Ask an Arborist: When is the best time of year to get trees trimmed?

Tree Pruning
Written By Joe Russell

The dormant season is a great time of year to prune your trees, Sandra. This is basically from October through May. In the dormant season, the leaves are off so it is easier to see structural defects within the canopy of your tree. It is also a time of year when there are fewer insect and disease issues that sometimes or attracted to fresh pruning wounds. Sometimes customers have concerns about our cruise being able to identify dead limbs when there are no leaves. This is done by looking closely at the bark and if needed, the color of the cambium layer with a small scratch on the bark of each branch. Long story short: Now is a great time to trim your trees!

-Joe Russell, Russell Tree Experts

Joe Russell

Joe Russell has been a Certified Arborist since 2003. He is active on the Board of the Ohio Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. He graduated from Ohio State University with his bachelors in Landscape Horticulture with a minor in Ag Business and started Russell Tree Experts with his wife Shari in 2005. Joe grew up in the Ohio Valley near Wellsville, Ohio and is now a resident of Galena, Ohio.

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