Cutting and Trimming Pine Trees: A Basic Guide

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One of the most beautiful evergreens, the pine tree is a treasured part of any garden. The majestic pine is popular for its immense height and beauty and brings a shady canopy and the fresh scent of pine needles to your outdoor space.

But did you know that your pine needs a bit of love and attention to keep both you and your tree safe?

Keep reading for our basic guide on trimming pine trees.

Why Should I Trim My Pine Tree? 

Although pine trees don’t need much attention, you should still take care of your pine with an occasional trim. Pruning your tree of the dead, damaged, or diseased branches will ensure that it grows dense, lush foliage throughout its lifespan. You’ll also avoid any potential accidents caused by falling tree debris!

Pine trees are also known to grow to great heights and sometimes get a bit too big for the area they’re growing. So you’ll also need to prune to keep your pine tree’s form looking neat and tidy and avoid your tree obstructing the growth of other foliage.

When Should I Trim My Pine Tree? 

It’s best to trim your tree in the late winter to early spring. However, if your tree is damaged or diseased and there’s a risk of falling branches, you’ll need to start trimming as soon as possible. If you can, avoid trimming in late summer or fall.

It’s also best practice to prune a pine tree when it’s just been planted. If you start pruning when your tree is young, it will need less maintenance later.

A Basic Guide to Trimming Pine Trees

Experts best trim larger pines, but if you have a young pine that needs attention, trimming it yourself is easy. You’ll just need some gardening equipment and to follow a few basic steps.

Preparing to Prune

If you’re trimming a small pine tree, make sure you have everything you need on hand. The best tool for the job is a small, sharp hand saw. Gardening shears should do the trick for thinner branches. If possible, prune with gardening gloves to avoid any pokes and scratches.

Larger trees will require a chainsaw, but this depends on the thickness of their branches. It’s important that you don’t handle any heavy machinery if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Always read the operating instructions before use, and make sure you know exactly what you’re doing to avoid injury.

Let’s Get Trimming!

To get your young pine to grow in a healthy, traditional cone shape, trim back its branches by about one-third. The branches should be kept about 6 inches shorter than the center trunk.

The top part of your pine tree is called the crown. When your tree is young, you should cut away about a third of the crown every year. This makes for thicker growth and greener foliage.

Keeping a Healthy Pine

Remove any dead branches. These will be easy to spot as they’ll no longer have any green foliage. Make sure you cut away any diseased branches about 6 inches from the diseased part of the branch.

When Should I Call an Expert?

If you don’t have much experience, or you have a larger tree that needs attention, it’s recommended that you call in the experts. A professional service will have the right equipment and experience in trimming pine trees. Plus, you can trust that your tree is in safe and experienced hands.

To enquire about pruning or other garden services, get in touch today!

Pine Tree Stump Removal: These Are the Key Things to Know

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Yellow or brown needles, dead branches, leaning off-balance…all the tell-tale signs are there. Your pine tree’s dying and needs to get removed.

However, pine trees grow differently from other trees in that their roots spread out more on a horizontal plane. Normal tree roots tend to go down and deep instead. So what steps can you take to ensure this pine tree stump gets taken out of the ground and stays out?

Well, you’re in luck. We’re here to give you this guide to the key things to know about pine tree stump removal! So without further ado, let’s get started!

Grind the Pine Tree Stump Out

One of the fastest ways to reduce a pine tree stump to nothing is through stump grinding. First, make sure to clear all the dirt and rocks away from the stump until the bottom is exposed. Afterward, you can use a stump grinder to slice away at the stump until it’s in pieces.

Leaving the roots intact is fine, as without the leaves the roots have no energy to reconstitute a tree from.

Chip Away

If a stump grinder seems too heavy-duty for you, you can also try to chip away at the stump using a shovel and ax. Dig around the stump and use the ax to sever any roots you find along the way. Once enough roots are severed, you should be able to lift the stump out of the ground using the shovel or a metal rod (if you use it as a lever).

Light Em Up

Conversely, if a stump grinder seems too tame for you, you can also use fire to help reduce a stump down to size. First, you’ll want to make sizable criss-cross incisions along the top of the stump using a chainsaw or other bladed tool.

After this, pour kerosene into the cracks and light the stump on fire. The incisions help keep oxygen flowing in the fire, so it will burn longer. You can also place a barrel around the stump and fill the gap with firewood if you want to contain the fire better.

However, it’s worth noting that fire will take time to remove the stump and some manual removal will likely be needed after.

Methods to Avoid

However, some stump removal methods are too dangerous to try at home. While scientists have been able to remove stumps in controlled settings with herbicides, they present a danger to the other plants and animals in your yard. On top of that, rainwater will spread the herbicides across the ground to affect neighboring areas.

It’s also important to abstain from any stump removal methods without the proper safety equipment. Goggles and gloves are a must, as is ear protection if you’re operating something like a chainsaw.

Tree Stump No More

With these top-tier steps to ripping out any pine tree stump that stands in your way, you’re ready to get out there and clear some trees today! If you want to get even more efficient, however, reach out to us and let us know how we can help kick your pine tree stump out for good.

 

How Long Does It Take for a Tree to Grow?

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Are you planting a new tree in your yard and you’re wondering how long it’ll be before it’s full-height?

Maybe you’ve already got a tree and you want to know how much bigger it’s going to get. Many people ask us, “how long does it take for a tree to grow?”, but the answer is never as simple as people want it to be. There are 60,000 tree species in the world and they all grow in different ways.

However, for practical purposes, you can look at a couple of factors to determine how the tree in your yard will grow. In this post, we’ll discuss those and tell you some signs to look out for that’ll help you indicate how big your tree is going to get.

How Long Does It Take For a Tree to Grow?

Growing a tree from seed is one of the most satisfying things to do over a long period of time. If all goes well, your tree might live for hundreds of years, but when does it actually stop growing?

That depends on two important things: the type of tree and the location it’s growing in.

Location

Let’s start with the tree’s location. If it’s growing in a warmer climate, it’s going to grow faster than in colder climates. Tree species near the equator might grow several meters per year, while those in the northern parts of Canada and Europe might only grow a meter or two per year.

So, depending on the tree, it might take 10-20 years for one growing in a sunny area to reach maturity or 30-40 years in the cold. For us in Dallas, most of our big tree species grow to between 35-80 feet in height and our sub-tropical climate means that they’ll grow on the faster end of the spectrum.

Species

If you’re planting a new tree and want it to grow quickly, make sure it’s a native species that is meant to grow in the north Texas climate. Our native species include maple, ash, willow, sycamore, cypress, oak, and laurel, among others. Each one grows at a different rate, but none are more than 80 feet tall when mature.

When you factor the maximum height in with the likely growth rate of a few meters per year, you’ll be looking at somewhere between 15-30 years for your tree to grow.

Taking Care of Your Tree

So, how long does it take for a tree to grow? It’s tough to say exactly, but it’s going to be a long, long time before a young tree reaches maturity.

If left alone, trees don’t need our help to grow, they’ve been doing it successfully since long before we were around. That being said, a city isn’t exactly a natural place for a tree to grow, so you might need to guide it along throughout its life.

At Green Pine Tree Service, our staff of highly trained arborists will help ensure the health and safety of your tree(s). Contact us for a consultation, in which we can assess the condition of your tree, show you signs of a dead tree, help you treat pests and disease, and create a plan for removing a dead tree or keeping a sick tree alive.

What to Do If Your Tree Has Frost Cracks

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Every year, winter happens. That means many areas around America get covered in frost.

But what happens when you have frost cracks etched into the trunk? What are you supposed to do? Should you call an arborist for an evaluation? Or should you treat the tree yourself?

Follow this guide, and we’ll show you what to do if your tree cracks from frost.

Frost Cracks

Winter temperatures dropping below zero sometimes causes cracks in trees. Frost cracks cause a lot of damage to trees, and, sometimes, the damage is permanent.

What Causes a Frosted Tree to Crack?

Trees with frost cracks in them are often found in open areas. Found on winter days, the inner bark becomes warm by the sunlight. As the temperature drops, the bark begins shrinking.

The wood inside the tree’s trunk slowly contracts as the bark shrinks. This process causes the bark of the tree trunk to split in half — this is a frost crack.

According to the University of Michigan, scientists believe frost cracks are caused by the water moving out cells and freezing within the tree. The wood closest to the tree’s surface shrinks as it loses water.

This is common with younger trees that have thin bark.

Developed trees may suffer from frost cracks. The inside of trees reaches higher temperatures than the air around them.

A few species that are more likely to develop frost cracks include, but are not limited to:

  • Apple trees
  • Beech trees
  • Elm
  • London plane
  • Maple

Tree Scald

Some nights, the air becomes cooler, the temperature drops. As a result, the cambium layer and bark become damaged. This damage isn’t called frost cracks. It’s called tree scald.

How to Fix Frost Cracks

There’re many reasons your tree may have a crack in it. Learning how to help your cracked tree and preventing frost cracks is the first step.

If your tree already has damage within its trunk, don’t shake it. Shaking the tree will cause more damage, and there’s a chance of hurting yourself.

First, evaluate where your trees are in your yard, and identify what could damage them.

Prevention

Instead of applying fertilizer too early, wait until the leaves fall off the tree. Waiting to put fertilizer on your tree can help avoid frost cracks.

Avoid damaging the bark on the tree’s trunk while it’s still young and growing. You can damage your tree by hitting the base with your lawnmower or your car’s bumper.

Placing mulch around the young tree’s base can help your lawnmower from damaging the tree. The mulch acts as a barrier around the base.

When to Call an Expert

If your tree is too far gone, it’s time to call in an expert. A professional will assess the damaged tree and explain the next course of action.

Our Services

Frost cracks aren’t a laughing matter. Severe damage causes the infected tree to lean and fall over. If a cracked tree is left untreated, someone could get hurt.

That’s why it’s best to call an arborist to evaluate the damage if you notice a crack in one of your trees. A professional will help you learn what you need to do.

For more articles like this, visit our website and learn about our services, like tree pruning and removal.