If you're lucky enough to have a large garden area with trees and shrubs in abundance, it's a good idea to have a basic knowledge of the terminology used by the professionals. This enables you to get a broad understanding of the tasks involved in keeping your trees healthy and in a safe environment. This article will aim to explain basic terms to help you determine your ongoing tree maintenance needs and to give you a list of tree terminology that every gardener should know:

Pruning is a term used to describe the removing of dead branches in order to stimulate growth. It enables the regulation of size and shape of the tree and can improve the quality of the wood, flowers and fruit. There are three main pruning options available and these are:

a) Crown Thinning

This is the removal of a section of smaller branches normally at the outer edge which produces uniform foliage around evenly spaced branches. It doesn't actually alter the overall size of the tree and is beneficial as it allows more light to get through and reduces wind resistance.

b) Crown Lifting

This term relates to the removal of the lowest branches that are causing obstruction and is an effective method of increasing the amount of light getting to the tree as well as enabling access under the crown. This method is not normally done on mature trees or on large branches growing directly from the trunk as this can lead to decay and instability.

c) Crown Reduction

The leaf bearing sections of the tree can be reduced in both height and width with this method of pruning. This makes the tree more suited to its environment and reduces the effects of shading and light loss. Not all species are suitable for this treatment, but it's very effective in maintaining over-grown trees.

Formative pruning describes the pruning of young trees leaving a naturally balanced and healthy crown. As the tree matures it will be strong as it has one main central trunk. Re-shaping trees and hedges which are out of shape will also restore a balanced look.

Dead wooding is the taking away of diseased, dying or dead wood. This is often an issue of safety as old trees tend to overhang buildings, gardens and footpaths and need to be managed properly to make them safe, but also to allow essential habitats to be preserved. Shortening techniques will be used before complete removal is considered.

Coppicing is a traditional method of cutting down trees to ground level, allowing the stump to regenerate. This procedure can be carried out regularly to keep trees in a young state meaning they last for many more years.

Felling is the complete removal of the tree due to disease or if the tree is dead and has become a danger. The removal is from ground level and must be done safely with calculations made for the space needed for clearance.

Dismantling is a term used to describe the removal of the tree in smaller sections done by hand. This method is used when the tree is adjacent to out buildings or the house itself where great care needs to be taken to avoid any accidents.

Pollarding is a method used in the Victorian times where the upper branches of the tree are taken away to encourage a dense head of leaves and branches, maintain trees at a pre-determined height.

Hedge Cutting reduces the height and sides of hedgerows to create a uniformed appearance. The hedges are cut back and then pruned and trimmed to get a neat and tidy hedge line.

There are many other terms associated with tree work and this section of the article will briefly describe some of the more common ones:

Vitality is the degree of life functions within an individual tree or a population of trees. Painting or sealing is the covering of wounds or cuts with bitumen based paint which doesn't harm the living cells of the tree. Adaptive growth is the localised increase in wood production in response to a decrease in wood strength to maintain an even distribution of forces across the structure.

A callus is torn tissue caused as a result of wounding as the tree then tries to close the wounds naturally. Callus formation may actually significantly reduce infection and decay. A cavity is a hole within the structure of the tree which may hold water and cause decay and deterioration of woody tissues. Dieback describes the tips of branches that show no signs of life and decline is when the tree exhibits a lack of vitality such as a change in colour, leaf density or growing smaller leaves.

An inactive tree is known as dormant, normally during the winter months when there is little growth, and fertilising is the promotion of tree growth by adding nutrients to the root area with an appropriate substance.

Hopefully this article will have helped you to understand the basic tree terminology, but actually putting it into practise is another thing entirely! All of this work needs to be carried out by highly trained and qualified professionals and Tree Surgeons London are the ideal company to deal with all your arboricultural issues for you. With tree inspections readily available you'll have all problems sorted with efficiency in a safe and secure environment.