When homeowners in Mission Oaks look out at their backyard and realize a eucalyptus tree or pepper tree is starting to look more like an overgrown jungle than a landscaped yard, tree trimming is often the next step. Trimming trees is one of those maintenance tasks that looks simple enough from the ground, but once you are up on a ladder with a saw, things change fast. Oasis Tree tells homeowners to approach tree trimming in our specific local climate with a clear plan.
Before You Make a Cut
Homeowners cannot just walk out with a pair of hand pruners and start hacking away at Trees. First off, take a hard look at what you are dealing with on the property. If you are standing on flat ground and can easily reach a branch that is dead, diseased, or rubbing against another limb with long-handled loppers, go for it. That is classic DIY territory for tree trimming.
Property owners need to look up at the canopy. Are those branches anywhere near the power lines running from the street to your Camarillo house? If so, stop right there and leave them alone. Southern California Edison takes that very seriously, and property owners should too. Also, check the local wind conditions. Ventura County experiences sudden Santa Ana gusts whipping through the area that can turn a simple weekend project into a dangerous ordeal.
Grab your tools and make sure the tools are sharp and clean. Dull blades crush plant tissue instead of making a clean cut, which invites pests and fungus into the tree. A little bit of rubbing alcohol on the blades goes a long way toward keeping things sanitary for Tree Trimming work.
During the Job: What You Can Do vs. Pro Work
Stick to the three Ds when you are working on your own trees: dead wood, damaged wood, and diseased wood. If a branch is crossing over another one and rubbing it raw, take the weaker one off. Beyond that, keep the crown-thinning to a minimum unless you really know what you are doing with Tree Trimming.
Here is where you draw the line between DIY and calling Oasis Tree for professional Tree Service in Camarillo:
- Anything higher than your head that requires standing on a ladder with a chainsaw.
- Large limbs heavier than a few pounds that could drop onto your fence, your car, or your neighbor's prized rose bushes.
- Heavy structural pruning on mature oaks or large sycamores common around Camarillo neighborhoods.
If you are sawing away and the branch starts pinching your blade, or you feel the ladder shifting on our dry, packed Southern California soil, get down. It is just not worth a trip to the emergency room over a few stray branches when Oasis Tree can provide expert Tree Trimming services.
After the Trimming is Done
Once the brush is on the ground, the tree trimming job is not quite finished. You have got a pile of debris to deal with, and leaving it stacked against your Camarillo house is just inviting termites and rodents to move in. Bundle it up for local green waste pickup or rent a small chipper if you have a massive pile of branches.
Give your trees a deep watering a day or two after trimming, especially if we are dealing with that dry, baking heat that settles over the Camarillo plains in the summer. Pruning stresses a tree out slightly, and moisture helps it recover and push out healthy new growth across the property.
Keep an eye on the cuts over the next few weeks. The cuts should start callusing over naturally. If you see oozing sap, strange discoloration, or insects swarming the cut sites, call Oasis Tree for Tree Trimming and Tree Service work in Camarillo, California.