Tips on How to Properly Prune Hydrangea

This time of year many people want to know the best way to prune hydrangeas. How and when to prune strongly depends on the hydrangea species. Therefore, you should first understand the type of hydrangea you have to ensure health and maximum blooms.

Bigleaf (Hydrangea macrophylla) is one of the most common. This group is often known as mophead, lacecaps or French hydrangeas. Bigleaf hydrangea bloom on one-year-old wood. With that in mind, prune these plants within four to six weeks after blooming. To rejuvenate these plants, prune by selectively thinning out old stems. You should remove no more than one quarter to one third of the older stems each year. In addition, you can reduce long stems and branches to shape the plant. Further, oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) also blooms on old wood. Therefore, you should prune it in the same manner.

pruning hydrangea
Before pruning hydrangea, be sure to know what species you have.

Do not prune bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangea heavily during late summer or in early spring. Pruning during this time period will reduce blooms as it removes the flower buds for the next cycle.

In comparison, panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata), which include pee gee hydrangea, and smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) bloom on new wood in mid to late summer. Prune these species in winter or early spring. They can tolerate severe reduction.

For smooth hydrangea, including the common cultivar ‘Annabelle,’ some prefer to prune the plant nearly to the ground in winter or early spring. Panicle hydrangeas can also withstand this type of pruning. The exception is when you have trained the plant into a tree form. To maintain as a tree form, thin the plant to remove crossing and conflicting branches and selectively reduce to maintain desired size and shape.

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Davey Tree & NBA Cavaliers Team Up With “Trees For Threes”

The NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and The Davey Tree Expert Company have teamed up for a new multi-year agreement highlighted by “Trees For Threes,” a community …

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Nutty Squirrel Sabotages Chevy Truck…. For The 8th Time!

Landscapers know better than anyone the havoc that squirrels can wreak. They also know the sanctity of their pickup truck. So when this humorous story …

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Expert Tree Trimmer in Texas

Tree trimming or tree pruning, is one of the many tree care services that influence the health and appearance of a tree. At Chippers Tree Service in the Dallas Fort Worth Metro, each of our qualified arborists is an accomplished tree trimmer, capable of pruning your trees with skill and flair to boost their health and enhance their appearance.

Our trimming services include deadwood removal, removal of broken or diseased limbs, thinning of sucker growth, and balancing of the canopy. Your trees will definitely be much happier and healthier once one of our expert tree trimmers takes care of them.

Why Is Tree Pruning Necessary?

Pruning a tree with care and expertise is akin to an art form. Our expert arborists prune tree limbs not only to improve tree health but to also provide them an appealing visage. Pruning, when carried out with an accomplished hand, can help save a tree by removing diseased branches or limbs.

A critical part of a successful pruning job is to prevent the exposure of a tree’s cut areas to diseases and pests. The skillful arborists at Chippers Tree Service in Dallas-Ft. Worth TX are well-trained and know how to prune trees without clearing away excessive live foliage.

Trees are prone to get heavy over time if not maintained and are more susceptible to break with the accumulation of excess weight. Large branches and limbs can cause permanent damage to the tree when they break, with the tree unable to grow back in the same manner.

Is There a Right Season for Tree Trimming?

Most trees are dormant in the winter, with very little activity and much less leaf cover, allowing for much better visibility of their structure. We recommend pruning during the winter season as the trees have a better rate of recovery.

What Is the Right Way to Prune a Tree?

The goal of an arborist while trimming a tree is to make sure not to damage or split the trunk during limb removal. Our expert tree trimmers follow these three steps to prune a tree safely:

The Notch Cut

At the first stage of pruning a tree, our arborist targets the bottom of the limb, while ensuring that the distance between the cut and the trunk remains about three feet. The depth of the notch cut is roughly a quarter of the way through the limb.

The Relief Cut

In the next stage of pruning, the arborist will cut straight through the limb, just outside the initial notch cut. This is done to offset the weight of the limb so that the limb does not split and cause damage to the tree when our expert tree trimmer inflicts the final cut.

The Final Cut

The execution of the final cut determines the quality of a trimming job, as our trained arborist sets out to administer the final cut. While it’s critical to target the spot where the branch bark and the tree collar meet, the cut needs to follow the slant of the branch collar.

We at Chippers Tree Service, and our team of expert tree trimmers, care about the trees in Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas.

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What Does A Paving Contractor Do?

pavement

An asphalt paver is a person who constructs raised portions of paved areas, usually roads or sidewalks. They generally work on larger jobs, like airport runways, larger cities. These companies are typically hired by large companies, individuals, and municipalities to pave new surfaces and repair existing ones. The job itself is not easy and requires precise knowledge and skills.pavement

One of the essential jobs of Paving Contractor Jacksonville FL is making sure that the pavement is perfectly straight and level. This is typically done with a traffic scrub, a row of wooden posts placed under the pavement. The height of the posts is adjusted to a certain height that will ensure that the surface of the ground does not slip. Once this is done, the area is then patted dry. After it has dried, the paving machine can be used to create a permanent paved area.

Within asphalt paving machines, there are a few different options available. Some machines have a bucket on the side that is used to collect and dump the material when it is ready to be laid. Other types have a hand crank that the driver turns to move the concrete into place while another type simply moves the trolley around the perimeter of the area.

If you are hiring a paving company for an asphalt surface, there are several things that they will do before even starting the job. The first is to survey the area to make sure that there are no underground piping, utilities, or other obstructions. Most likely, an electrician will be called in as well. They will verify that there are no power lines running nearby, and they may also verify if there are any underground tanks that could pose a problem. If there are, the paving contractor will make sure that the tank is properly tied down so that the pressure does not cause damage to the area.

Once everything is all set up, the asphalt paving contractor will start by leveling out the area. This includes digging out any gravel and creating a level base for the driveway. They may also decide whether or not to put down concrete in the spot to help seal it better. Once this is done, they will be ready to start laying the concrete.

Most people are concerned with getting their asphalt surfaces laid quickly and with little hassle. When the driveway is first laid, however, it can become apparent just how time consuming it really is. Even though asphalt is a relatively inexpensive material, the parking lot can quickly become cluttered if there is not a well-maintained surface.

For this reason, residential paving companies often offer a free quote for someone who wants to have an asphalt driveway installed. Before agreeing to work with a particular paving company, ask whether or not they offer a free estimate. Many companies will offer a price guarantee if you choose to hire them to lay a new driveway. Since residential paving is such a simple process, the cost of hiring a paving contractor can be split between two people. Even though you will likely pay less than you would for brand new concrete, you’ll still end up saving money in the long run.

Paving services can also include more advanced sealcoating options, such as diamond plate and hydrostatic drainage. These types of services can help to make your driveway last longer and stay in better shape for many years to come. Of course, you can always hire a professional to do the sealcoating work, but there are many people available who know how to do it correctly. The convenience and lower price of asphalt sealcoating makes it worth looking into whether or not you should hire a residential paving contractor for your paving services.

Codominant Stems and Reducing Tree Failures

Research shows that trees with multiple (codominant) stems have a higher likelihood of failure than those with a single stem so it is important to address this trait – the earlier, the better. To explain, codominant stems occur when two or more stems grow upward from a single point. This creates a v-shaped crotch that typically indicates a structural issue.


A codominant stem with a “V” crotch.

Tree trunks need wood tissue to hold the tree up, particularly in windy conditions. When codominant stems exist, there is less direct connection of this wood tissue, creating a weak point in the tree that is more likely to fail. In some cases, bark on the side facing the other stem is captured in between the stems (included bark or bark inclusion). Generally, this makes the attachment even weaker.

included bark
Included bark is clearly visible on the right stem.

Preventing Codominant Stems in Young Trees

The best way to prevent codominant stems is to prune the tree while it is young. Start a year or two after planting and continue as the tree grows. Structurally pruning a tree several times while it is growing can nearly eliminate this problem. It is important to realize that it costs far less to prune a small tree than to treat a large tree with codominant stems.

What is Structural Pruning?

In the forest, trees tend to crowd each other. As they race upward for sunlight in the sky, they usually maintain a single main stem. Alternatively, when trees grow uncrowded in a landscape, they often develop structural weaknesses like codominant stems. Structural pruning is the technique used to address these weaknesses and guide trees into a strong architecture/form. The objective is to create a strong, healthy structure so that trees are sturdier under wind and other conditions.

With structural pruning, live leaders and lateral limbs are “subordinated,” or reduced, to slow their growth. Consequently, the main stem can develop dominance again. The sooner in life that structural pruning is started, the easier and less costly it is. Waiting until the tree is mature frequently means bigger pruning cuts, cabling and greater expense.

Solutions for Mature Trees

For mature trees, structural pruning may no longer always be the best option. Some issues that have developed over years simply cannot be addressed through pruning at this point. More likely, when a codominant stem is present on a mature tree, a structural support system will be a better option. Structural support systems are steel cables or steel rods that are installed between the codominant stems. These systems reduce movement and improve wind resistance.

Whatever age your tree, codominant stems are a structural problem that you should address. Early pruning and support systems are two methods of increasing the strength and longevity of your trees.

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