Can You Trim Trees In The Summer?

I have heard that you should not cut limbs on trees during the summer but is that really true or is it some old wives’ tale passed down over the generations?

Can you trim trees in the summer? Yes, in fact some trees are best pruned in mid-summer. But for most trees it is best to wait until the tree is in a dormant state from winter until the buds swell in the spring for heavier pruning.

There are many reasons to prune trees in the summer and it is the optimal time of year to prune a few species of trees, but there some species of trees where that is the worse time to cut back limbs. Let’s go over some of the different situations and types of trees.

Here Are Some Situations Where You Would Need To Cut Branches Off Trees In The Summer

Limbs Are Hanging Down Where You Walk: You can cut branches off trees anytime you have a situation that needs your attention. For example, as the growing season goes along sometimes limbs get too heavy or just grow longer and droop down you your way. In these cases, you will want to trim them back. The simplest thing to do it to just “head” the limbs up. Meaning cut the lowest limbs off at the trunk of the tree.

As the tree grows the limbs stay at the same height, so if a limb is in the way to walk under or cut grass under you will want to just prune the entire limb off at the trunk. This can be done at any time of the year since you will just be taking off a few limbs.

One thing to think about when trimming back limbs that are too low, if you don’t want to take the whole limb off you can just cut back to a fork or other branch. Don’t leave a “stub”.

If you are cutting back the limb to the point where what is left will not get any sunlight then you might as well remove the whole limb because that limb will eventually die since the leaves will not get enough sunlight to keep the branch alive.

Pruning Storm Damaged Limbs: During the summer you might have some storm damage to a tree. In which case it is always better to prune the damaged limb or section when it happens. This will prevent the limb from falling on property or people if the damaged limb breaks free.

You will want to prune the damaged limb back to a fork or branch, or remove the whole branch back to the trunk depending on the circumstances.

If the limb is too high it is better to hire a professional than to risk injury tackling something you are not an expert in. While the limb might not look difficult to handle, many times limb fall in a very unpredictable ways instead of just falling straight down. Or the damaged limb could cause damage to other limbs that are healthy when it is cut free.

Professionals know how to tie limbs up so that they can be slowly and predictably lower the limb after it has been cut off.

Dead Branches Should Be Cut Off Trees: To reduce the risk of diseases or injuries from falling limbs it is best to prune any dead limbs as they appear. It can take years for a dead limb to rot enough to naturally fall off a tree. The precise time in which the limb falls is not predictable so you run the risk of having it fall on a person or maybe a car or house.

When it does there is normally a stub left to look at which can be unsightly.

For trees it is best to have dead limbs removed every year or two for safety and aesthetics. This will prevent damage to your house, car, or a person that might happen to be below the dead limb at a bad time.

If You Have To Transplant A Tree In The Summer: The best time to transplant a tree is after the leaves fall off the tree in the fall, to just before the tree starts to leaf out in the spring. But there are times when you just have to move a tree during the summer. Maybe you are putting on a new addition to your house or adding a patio. Rather than just cutting the tree down you can try to transplant the tree.

In which case you will want to prune at least 1/3 of the top out and maybe cut the leaves off the tree to give it a chance of surviving the shock.

Reshaping a tree after a utility company butchered it for power line clearance: The are times when the power company comes along to clear trees away from the power lines. They usually will “top” the tree or remove a whole side of limbs which can really misshape the tree.

You might be able to reshape the tree after such an event.

The tree will be under a lot of stress if this happens in the summer, so give the plant plenty of TLC to help it through.

Trees That Benefit From Summer Pruning

There are the few species that should be pruned in the mid-summer months such as Maple, Birch, and Walnut trees. When you prune limbs on these trees they will typically ooze sap, so you want to do your pruning during the season when they have less sap flowing.

You might think fall would be better if that is the case, but if you wait until too late in the season the tree will not have time to heal the cut which can leave it vulnerable to disease and pests.

With these few species you can thin out the canopy, head them up, take care of cross branches that are going to cause issues, reduce the overall size, or just shape the tree in the summer.

Keep in mind that you only want to prune out ¼ or less of the total canopy in any given year.

If you are growing trained apple or pear trees, such as espaliers or shaped fruit trees. It is best to prune them in the summer for training purposes and in some cases to increase the fruiting.

Try To Avoid Pruning Oaks In The Summer: Best Time to Trim Oak Trees

Oak trees have a disease that makes it so important not to make cuts on them from April through October. Oak Wilt is spread by pests that are attracted to fresh cuts in the wood.

Unfortunately, Oak Wilt is deadly to Oak Trees, so it is best to just wait until later in the winter to early spring to tackle an Oak pruning job.

This doesn’t apply to dead wood snice the pests are attracted to the live wood of the tree. You can prune dead wood out of an Oak tree whenever it is needed.

Best Time of Year To Cut Back Trees

The majority of tree species are best pruned in later winter to early spring. There are a few exceptions to that rule which are Maple, Birch, and Walnut Trees.

For any major pruning to remove cross branches, bad forks, reducing the overall size, or If you are wanting to thin the canopy of the tree it would be best to wait until winter or early spring. This will be the best for the health of the tree and prevent stress to the tree.

Do It Yourself or Hire a Professional

Unless the limb is fairly small or you are experienced in pruning tree limbs it might be best to hire a professional.

Once limbs are the size where you are considering the use of a chainsaw and / or the limbs are at a height in which you are using ladders or climbing the tree itself, you should give some thought to using a professional.

No savings is worth the risk!