Professional & Proper Tree Care Services in the Boise ID Area

There are a couple basic, but major, things that you have to keep in mind. First, every cut you make on a tree is a wound and can alter its health and stability for the lifespan of the tree. Next is to make sure the tree is being pruned in a way that is making the tree stronger and not just “looking good” for a short period, only to be growing weaker and needing “tamed” again within the next two years.

In their natural environment, trees are growing very close together without much room to “spread out”, but instead grow straight up. When you plant a tree in an open area, such as a field or a yard they now have all the freedom in the world to grow in whichever direction they choose. This is where pruning needs to happen. These “radical” growth habits cause limbs to grow long and heavy, becoming susceptible to breakages and we need to prune to mitigate that potential. With this newly gained “freedom” also comes the growth of multiple growing leaders (trunks) that compete with one another and reducing this competition is also a reason to prune because the competition is a stressor to the tree.

Planting too deep is another major issue when it comes to the root zone of trees. At planting, the root flare (where the trunk and buttress roots meet) needs to be either level with the grade or slightly higher than grade. Remember that you usually need to dig down in the soil a bit to find the root flare and don’t assume that the tree is at the proper level when you receive the tree. Overtime in a nursery soil will get built up on top of the original planting and bury the flare. The flare exposure is important because there is a gas exchange at that point and keeping those main buttress roots as your primary root structure allows for a happy and healthy root zone. If it is buried, adventitious roots will form (secondary roots above the buttress roots) and these tend to be very weak roots that tend to grow in circles and can eventually turn into girdling roots.

When these issues are not addressed at the time of planting there are ways to fix them (most of the time depending on how bad the issue has become). We have a tool called an airspade that blows supersonic air to remove soil/dirt and expose the root system of the tree without harming the roots. This allows us access to the issues and we can then perform root pruning to correct them as best as possible. Note that without proper training with root pruning it is easy to take too much and cause even further harm to the tree so this process is best left to the professionals.