If you have become a property owner recently, you may not have discovered yet just how important it is to keep your trees properly trimmed. Outside of pure aesthetics, keeping tree branches in workable condition will assure that they do not damage the property or any nearby power lines. Tree trimming will help the trees' growth, and regular care will ensure that heavy branches do not fall and damage neighboring properties. Tree pruning is especially important for large trees that are close to your home because a branch that comes into contact with your home may be the bridge which allows termites' access to your house.

For many trees, it does not matter what time of year it is because tree trimming can be done as needed during any season. Any dead branches or leaves should be promptly removed so that the tree's growth is not affected. Any part of the tree which has been infected with disease needs to be pruned as soon as possible to prevent the damage from spreading. A disease may spread to harm other parts of the tree, as well as any other trees growing nearby. An important part of damage control is keeping a regular watch on your backyard: look for populations of insects or dead parts of any of your trees.

Before you begin pruning, you will want to know which types of trees you are playing host to in your own backyard. For example, are they plants, shrubs or flowering trees? A flowering tree must be trimmed very carefully, as such a tree may not bloom if the flower buds which are deposited the previous year are trimmed away. To avoid this, trim these about three weeks after they have finished blooming, this way you should be able to avoid removing any of the buds that are set to sprout next year.

There are a few types of trees that must be pruned during certain times of the year. These include maple trees, oak trees and dogwoods. Oaks cannot be trimmed from April until October because of the prevalence of oak wilt disease pathogens during this time. Dogwoods may be harmed by the dogwood borer if they are trimmed during April or May. This borer can damage a dogwood tree by destroying its vascular system as it bores through the trunk of the tree.

A maple tree is a special case, because if it is trimmed during its "bleeding" season, it will drip sap from all the places where it has been trimmed. A maple will bleed in the seasons just before and just after winter. This excess dripping will not harm the tree, but it may be a concern for anything that lies beneath the tree, for example, you do not want to park your car beneath a bleeding maple tree. If you want to ensure that your maple tree would not bleed, trim it when it is at its most inactive which is during the height of winter or during the spring or summer when it is fully clothed in leaves.