Tree Trimming & Pruning in Alpharetta, GA

Tree trimming and pruning keeps a mature tree useful instead of risky. In Alpharetta, most requests start with the same few problems: oak limbs resting on the roof, pines dropping dead branches on the driveway, a canopy so dense that summer storms catch it like a sail, or ornamentals like crepe myrtles and dogwoods that have been cut badly in past years. Good pruning removes the right branches at the right points. Bad pruning, such as topping or cutting flush against the trunk, opens the door to decay and creates weak new growth.

Following ANSI A300

The industry standard for pruning in the United States is ANSI A300, and the International Society of Arboriculture's guidance builds on it. In practice that means cutting just outside the branch collar instead of flush with the trunk, removing no more live canopy than the tree can spare in one season, and choosing the type of pruning for a reason: cleaning out dead and broken wood, thinning to let wind through, raising lower limbs to clear a roof or driveway, or reducing the length of a long limb that hangs over a structure. Georgia Power says its own contractors prune to ANSI and ISA standards near lines, and private work should meet the same bar.

Getting ready for storm season

North Georgia's damaging storms tend to come from tropical remnants and summer thunderstorms, plus the occasional ice storm. When Irma's remnants crossed metro Atlanta in 2017, gusts reached 50 to 65 mph, and in January 2000 an ice storm cut power to about half a million metro customers. The limbs that fail first are long, heavy horizontal branches, limbs with old wounds, and narrow V-shaped forks. Thinning the crown and shortening the worst-placed limbs before hurricane season or winter lowers the load on a tree without stripping it.

Pines need a lighter touch

Pines do not respond to heavy pruning the way hardwoods do. We remove dead branches, broken tops and limbs over the house, and leave live crown in place. Timing matters too. The Georgia Forestry Commission advises against thinning pines during drought, when Ips engraver beetles are most likely to attack stressed trees, so we schedule pine work for cooler or wetter periods when the choice is ours.

Oaks, dogwoods and crepe myrtles

For large white, red and willow oaks, the goal is usually clearance and structure: lifting lower limbs over the driveway, reducing a limb toward the house, and removing deadwood that will otherwise fall during the next storm. For dogwoods, pruning stays minimal and focuses on dead and crossing branches. Crepe myrtles are often cut back to stubs each winter, a habit sometimes called crepe murder, which leaves knobby, weak growth; selective thinning keeps their natural shape.

When to prune

Late winter, before buds break, is a good time for most hardwoods because the structure is easy to see and wounds start closing in spring. Spring-flowering trees like dogwoods and redbuds are usually pruned right after they bloom. Dead, broken or hanging limbs should come off whenever they are found.