Pruning Diseased and Damaged Trees in Winchester, Virginia: What You Need to Know

When it comes to pruning trees in Winchester, Virginia, safety should always be the top priority. Pruning should be used to remove defective or poorly positioned branches in order to avoid personal injury or property damage. Corrective pruning of evergreens mainly consists of removing dead, diseased or damaged branches. It is important to remove dead wood right away, cutting off dead branches for healthy ones.

When pruning diseased branches, make thin cuts in healthy wood, well below the infected area. Thinner cuts return branches to their points of origin or junction. To prevent the spread of disease, it is essential to disinfect tools between cuts with products such as Lysol, Listerine or isopropyl alcohol. Tests have shown that Pine-Sol and household bleach are highly corrosive to metal tools. Branch extension and spacing is an old and established practice for fruit trees that can be applied to any tree.

Trees provide a range of benefits to people and communities, from public parks and garden trees to greenway corridors and buffers next to streams. Evergreens have leaves that persist year-round and include most conifers and some broad-leaved trees.The Southern Regional Forest Extension and the Virginia Cooperative Technology Extension have developed a series called Trees for Energy Conservation, which provides guidance on the proper care of trees, from planting a tree to maintenance and care throughout its life. Poor pruning can cause damage that the tree must grow on and cause the wound to remain inside the tree forever.