What is the difference between pruning and felling trees?

A tree located in front of your house prevents you from taking full advantage of the sunlight, do you want to harmonize the appearance of your tree to make it more aesthetic, allow your fruit tree to develop better or do you simply want to get rid of a poorly placed or even dangerous tree that threatens your home? Do not hesitate to contact Spellini, certified expert for 25 years for all your felling or pruning projects. Now the question is what service do you need? Should you prune or cut down your tree instead? Are you not sure if you can distinguish between these two terms? Discover the differences between pruning and felling a tree.

You planted trees in your garden a few years ago and today these trees have grown well and this is becoming a problem. Whether it’s because they are encroaching on your neighbor’s property, they are preventing you from fully enjoying the sun’s rays or one of your trees is threatening to collapse on your house, it’s time to react! You will thus have to prune your tree or simply cut it down. But what are the differences between these two terms?

Pruning for a healthy tree

Pruning a tree consists of cutting off some dead or annoying branches from a tree. To do this, it is necessary to climb to the tree, using a harness and ropes or sometimes a gondola (not possible everywhere). It is then necessary to carry out a retention of branches by attaching the branches to the tree. The retention of branches corresponds to the techniques used which make it possible to control the descent of the cut branches.

A pruning can be carried out for several reasons. Pruning your tree can allow you to offer yourself more light by preventing your tree from growing too large. But that’s not all. It is also possible to give him a more beautiful appearance or even allow him to be healthier.

There are several pruning techniques that will have a significant impact on the way your tree will develop.

For an emergency pruning, do not hesitate to contact Spellini without further delay!

The 3 pruning techniques

• There is indeed the technique of gentle or reasoned pruning, this technique consists of regularly pruning small branches of the tree, maximum 3cm in diameter, before they grow in the wrong direction and this, while respecting the shape of the tree. It thus makes it possible to control the growth of the tree gently and to ensure its good health. It is essential to have space around the tree in order to use this technique.
• The technique of severe or punctual pruning is a training pruning, it means that we will touch the structure of the tree. Thus, the branches cut with this technique will have a slightly larger diameter than during the gentle pruning technique. However, it is important to avoid cutting branches that are too large, otherwise the tree may not heal and this could lead to certain diseases, fungi or other problems.
• The last technique is the technique of multi-year pruning, which consists in cutting all the branches located flush with the stump while maintaining the shape of the tree. In this way, we limit the development of the tree while promoting the rapid growth of the rejects. We can easily recognize this technique thanks to the balls (these balls are called the marotte), located at the end of the branches and which are due to the repeated cuts of the tree in the same places. Be aware that this technique is not suitable for all trees, it works on willows, lime trees, plane trees, mulberries, hornbeams and on maples.

There are also different types of pruning depending on the use of the tree. This thus makes it possible to know how to take care of the tree.

The 3 types of pruning

• Forestry pruning is generally used for the production of lumber. It is thus necessary to avoid the development of nodes in the tree since this lowers the value of the tree.
• Ornamental pruning is not only aesthetic but it also consists of limiting the development of the tree according to different constraints such as a high voltage line located near the tree, a tree too close to the road, the loss of light in the house…
• There is also fruit pruning. Indeed, fruit trees need very special care so that they are healthy and that they produce an abundant quantity of fruits and of better quality. Thus, it must be pruned regularly by reorienting the twigs, cutting the dead woods and branches, rebalancing the tree so that the weight of the fruits is equal everywhere…

Cut down in case of a sick or dangerous tree for your home

Sometimes pruning is not the right solution to your problem and it is then necessary to move on to the next step, that is to say the felling of the tree. The felling of a tree is the cutting of the tree at its base in order to make it fall.

The felling of the tree may be necessary for different reasons. It can be a poorly placed tree that prevents you from carrying out a terrace project, garden shed, etc. It can be a dangerous tree that threatens to fall on your house or even a sick tree that could infect all the trees in your garden.

Cutting down a tree in the forest is not done anytime, it is indeed preferable to carry out the felling during the winter. During this season, the tree is left without leaves and thus ensures better visibility. The tree also contains less water during this season and is, therefore, less heavy.

Even if winter is privileged for the cutting of a tree in the forest, this is however not the case for the felling of a tree at a private home which can, for its part, be carried out throughout the year.

Cutting down a tree is done from the ground, so it is important to pay attention to the retention of branches. As you can imagine, cutting down a tree in your garden, near your home and that of your neighbors is not at all safe. Thus, it is necessary to be careful and call on professionals who will know how to cut down your tree safely. Do not hesitate to contact Spellini for all your pruning and felling work!