How To Cut Tree Limbs that are too High To Reach?

You know very well that when trees grow, their roots always spread, making them grow much taller. So trees always need a trimming style to give them a required shape. Therefore, if you have a garden full of dense trees, you should understand the process of cutting-off branches that are too high to reach.

This can be challenging, but you don’t need to call a professional to trim the branches for you. Therefore, you need an improved cutting mechanism for your environment to look perfect and prevent risks associated with overgrown trees. This article highlights the perfect way to cut tree branches that are too high to reach and other significant details of cutting the tree limbs.

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How to Cut Tree Limbs that are too High to Reach
How to Cut Tree Limbs that are too High to Reach

The Best Time to Cut-off a Pine

Most people always treasure pine trees because they are evergreen and break monotony during winter. They rarely need cutting-off except to control growth and its damage. You may need to remove infected branches before the infectious disease spreads to other plants across your farm. Therefore, before pruning pine trees, it’s important to examine the best time to cut-off your pine.

Pines have a neat natural shape that rarely needs pruning and is easy to maintain. The only time you can trim them is to correct the damage from harsh weather or vandalism. And, also when you want to try another pruning method to boost their healthy growth habits.

How to Cut Tree Limbs
The Best Time to Cut-off a Pine

The perfect time to cut-off a pine is during the later winter into early spring. But you can prune any time of the year to allow them to recover from pruning damages. Trimming in spring prepares the pine for the growing season, encourages new growth, and makes them appear very healthy.

It’s good to take care of broken branches immediately, avoid cutting-off the limbs in late summer. If you prune the pines late in the weather season, they won’t have sufficient time to heal from the damages. Give the pine a healthy and compact growth pattern by pinching back new growth tips during spring.

It is a bad idea to trim pine trees’ lower branches because it inhibits their growth, and it will look stunted with time. Therefore, the best pine tree care is to remove damaged branches completely.

Step to Trim a Tree

Trimming a tree helps it grow strong, healthy, and attractive. Most people trim trees to remove damaged limbs to allow for new growth and create a unique shape. It is essential to do it right, to avoid damaging the trees.

Step To Trim A Tree
Step To Trim A Tree

Please continue reading this article to understand the basics of how to trim a large tree:

  • Assess the tree first: Take your time to look at the size and shape of the tree you want to trim and try to imagine how it will look like after you have finished removing the branches.
  • Set up the correct position ladder: Position your ladder in the right place to prevent an unnecessary accident. If you are using a huge ladder, find someone to hold it steadily for you while trimming.
  • Remove limbs that show damage signs: You should trim damaged limbs due to harsh weather to allow rich nutrients and water to be redistributed to other healthy limbs.
  • Trim areas with dense branches: This can allow proper air circulation and enable the light to reach the plants. Trees need adequate air circulation for them to grow healthy and strong.
  • Prune the limbs that act as an obstruction to help shape the tree: It is imperative to trim branches that cause some obstruction, such as blocking the walkway and threatening telephone wires. Removing these branches helps to shape the tree and make them neat. Trim the branches that stick out at odd angles to give it a clear view and desired shape.
  • Do the final cut-off: The final stage is cutting down high limbs. Start by cutting away about 2-inches. This saves you from damaging the tree and doing your trimming task much easier.

Safety Tips of Trimming a Tree

Trees are difficult to maintain, and their limbs often pose a severe hazard to you when cutting-off. Saw for cutting branches is the best tool for maintaining the trees. It is a reliable and convenient tool for trimming tall trees.

Safety Tips of Trimming a Tree
Safety Tips of Trimming a Tree

Below are the safety tips to adhere to when pruning your tree:

  • Avoid trimming your trees during harsh weather conditions such as hailstorms and thunderstorms. If the weather is not conducive, it poses a serious threat to you.
  • Survey the area for any existing threats before starting pruning work, such as hanging limbs and attached climbers.
  • Always use safety glasses, hearing protection, and gloves to protect yourself during the operation.
  • Read the user’s manual on how to use a high limb chain saw. Please read and adhere to the safety labels and warnings of using them.
  • Be very cautious when moving the tools and ladders.
  • Ensure that you check the branches for their steadiness and strength while climbing a large tree. Also, make sure that you climb without holding anything in your hand.
  • Eliminate any potential threat in the nearby area and around the tree.
  • Do not turn your back on any falling branches because this can lead to serious injury and possible death. So avoid it at all costs.
  • Ensure that you know the location of each person present during the trimming.
  • Lastly and most importantly is that you must be alert throughout the trimming period.

Best Chainsaws for Trimming Large Trees

There is a great chance that you need to use a high limb chainsaw to trim your trees. You need both mid and heavy-duty tools. Therefore, you should purchase a saw that suits your needs, either a cordless, gas, or battery-powered chainsaw. The products highlighted below are considered the best for trimming trees:

1. Makita XCU03PT1 Cordless Chainsaw 

A Makita chainsaw is an ideal piece of equipment for trimming purposes. It is a 14-inch bar and comes with a double charger and four batteries of 5.0 AH. The saw can use two batteries at a time, and it has a brushless motor that preserves the life of a battery and creates massive power.

The chainsaw has an adjustable tool-less chain that requires you to turn the knob to get the required tension. It comes with a view window and automatic oiler designed to let you know you have sufficient oil for trimming trees.

Pros:
Relatively cheap
It has an automatic oiler.
Double charger
Strong and durable
Cons:
N/A

2. Oregon 603348 (CS1400) Electric Chainsaw

Oregon is a top manufacturer of chainsaw bars, and they have developed a self-sharpening electric chainsaw with massive power. This machine has about a 16-inch bar equipped with a self-sharpening lever for grinding the chainsaw’s cutting edges in approximately five seconds.

It uses a chain tensioning system that enables you to adjust the saw’s chain to the required tension and lock it easily. The chainsaw operates in silence and has great power to complete your job.

Pros:
Relatively cheap
Provides you with a quick cutting
Has automatic chain lubrication system
It has incredible safety features.
Cons:
The cable restricts its use.
Quite heavy.

3. Greenworks Cordless Chainsaw

This machine comes with an Oregon chain and bar about 35cm in length, a brushless and durable motor, and safety features. This also includes a brake guard hand protector that you must pull back to engage the drive. It has a powerful and durable 40V battery that takes approximately 100 minutes to recharge and trim for 30 minutes non-stop.

You can get this machine with or without a charger and battery. It has a heft that speeds up the trimming of trees at about 14-inches. There’s no need to set up the chainsaw because it comes when it is pre-fitted.

Pros:
High-performance level
Equipped with a fitted chain
Perfect for run time
Powerful and durable battery
Cons:
Quite expensive.

4. Black and Decker Small Chainsaw Lopper

Black and Decker’s chainsaw is the smallest in chains that can get your trimming work done in the shortest time. It has an automatic oiler that lubricates the bar and chain. A few drops of oil in the reservoir prevent the chain from overheating.

The automatic tool-less chain tensioning system is designed to give the proper chain tension. The tensioning system also inhibits both under or over-tightening, which can cause severe damage to the chainsaw or possible injury.

Pros:
Trims the trees quite quickly
The tool-less chain tension system
Oil prevents overheating
Automatic oiler
Bar length of 6-inches
Cons:
N/A

Why we Must Cut off Limbs or Trim the Tree

Trimming your trees in your garden makes them healthy, attractive, and productive. Most significantly, it can make them safe and help them to grow well. In reality, giving your trees regular pruning is an investment in their durability. So, why should you trim your trees?

Reasons Why Must Cut off Limbs or Trim the Tree
Reasons Why Must Cut off Limbs or Trim The Tree

1. To help the tree grow healthy.

The thickness of trees affects their health negatively. So without pruning, the trees can become very weak and cannot survive. Trimming involves removing tree limbs that are infested with serious diseases. 

Constant trimming of tree branches makes them strong, creates a healthier structure, and minimizes the need for future cut-off. Trimmed trees can withstand harsh weather conditions, and their roots are stronger. This means that the trees are very healthy and holds up better during a storm and allow new limbs to grow.

2. To control pests and insects.

One of the benefits of trimming your garden trees is that you can manage harmful pests and insects. There is a serious concern on your property if you do not control the insects. Tent worms are the insects that build nests on trees and eat the tree leaves.

So the insects may not kill the plant, but they spread deadly plant diseases that weaken the trees. And they can find their way into your house if the trees are close to your house. Consequently, inviting other unwanted pests to build nests in your home too.

3. To remove hazardous and diseased branches.

This is one of the main reasons to cut off tree limbs in your garden. Even during severe storms or calm weather, dead limbs always fall off the tree. Moreover, safety issues can be caused by cracks, decay, and poor growth in the tree.

4. Landscape aesthetics

Your landscape aesthetics can be affected if you don’t trim your trees regularly. Thickly packed limbs can block sunlight and inhibit the rain from reaching the plants growing under the trees, hindering their growth.

Trimming your trees ensures enough and constant sunlight and moisture penetrating through the limbs of the plants. Moreover, cutting off the limbs enhances your landscape’s appearance by removing the branches that obstruct your view of your beautiful scenery.

5. Provide safety

Another necessary reason for cutting off tree branches is keeping your property safe. Trees with infected and diseased branches pose a significant risk because, during severe storms, the branches can fall, causing severe damage to your property. The most fundamental reason to get your trees cut off periodically is the presence of hazardous tree limbs.

You can hire a licensed local arborist to trim your trees if you are highly convinced that doing that is important. An arborist can give your trees the best care and ensure that they grow healthy and strong.

6. To treat diseases and encourage fruit production.

Trees also get affected by diseases, just like human beings. The only way you can prevent the spread of diseases is through trimming, which helps treat the diseases that affect your trees.

The trees that benefit from trimming produce a lot of fruits. You are promoting your trees’ health by removing infested branches because they are vulnerable to insect diseases. Moreover, pruning your fruit tree encourages the growth of spurs for producing fruits.


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Conclusion

Reaching the tree branches that are too high can be very challenging. But if you follow the steps and safety tips highlighted above, the process becomes very easy. Nevertheless, before you start the trimming process, ensure you have the right trimming tools, such as the chainsaws reviewed above.

1 thought on “How To Cut Tree Limbs that are too High To Reach?”

  1. Henry Killingsworth

    You made an interesting point that it is a good idea to survey an area before you start pruning a tree. It seems like it might be hard to identify any threats if you don’t know what you are looking for. Hiring a professional trimming service could be a good way to keep yourself safe since you won’t be trimming the tree yourself.

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