Crown Thinning

What is Crown Thinning?

Crown thinning can be used for reducing the sail effect on a tree, as well as increasing light penetration throughout the crown. Essentially some of the tree’s ‘mass’ is removed. The actual overall shape and size of the crown will be unchanged, thanks to the precise skill of the tree surgery team. 

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Crown thinning is measured by percentage, usually in a range between 5-20%. Numerous small cuts will be made throughout the tree’s crown and areas of branch and leaf mass will be removed from each of the large primary branches. By doing this, air flow will be increased and the branch weight will be reduced. The effect that this will have is similar to the ‘crown reduction’ in that, due to reduction of weight on the tree, the overall stress on the main branch junctions will be greatly reduced and in turn reduce the risk of catastrophic limb failures.  The benefit of this method is that when making large cuts the tree is likely to suffer from severe dysfunction in those areas, resulting (more often than not) in dead, dysfunctioning wood. This generally causes an undesirable outcome for any tree owner, as it not only causes future dangers if left unmanaged, but also additional future costs to rectify the problem. This is why our team has spent years obtaining extra curricular certifications which not only allow us to advise our clients professionally, but also to understand the arboricultural practises which we are carrying out in order to promote the future health of the trees we work on. 

It is important to note that crown thinning is different for each tree species, as each species will react differently to such work. This is why an individual, methodical action plan must be made for each tree and not a ‘one size fits all’  approach. This must also be considered when understanding the outcome of such works, as it will be individual to your tree.

Our team of professionals have years of knowledge and experience and will be more than happy to advise you on any questions you may have.