Every gardener knows when the evenings get longer and summer approaches, there’s one important task to be completed, to maintain the health and appearance of trees and shrubs. This task is trimming. Trimming reduces overgrowth, increases the number of healthy branches and the amount of sunlight shrubs and trees get. It’s vital to approach this gardening task in the correct way, with the appropriate equipment.
Using Power tools for larger trees and shrubs
For medium and larger sized trees and shrubs, branches and cover are thick and heavy. Manual tools are not powerful enough for this work. Hedge trimmers and chainsaws are required instead. They have to be sharp and in good working order. This means power tools such as chainsaws need proper storage, so they can carry out heavy-duty trimming effectively, when they are required. There are many chainsaws on the market from electric models to petrol driven ones. Pick one that you can easily handle and will be powerful enough to suit the tasks you want to undertake and you can find chainsaws to buy here.
A tree or shrub is wounded each time a branch or limb is cut. These wounds eventually heal, but it’s important to make a clean cut on the branch side of each branch collar, with sharpened tools. This prevents snags or rough surfaces on branch stub’s, which are prone to disease, and can affect the health of a shrub or tree.
Let the chainsaw or hedge trimmer do the work. If these tools are sharpened properly, you won’t need to apply too much pressure, to ensure clean cuts.
Trimming large branches
To trim large branches, it’s important that you don’t damage the rest of the tree. The following steps avoid this problem:
Step 1: Make an initial wedge shaped cut with a chainsaw, below the branch, at the point you want to trim the branch. This prevents the branch breaking past this point, after you make a second cut.
Step 2: The second cut should be made further out on the branch, than the first wedge shaped cut. This should be a complete cut. If the branch breaks due to its weight, during the second cut, it will only break as far as the wedge shaped first cut. This break won’t damage the main part of the tree, which would have occurred if the first cut was not made.
Step 3: Make a third smooth cut, which is parallel to the branch collar, on the branch side. This reduces the length of the branch stub, without damaging the remaining bark or trunk of the tree.
How much to cut?
As mentioned earlier, every branch trimmed, is another wound inflicted on a tree or shrub. Trimming away fifty per cent or more of a tree or shrub, puts their life in danger. Planning the appropriate amount of trimming before undertaking this task, lowers the risk to trees and shrubs, when they are being trimmed.
Safety Note
You should always make sure you use proper protection when you are using chainsaws. There is more information in the main website about using a chainsaw safely.
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