.

Learning how to trim trees takes time and skill to do properly. When in doubt, you can rely on professionals to get the job done.

What Is Tree Trimming?

Before we dive into how to trim a tree, what does tree trimming mean? Homeowners may hear the terms pruning and trimming used interchangeably, but they’re actually different. Pruning is the act of cutting away dead limbs or other parts of a tree in order to promote healthy new growth and avoid the spread of disease or rot. Trimming a tree, however, is focused more on the aesthetics of your tree, such as removing overgrowth from the canopy or limiting the size of trees for front yard curb appeal.

Learning how to trim trees properly will also have a direct impact on their longevity and health, keeping them strong and well-maintained over time. While tree trimming does remove healthy branches, it promotes faster, thicker growth when done the right way.

Bonus: After learning how to trim a tree, check out our guide for how to prune a tree to remove harmful rot and dead sections before summer.

When to Trim a Tree?

Learning how to trim a tree also means knowing when to do it. The best time to trim a tree varies depending on the species, but in general, trees should be trimmed during their dormant season. This is often late fall to early spring before the temperatures begin to rise too high. 

Similar to pruning, trimming during the dormant season reduces stress on the tree and minimizes the risk of disease or pest infestation. When in doubt, consult professional tree landscapers for the best time to trim trees in your region.

Equipment for Trimming a Tree

The first step to learning how to properly trim a tree is having the right equipment. Using the wrong tools or using tools incorrectly can be dangerous, leading to potential injuries to you or damaging the tree.

A few essential tools for how to trim trees correctly are:

• Pruning Shears: These are used for cutting small branches less than 2 inches in diameter.
• Lopping Shears: These are slightly larger and used for cutting bigger branches (typically between 2 and 4 inches in diameter).
• Pruning Saw: This is used for cutting branches larger than 4 inches in diameter. Pruning saws often cut on the pull stroke, too, meaning each movement produces a cut in the limb.
• Chainsaw: A chainsaw is a very effective method for how to trim a tree quickly and with a clean cut. For homeowners looking to shape their tree, it may take practice to do it well. Otherwise, consult the professionals and make sure your trees look great!
• Rope Saw: These tools for how to properly trim a tree are similar to chainsaws but allow the user to stay safe on the ground while reaching limbs high out of reach.
• Safety Equipment: This includes gloves, eye protection, and a hard hat. You should also rope off the area in which you’re working to prevent passersby from accidental injury.

Methods for How to Properly Trim a Tree

There is more to cutting back a tree than simply taking your tools and getting to work. When you’re learning how to trim a tree, you’ll hear different methods and techniques to keep your tree shaped properly and in good health.

These tree-trimming methods include:

• Crown cleaning: This is closest to pruning, and is the removal of any dead or dying branches. This prevents the spread of disease while promoting healthy new growth at a faster rate.
• Crown thinning: Thinning is the purposeful removal of branches in the canopy of your tree in order to let light and air through more freely. It opens up foliage and takes some weight off the supportive limbs of your tree.
• Heading: This involves cutting the tip of a branch to control its growth and promote fuller, denser foliage.
• Raising: This type of trimming removes the lower branches to give more vertical clearance from the ground. It’s great for boosting curb appeal and presents beautiful opportunities for landscaping around trees.
• Reduction: Part of how to trim a tree is keeping it safe from electrical wires, poles, or other hazardous obstacles to its growth. Reduction is also used to curtail the height and spread of a tree canopy.
• Restoration: Crown restoration is the purposeful cutting back and shaping of a tree that has sustained damage. The goal of restoration is for the tree to develop new growths and regain its original form and health.

Maintaining the Shape and Health of a Tree By Trimming

When trimming a tree, it’s important to maintain its natural shape and structure. A few tips to keep in mind so you don’t accidentally damage your tree are:

• Don’t remove more than 25% of a tree’s canopy in a single year.
• Avoid topping the tree (removing the uppermost branches), as this can lead to disease and structural instability.
• Trim branches that are growing towards the center of the tree, as these can create a dense canopy and prevent sunlight from reaching the inner branches.
• Remove any branches that are dead, diseased, or damaged. These can be safety hazards and a source of pest infestations or diseases.

Safety Considerations for Trimming a Tree

Learning how to properly trim a tree can be dangerous if you’re new to the task. For your safety and the safety of others (not to mention the health of the tree), it’s important to take precautions. 

When learning how to trim a tree you should:

• Always wear the proper safety equipment, including gloves, eye protection, and a hard hat.
• Use a sturdy ladder that’s tall enough to reach the branches you need to trim or a rope saw.
• Don’t trim branches that are close to power lines. Leave that to professionals.
• For particularly large jobs, hire professional tree trimmers to ensure it’s done properly.

Trimming trees is a big job. While some homeowners choose to learn how to trim trees on their own, most turn to professional tree trimming and pruning services to ensure it’s done safely and properly.

Looking to plant new trees? At NVS Landscapes, our professionals know the right trees to plant and care recommendations to keep them thriving for years to come.