Tree Trimming & Pruning in Buffalo, NY

Tree trimming and pruning is how a sound tree is kept sound. The goal in Buffalo is to help a tree carry heavy wet snow and handle lake wind: removing dead branches before they fall, shortening long limbs that reach out over a roof so they carry less weight at their tips, and dealing with weak forks before they split. Done well, it leaves a tree that looks natural and is far less likely to show up on a storm call. Done badly, by topping or stripping out the interior, it makes a tree weaker than before.

The standard we follow

Good pruning in the United States is described by the ANSI A300 standard, and the ISA's guidance for homeowners follows it. In practice that means cuts made just outside the branch collar, the slight swelling where a branch meets the trunk, so the tree can seal the wound. It means removing no more of the live crown than the tree can afford in one season. And it means never topping a tree, because the stubs left by topping decay and the sprouts that grow from them are weakly attached and break easily under snow.

Common pruning jobs here

Deadwood removal takes out dead and dying branches, which are the first to fall when snow piles up. Weight reduction shortens long, heavy limbs back to a smaller side branch so less load sits far out from the trunk; this is the most useful pruning for big maples over houses. Crown raising lifts low limbs to clear a roof, a driveway or a walkway. Structural pruning on young trees picks one main leader and removes competing stems while the cuts are still small, which prevents the tight V-shaped forks that split in storms years later.

Street trees and wires

If the tree is between the sidewalk and the curb, it belongs to the city, and pruning it with power tools or ladders requires a Tree Work Permit and a city-licensed contractor. The city also does block pruning on its own schedule, which you can check on the Bureau of Forestry's map. Limbs near the service wire to your house are the homeowner's responsibility, but work within 10 feet of a line belongs to trained line-clearance workers, and we will arrange a disconnect with National Grid when one is needed.

When to prune

Most pruning in Buffalo is done in late fall and winter, when the leaves are off and the structure of the tree is easy to see. Oaks are pruned in the dormant season to avoid open wounds while the beetles that spread oak wilt are active. Dead and broken branches can come out at any time of year.