Tree Trimming & Pruning in Rock Hill, SC

Tree trimming and pruning is often the reason a tree doesn't need to come down. A water oak with a long, heavy limb over the house, a pine dropping dead branches on the driveway, or a willow oak growing into the gutters can often be fixed by taking out the right limbs. Done correctly, pruning reduces the weight that wind and ice can pull on, clears roofs and walkways, and removes dead wood before it falls on its own.

What good pruning looks like

The ANSI A300 standard is the industry's guide for pruning. It calls for cuts just outside the branch collar, the swollen area where a limb joins the trunk, so the tree can seal the wound. It also cautions against removing too much live canopy at once. Flush cuts, stubs and climbing spikes on trees that are being kept are all signs of poor work. So is topping, which means cutting the main trunk or large limbs back to stubs. Topped trees sprout clusters of weakly attached shoots that break easily in storms, which is the opposite of what a Rock Hill homeowner wants.

Common pruning jobs here

• Roof clearance: limbs cut back so they don't scrape shingles or drop debris into gutters
• Deadwood removal: dead and dying limbs taken out of the crown, especially over driveways, decks and play areas
• Crown raising: lower limbs removed to clear sidewalks, the street, the driveway and the lawn
• Crown thinning: selected limbs removed to let wind through and reduce weight on long branches
• Storm prep: heavy end weight reduced on long limbs before summer storm season

Rock Hill's code also expects homeowners to keep private trees trimmed at least 8 feet above sidewalks and 14 feet above streets.

Pines, oaks and ornamental trees

Pines don't respond to heavy pruning the way hardwoods do, and they rarely need it. Most pine work is removing dead lower limbs and checking the top. Oaks are the main pruning trees here: water, willow, southern red and white oaks benefit from deadwood removal and thinning every few years. Crepe myrtles are pruned more than any other tree in the South, and often badly. Cutting them back to the same stubs every winter (sometimes called crepe murder) weakens them; thinning out crossing branches and suckers works better.

Trees near power lines

If a limb is touching or near a primary power line, the utility handles it. For the service drop from the pole to your house, the utility can usually turn off the line at no cost so that a tree crew can work safely. No one should prune within 10 feet of an energized line unless they are trained and qualified for line clearance.