After a long summer, you may have your eye on some yard projects. One thing that you may wonder about is whether you can trim trees in the fall. While it’s not recommended to trim trees when the weather is still warm, you can have your trees trimmed later in the season. Remember, though, that tree trimming can be a dangerous job. It may be best to leave it to the professionals. At Economy Tree, Inc., we offer our trimming services to anyone in the Santa Barbara region.

Why Weather Matters

Even though we can have some cool temperatures in Santa Barbara in the summer, our afternoons can get pretty hot. These warmer temperatures encourage a lot of growth in most of our trees. When you prune in the summer, you may be removing too many leaves from the tree, and then it may have a harder time manufacturing food for itself. In addition, some trees may be “sunburned” if too many branches have been removed during the season in which the sun shines for so long. Another thing to think about is that trees can be vulnerable after they’ve been pruned. Certain types of insects and diseases can more easily spread in the summer, so you’d be putting your trees at risk by doing this work during this season.

Why Dormancy Matters

Many of our trees in Southern California go dormant in the winter. When the temperatures cool down and there is less sunlight during the day, trees can sense the change and will respond appropriately. Now, this may not happen very late in November because of our mild climate in Santa Barbara, but it will still occur each year. When you prune at this time, when the trees are at rest, they can heal relatively quickly. They won’t have to focus on their new growth and can instead just focus on healing their wounds.

Also, trimming in the fall makes sense from a logistical standpoint. Without all the leaves on the branches, our team can more easily see what we’re doing, and the branches may be easier to clean up.

Cleaning Up in the Fall

When the leaves have fallen, there’s a lot of work to take care of. This would be a good time to call in a professional to trim your trees. At Economy Tree, Inc, we’re here to help local customers in Santa Barbara. In many situations, we suggest trimming in the fall to best protect the trees and encourage them to thrive in the upcoming spring and summer. Call us to schedule an appointment.