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Tree & Shrub Pruning Services

We service the Milwaukee, Mequon, Stevens Point, Wausau and surrounding areas.

Remember, poor pruning decisions are permanent

Tree Pruning

Tree pruning helps your landscape flourish by addressing concerns such as tree risks, structural integrity, longevity or life expectancy, shape, and appearance. Trust our Wisconsin experts to enhance the natural beauty of your trees to preserve their strength, stature, and seasonal character.

At First Choice Tree Care, our arborists are trained and experienced in tree climbing techniques that are specific to pruning trees. In most situations, we do not need to drive a truck into your yard in order to prune the trees.

Think carefully before you decide to pick up that pruner; poor pruning decisions are permanent – you can't glue that branch back on! Have your trees pruned the right way with our ISA Certified Arborists.

Our experts carefully assess each tree individually and then develop a customized plan to address your landscape's unique needs. Carefully following the pruning guidelines set forth by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), our knowledgeable and friendly arborists will utilize proper pruning techniques to keep your trees and shrubs safe, healthy, and beautiful for years to come.

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Milwaukee & Wausau Tree/Shrub Pruning

Shrub and Hedge Pruning

Our arborists have the proper equipment and skills to prune all kinds of shrubs and hedges. We can prescribe and perform the style of pruning that is right for each kind of shrub. This includes formal shearing, renewal pruning, rejuvenation pruning, reduction pruning, etc. From tiny spireas to monster arborvitae hedges, we can handle them all!

Why should arborists prune your trees and shrubs?

At First Choice Tree Care, our pruning priorities are clear. First, we prune to remove hazards to assure the safety of you, your family, and your property. Secondly, we prune to benefit the health and longevity of your landscape trees and shrubs. Finally, we prune to improve the appearance of your plants. With professional, science-based methods and techniques, pruning holds a variety of benefits for your landscape, including:

  • Hazard Reduction: Removing dead, decayed, broken, or poorly attached branches provides immediate benefit in securing the health and safety of you, your family, and your property.
  • Reducing Risk: By pruning poorly attached branches and ensuring proper branch spacing, tree pruning will help protect against future storm damage and the danger of fallen limbs. This is particularly important for trees in high use areas such as in yards, along pedestrian paths, driveways, and surrounding buildings.. Please click here to learn more about our storm damage prevention services, including tree support systems. Our Wisconsin tree care experts also recommend pruning trees with low-hanging branches in certain areas to eliminate interference with traffic.
  • Health: Our pruning services include the removal of diseased, dying, crossing, rubbing, interfering, and competing branches on mature and young trees and shrubs. Proper branch removal improves the overall health and vigor of the remainder of the tree and improves air circulation within the tree's crown, thereby increasing its useful life expectancy. Healthier, more vigorous trees are also better positioned to resist attacks by insects and disease-causing fungi naturally.
  • Young Tree & Shrub Pruning: Pruning young trees and shrubs, known as training or developmental pruning, is performed for structural enhancement. This critical procedure helps ensure your young trees or shrubs have a desirable branch architecture and structural integrity. Regular and proper pruning of trees when they are young helps reduce the number of costly problems that develop as your tree matures.
  • Appearance & Restoration: Tree and shrub pruning for appearance and restoration is essential for maximizing your landscape's beauty and assisting with regular landscape maintenance.
  • Visual Access: Increase your landscape's visual aesthetic and property value with vista tree or shrub pruning. With our pruning services, you can take advantage of access to your property's lakes, valleys, and other picturesque views, while maintaining privacy where desired.
Milwaukee & Wausau Tree/Shrub Pruning

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Tree & Shrub Pruning Techniques

Pruning is both a science and an art. Our arborists are skilled at both. Because no two trees are identical, there are no "cookie cutter" approaches to tree pruning. No matter your pruning need, our Wisconsin experts are here to help:

  • Crown Raising: Crown raising entails removing lower branches on developing or mature trees to allow more clearance above lawns, sidewalks, or streets. This practice can be used for houses, lights, garages, utility lines, vehicle or pedestrian traffic – or to clear space for other plants. Crown raising is usually done in conjunction with other pruning.
  • Crown Cleaning: Crown cleaning is the selective removal of dead, dying, and diseased wood from the crown.
  • Crown Reduction: During crown reduction, branches at the top of the tree are removed to reduce their height. Crown reduction is the least desirable pruning practice, and our experts recommend this step only when necessary.
  • Thinning: Thinning is the removal of competing branches to improve light and airflow through the crown.
  • Training Pruning: To ensure proper form and healthy growth patterns, young trees are pruned to properly space branches, remove poorly attached limbs, and develop a strong central trunk or leader. Trees properly pruned while young result in structurally sound trees when mature.

Call us today to take advantage of the professional tree and shrub pruning services that will benefit your landscape for a lifetime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Arborists are trained professionals that are knowledgeable and equipped to provide proper tree care. They are specially trained to provide a variety of services to maintain trees. ISA Certified Arborists are individuals who have achieved a level of knowledge in the art and science of tree care through at least three years of experience and have passed a comprehensive examination. They are also required to continue their education in order to maintain their certification, ensuring their knowledge is updated on the latest arboriculture techniques. ISA Arborist Certification is a non-governmental voluntary process that operates without the mandate of law. It is an internal self-regulating device administered by the International Society of Arboriculture. Certification provides a measurable assessment of an individual's knowledge and competence required to provide proper tree care.

The type and frequency of tree care depend on the species, age, location, climate, and other factors that affect the tree's growth. The first step is to educate yourself about your trees and understand their needs. It is imperative to understand that proper tree care is a lifelong process and that planting and caring for a tree is a long-term commitment. A Certified Arborist can create a management plan to best suit the needs of each individual tree in your landscape.

Topping is the indiscriminate cutting of tree branches to stubs or lateral branches that are not large enough to assume the terminal role. Other names for topping include "heading," "tipping," "hat-racking," and "rounding over." Topping is perhaps the most harmful tree pruning practice known. It is usually done to reduce the size of a tree. Often, homeowners top their trees because they feel that they have become too large for their property and are a hazard. However, topping will make a tree more hazardous in the long term and is very harmful to the health of a tree. No educated arborist would ever "top" a tree. "Pollarding," often confused with topping, is an ornamental style of pruning popular in Europe, which involves annual trimming of the new shoots.

Mulches are organic materials placed over the soil surface to maintain moisture. Mulching is extremely beneficial to trees. It can reduce water loss from soil, minimize weed competition, and improve soil structure. Properly applied, mulch gives landscapes a healthy dose of benefits for your trees.

As soon as you notice any abnormality in your tree's appearance, you should begin a careful examination of the problem. Insects and diseases can threaten a tree's health. You should contact a Certified Arborist for assistance immediately. By identifying the specific symptoms of damage and understanding the causes, they will be able to diagnose the problem and recommend appropriate actions for treatment.

Trees are essential to our world, offering a wide range of environmental benefits. However, trees become hazardous liabilities if they fall and injure people or damage property. Proper, constant maintenance will help prevent and identify when a tree becomes dangerous. Evaluating the seriousness of a tree's condition is best done by a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) Arborist.

One of the best websites for consumer tree care information is www.treesaregood.org. For personalized service and detailed information pertaining to your trees, it is best to contact an ISA Certified Arborist to schedule a consultation. For a nominal fee, a Certified Arborist can provide you with a wealth of information, including tree identification, proper pruning, insect and disease problems, and soil nutrition.

Serving The Greater Milwaukee & Wausau/Stevens Point Areas

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