Pruning & Trimming
- Home
- Pruning & Trimming
TREE PRUNING SERVICES | TREE TRIMMING, MD, DC
Takoma Tree Experts, LLC. can prune your trees to keep them healthy, invigorated and beautiful. Selective pruning of a tree is a highly skilled endeavor, and must be performed by only the most experienced and highly trained personnel. That’s why it’s called tree surgery- implying a certain level of expertise, knowledge and applied skills-and much like surgery, a botched job is well… not pretty. After all, if the wrong limb is cut off or the tree is unbalanced in the pruning process, little can be done to correct it, or improve the appearance, although restoration pruning can be attempted. We follow and adhere to all ANSI A-300 pruning practices and protocols as well as those of the ISA, TCIA and other leading arboricultural organizations.
If trees are not maintained properly, a hazardous condition can develop and go unnoticed. Trees should be periodically pruned and inspected by a qualified climber and/or arborist who can advise you of any cracks, splits, cavities, decay and other conditions he/she observes.
When crown cleaning or pruning a tree, prominent deadwood, broken and/or diseased limbs are removed so that they don’t fall (although live ones can fall too!) and also to minimize the chance of rot and decay from forming, which can cause a tree to become structurally weak and can also attract a variety of opportunistic wood feeding insects. When pruning, we can install high strength steel cables between trunks or leaders for support; we also install steel rods or braces through splits or cracks if needed.
If limbs grow too close to or over your house, or if more ground clearance is needed, we can selectively elevate or raise the branch level or crown of the tree-that is remove lower limbs, or parts or ends of limbs, and/or under prune primary limbs or leaders to provide clearance over and around structures, satellites, walks, driveways, gardens and more.
Interfering, crisscross, or rubbing limbs and water shoots are selectively removed or cut back during a maintenance pruning. This helps to open up or thin the tree to allow sunlight to filter through, aiding in food production processes, air circulation, and less wind resistance. When properly thinned, strong wind gusts tend to blow through the less dense crown of a tree and the “sail” effect will be minimized, possibly reducing incidences of uprooting, damage or failure of the stem or limbs.
Topping is an antiquated, destructive and unacceptable practice, and most, but not all licensed tree experts will advise against it (read more about licensure in our FAQ’s and licensing, certification and insurance sections-not all Maryland LTE’s actually sat for an exam! Nor are all “experts”). Because topping is such a fundamentally wrong thing to do, and knowledge of such is so widespread and basic within the industry we can only advise that you avoid tree companies that advertise or suggest topping, no matter how good the price (why would you want to pay someone to destroy your property?)-they are simply advertising their ignorance and lack of training.
Restoration is a service that we hope you won’t need-but if your tree has been damaged by severe heading, topping, vandalism, or by poorly trained hacks (and they are out there), we can sometimes selectively prune to attempt and improve the structure, form and appearance of a tree. But choose Takoma Tree Experts, the DC metro area’s premier tree service for your pruning needs in the first place, and you won’t need restoration services. Guaranteed.
We visually examine your trees during an estimate, note any conditions we may observe, provide advice and suggest a course of action. Our qualified, highly experienced tree personnel can also gain a perspective of problems high in the tree, not easily noticed from the ground, and bring those to your attention-this is a distinct advantage and difference between mere tree climbers and our highly trained tree staff.*
Of course, we haul all brush and debris, resulting from our pruning work. We clean up your yard, adjoining properties (if we have permission to access them), sidewalks, etc. and rake and sweep up any sawdust. We leave everything the way we found it, and the way you would expect us to. There are no surprises here!
Call Takoma Tree Experts, LLC. today at 301-681-5800 or 202-387-8733 or fill out the customer contact form, which is e-mailed directly to an estimator, for a thorough and complete analysis of your trees-there is no charge or obligation. When you sign up to have the work done, our skilled and courteous crews, will turn your trees into living masterpieces of art-you will know you made the right decision.
*Please note that neither a visual nor any other type of tree examination carries a guarantee or warranty, as to any defects or conditions, nor can we ever conclude that a tree is “safe”. There is no such thing as a safe tree, all trees have a degree of risk, and any tree or portion of a tree can fail at any time, regardless of whether the tree was properly cared for or not.
