Pruning is more than “cutting bits off”

This is about the future-proofing of the tree, identifying weak unions (like a poorly attached branch, or two competing trunks known as a multi-leader) and either removing or reducing them before they become a real problem. Get this right early on a young tree, and you save a lot of grief later.

Removing dead, dying or damaged wood from an otherwise healthy tree, both for the tree’s health and to reduce the risk of a dead branch dropping somewhere it shouldn’t.

Selectively removing branches through the canopy to let more light and airflow through. Good for tree health, and handy if a tree’s casting more shade over the lawn or garden than you’d like.

Removing the lower branches of a tree to let more wind and sunlight through underneath. Great for easier lawn mowing around the base, more usable space beneath the tree, or simply getting more sun into the garden below.

For the more ornamental side of things – clipped balls, hedges and shaped shrubs. It’s a different discipline to health-focused pruning, and one we’re happy to take on if you’re after that classic, manicured look. (If you’re after espalier-style pruning for fruit trees along a fence line, that sits under our Fruit Tree Pruning Lessons service.)

For larger trees, not just topiary – when a nearby tree’s removal leaves a remaining tree looking lopsided or oddly grown, we’ll prune it back into a more balanced, natural shape. It’s part aesthetic, part practical, removing branches that are heading in the wrong direction so the tree looks good and stays sound.

Bringing in the canopy – reducing a tree’s height and width to keep it balanced, stop branches getting too leggy, and prevent the kind of large end-weight that causes breakages down the track. It’s technically a type of pruning, but because it’s such a common job on its own, we’ve given it a full page of its own – see our Tree Reductions page for the details.