Your Ultimate Guide To Tree Surgery: What You Need To Know

If you have tall, beautiful trees on your commercial grounds, looking after them is vital to keeping them looking their best. Tree surgery is a great solution to fixing the appearance and improving the health of your trees as they continue to grow.

Our guide to tree surgery has outlined everything you need to know as well as why maintaining your trees is so important. To find out more, keep on reading our ultimate guide to tree surgery!



What Is Tree Surgery?

Tree surgery, also known as arboriculture, is a specialist service that covers maintenance and management of trees. It’s named tree ‘surgery’ because these tasks require a special level of knowledge and precision. The aim of tree surgery services is to improve the appearance and overall health of trees on your grounds.

Tree surgery is carried out for a range of reasons, including:

●    Aesthetic appeal

●    Tree health

●    Safety

●    Environmental benefits

What Does A Tree Surgeon Do?

Tree surgery can be carried out in both urban and natural environments. The professionals who deal with tree maintenance are often called tree surgeons or arborists. These specialists need to have in-depth knowledge in a range of areas to ensure that the trees are properly maintained. This includes practical skills such as pruning techniques and being competent with equipment. And it also involves theoretical knowledge, such as knowledge of tree biology and awareness of safety.

Key Practices Carried Out By Tree Surgeons

Some of the main responsibilities of a tree surgeon are:

●    Tree Health Assessments - Tree health assessments will be carried out by your tree surgeon to identify potential hazards and risks. They will also determine the best approach to dealing with a certain tree and what needs to be done to ensure it is safe and healthy. If you want to have a tree assessment carried out, contact a professional and they will be happy to help you.

●    Tree Pruning & Removal - Maintaining the tree by giving it a well needed trim or removing dangerous branches is a vital part of a tree surgeon's job. Also, removing entire trees for safety reasons can be their responsibility too. If an assessment shows that a tree is a potential hazard, it may have to be removed.

●    Crown Thinning - By targeting specific branches of a tree, tree surgeons can enhance the amount of light that certain branches are getting, helping to promote healthy growth and helping the tree to grow evenly. 

●    Stump Grinding - This is the last stage of removing a tree and is used to ensure that no further growth or hazards occur from the tree that has now been cut down.

Why Do Trees Need To Be Regularly Maintained?

There are a range of reasons why trees need to be maintained, and we’ve picked out some of the most important ones.

Tree Health

A lack of regular pruning or getting rid of dead branches can actually have a negative impact on your tree’s health. It can cause them to become weak and reduce their chances of surviving through difficult weather conditions like extreme winds and storms. Pruning for tree health by removing dead branches is an extremely important part of arboriculture as it reduces the likelihood of the decay spreading throughout the tree. By removing the affected branches, it promotes a healthier structure and the health of the tree.

Aesthetics

Trees that are nice to look at are often well-maintained and cared for through correct pruning and trimming. Sometimes, when branches are sprouting in all directions, trees can look misshapen and messy. It’s almost like a regular haircut for your tree!

It enhances the look of the tree and can actually help to promote healthy growth in the future.

Safety

Decaying branches and overgrown trees can actually be a safety risk. If dead branches fall onto public footpaths, homes or other areas, this can be a threat to people. Storms and strong winds can also cause these trees to blow over, causing extreme damage in urban environments. Another safety concern with trees is their roots. The roots of a tree grow up to seven times the height of the trunk itself, meaning roots can be growing under roads, paths and even buildings. If trees are not stable and healthy, they can topple in bad weather conditions, causing the roots to pull upwards. This can destroy housing and other structures.

Promoting Tree Growth

Most tree surgeons will recommend regular pruning to remove weak and damaged part of a tree, which in turn will promote new, healthy tree growth. As dead areas are removed, room for new shoots is made. Pruning at the correct times of the year is important for enhancing chances of fruit crops and other kinds of tree blossoms. 

Types Of Tree Surgery Services

There are a range of ways in which you can take care of your trees with a professional service. Some of the ways tree surgeons can help are listed below. Keep reading to see if your trees could benefit from some of these maintenance services.

Tree pruning

As we’ve already touched on, tree pruning is the process where specific branches are removed to improve the appearance, growth and health of a tree. It is essential for promoting balanced growth and enhancing safety. If you’re unsure whether your tree needs pruning, you can check to see if it’s got obvious dead sections or is looking quite dense. If you’re still not sure, you can have a professional come and take a look at it just to be sure.

Tree felling

Tree felling, or the process of felling trees is where the tree is removed in the safest way possible. If a diseased tree is too close to others, or for safety reasons a tree needs to be removed, then tree felling is the process that takes place.

Specialists must consider the area around the tree such as habitats or roads to ensure that they cut it down safely and effectively. Overcrowding and decay are the common causes for tree felling.

Crown Reductions

Crown reductions involve selectively pruning individual branches or removing specific pieces of dead wood to stop branches from overlapping and giving each part of the tree equal opportunity to stay healthy. In doing this, it gives each branch proper access to light and promotes healthy growth.

Dangerous Branches

Removing dangerous branches is essential for safety reasons. It can prevent accidents to personal property and to people themselves. If dangerous branches fall onto roads and pathways, this can also be a problem in urban areas.

Stump Grinding & Removal

When a tree has been felled or removed for whatever reason, the stump and the roots are left behind. This can be a hazard or can be awkward and messy to leave behind. Therefore, stump grinding is carried out to remove the top of the tree stump and then the roots of the tree are removed separately. If a stump is removed, its root system is also removed from the ground to ensure that none of the tree is left to avoid any regrowth. It also prevents a tripping hazard, as roots can be dangerous to leave in the ground.

Hedge Cutting & Reductions

Hedge cutting and reductions are simply trimming and shaping services that help your hedges look their best. It helps them to keep a neat appearance and can also promote healthy growth.

Commercial Tree Surgeons: GMCB

If you suspect that your trees are becoming a problem or they are in need of maintenance, our team of reliable tree specialists are here to help. Our grounds maintenance service is available to help you keep your trees in a safe condition.

Here at GMCB, our full service provides everything you need to keep your trees healthy, sustainable and safe. To explore our tree services, head to our website, where you can also check out our gritting services, commercial grounds maintenance and our weed killing services across Glasgow. Alternatively, for more information you can contact us today to speak to our team directly.