Do you have some trees on your property that need to be trimmed? If so, you're likely contacting local tree trimming services in your area for assistance. You probably don't understand all of the lingo about the service that they offer, so it helps to have a better understanding of what they'll do.

Canopy Lift

The purpose of a canopy lift is to help a tree look thinner near the bottom by removing a small percentage of the branches on the inside of the tree. This allows more light to shine through the trees and reach your yard without having to completely cut down the tree. Trimming those branches is not as simple as chopping them off anywhere. Care needs to go into removing the branch at the collar so that sap does not flow into a dead branch not cut close enough and so you do not have a cut damage the trunk because it's too close.

Canopy Thinning

Canopy thinning is a bit different than a canopy lift. While the idea is the same with only removing a small portion of branches, they are removed from the middle of the tree rather than the bottom. This also helps more light shine through the tree if it was blocking too much of the sun. Canopy thinning also promotes growth with the branches that remain.

Formative Pruning and Shaping

If a tree has become too large, you will need to have formative pruning and shaping done to the tree to make it look better. This is the process of removing the branches on the outside that are causing the shape of the tree to not look as nice as it could. The goal is to reduce how much the tree is spreading. 

The problem with doing this job on your own is knowing how many branches to remove and what time of the year to do it. You want to only remove a small percentage of the branches so that the tree is not using too much energy to grow those branches back all at once. You'll also want to trim the branches during a time when the tree is not actively growing, which depends on the type of tree that you have. 

If you have any questions about the way that your trees need to be trimmed, don't be afraid to reach out to a tree trimming service in your area. They have the expertise to get the job done right.

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