Autumn In Check: Trimming Your Branches & Hedges

AUTUMN MUST DO: Pruning your tree branches
WHEN: Mid-Autumn
DESCRIPTION: Crown lift trees with a three-step cut
OUTCOME: Allow more sunshine and light onto your grass below

Your trees and hedges will have grown considerably throughout Spring and Summer. As their growth slows in Autumn, it’s a good idea to give them a quick tidy before Winter hits.

You’ll most likely need to trim two to three times in Autumn. Once in the early period of the season, then again before the plants go into their Winter dormancy (or slow period).

Spring and Summer tree growth may mean you are now experiencing unwanted shade compromising lawn and garden bed health, light being blocked from house windows and outdoor entertainment areas, and problems accessing lawn areas close to tree trunks when mowing.

Crown lifting your trees is a simple and rewarding solution to all these problems.

Charlie’s 4-Step Pruning Crown Lift Process

1. Start by nominating the branches you want to remove – shake the branch to see the effect on the canopy and lawn areas below once it’s removed.
2. To make your first cut, identify a cutting point about 12 inches away from the tree trunk. Beginning from the underside of the branch and cutting upwards, cut two-thirds of the way through the branch.
3. Next we cut down from the top. Move along further out from your first cut by a few inches and cut from the top of the branch downwards. Cut all the way through. Tackling the cut this way stops the branch from tearing due to the forces created by the weight of the branch and avoids creating a ‘heel’ which is damaging to your tree.
4. Now we make our final cut. Being careful to NOT cut flush to the trunk, make the final cut outside the collar of the branch (the bulbous area that connects the trunk to larger branches of the tree). NEVER remove the branch collar as the hormones for protecting the tree are contained in the collar.
   Starting at the top, create a cut that is just off 90 degrees, so that your newly cut surface is protected from rain until it heals. i.e the top of the stub you create should be slightly longer than the bottom of the stub.

TIP: The longer the branch, the greater the forces, the greater the chance for tearing and damage to your tree. To keep your tree safe, you can repeat the above steps to break your branch down into manageable lengths that ensure these forces don’t become a problem.

Charlie’s top tool for Crown Lift cuts

• Easy to start and operate, the MSA 140 Battery Chainsaw is a home gardener’s dream. Packing plenty of power for Crown Lift and heavy garden pruning needs, this chainsaw is also lightweight and manoeuvrable, making it effortless for users to make precise cuts in either direction. Best of all it’s so quiet that you won’t need earmuffs, and you can use it at any time of the day without annoying neighbours.

Charlie’s top battery tools for pruning

• For low hanging branches, you can’t go past the GTA 26 Battery Garden Pruner. This versatile tool has wide range of uses including the pruning of trees and shrubs, cutting up garden waste, DIY projects and building with wood.
• For your hedges in small to medium gardens, the HSA 56 from the STIHL AK Battery System is capable of trimming over 140m of hedges (up to 2 metres high) on a single charge.
• And for high or wide hedges the HLA 56 Long-Reach Hedge Trimmer (also part of the STIHL AK Battery System) is a great option. With a total length of 2.1m and an adjustable blade angle, you will master those tall and hard- to-reach hedges in no time.

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