Welcome
Denver Tree Company Professional Arborists
Tree care is a very dangerous endeavor but done safely it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Videos
Check out a tree removal timelapse!
Many more videos of tree removals and pruning on the Denver Tree Company's other media sources.
Hello, my name is Gary. I am the proud owner of The Denver Tree Company.
We here at the Denver Tree Co. are committed to making every individual a happy customer. We have been in business since 2015 and strive to build a positive relationship with every client large or small. Safety and customer satisfaction are two of our highest priorities. We want every customer to feel confident when referring us to friends or family. We would love to talk to you about your specific situation and all tree work estimates are free.
Tree Removals
Tree Removals
Possible reasons and considerations before removing a tree.
- Is the tree dead or unhealthy. Take notice if the top of the tree or branches are dying back, or other signs of deadwood and decay.
- Damaged in snow, high wind, or by heavy equipment. If enough of the tree was damaged it may be beyond repair.
- Growing too close to your house, utility lines or other important structures. Depending on tree species the roots can aggressively attack your foundation on homes, sidewalks and driveways.
- Leaning heavy in a dangerous direction, like toward your house, powerlines or other high-risk targets.
- The tree drops troublesome leaves or needles, sap, seeds, cotton, and/or constant branch cleanup. While not the most common reason it does happen
- The trees are blocking your views or new construction will cut roots. Are you going solar and need more light?
- You are planning landscape renovations that would damage the tree. Tree roots should never be cut if avoidable. This can lead to a host of problems with structural support and tree diseases.
- Structural problems, such as interior decay.
- formed a bad crotch.
- There are cracks in the main trunk or leaders.
- The tree is too large for its location.
- The tree is in the way of construction or will be mortally damaged by heavy equipment. Roots should never be cut if possible.
- A disease or insect infestation will eventually cause tree death or spread to other trees.
- There is significant crowding among trees on your property.
PRUNING
Why Prune Trees?
Proper pruning of landscape trees improves their structural strength, maintains their health, enhances beauty, and increases their value. Pruning becomes advisable under the following circumstances:
- Trees have crossing branches, weak branch unions, or other defects.
- Branches are dead, dying, decayed, or potentially hazardous.
- Lower branches interfere with people or vehicles, or block visibility of signs.
- Branches are growing into buildings or utility wires.
- Limbs have been broken by storms.
- Trees have grown too large and might injure people or damage property.
Landscape trees not only make homes and communities more livable. Trees also improve our environment and can increase the value of a property by up to 7 percent. Protect property assets with proper pruning to keep your worthwhile investments healthy, safe, and providing their environmental benefits efficiently!
Pruning Objectives
Pruning focuses on maintaining tree structure, shape, health, and safety through the following objectives established by the American National Standards Institute (see ANSI A300 Part 1: Tree, Shrub, and Other Woody Plant Management—Standard Practices, Pruning [2017]), the International Society of Arboriculture, and the latest research. The "natural pruning system," used most often, retains and promotes the characteristic form of the species or cultivar (Figure 1). Look for language in your contract specifying the pruning system (usually "Natural"), type of cut, and the following pruning objectives:
- Improving structure develops a strong and safe tree architecture by influencing the orientation, spacing, growth rate, strength of attachment, and ultimate size of branches. See the “Training Young Trees" section below.
- Risk mitigation includes pruning to reduce the likelihood for branch or whole-tree failure. It covers dead, diseased, decayed, hanging, cracked, broken, detached, excessively long, or large-diameter branches over 50 percent of the parent stem, and branches outside the normal shape of the crown.
- Providing clearance removes branches to minimize interference with people, traffic, lines of sight, buildings, lighting, other plants, or powerlines. This objective achieves the practice of ensuring safe and reliable utility services through directional pruning.
- Maintaining health prunes out infested, infected, damaged, or rubbing branches.
- Reducing crown density removes crowded, weakly attached, or low-vigor branches and sprouts at the crown periphery (formerly called "thinning"). Avoid lion-tailing where excessive removal of interior branches results in a concentration of growth and leaves at branch ends.
- Restoration improves the structure, form, or appearance of trees after topping, severe heading, vandalization, lion-tailing, or storm damage.
- Size management makes the tree smaller while maintaining its natural shape.
You may also use objectives such as flower or fruit production, improving a view or aesthetics, and managing wildlife habitat less frequently.
Tree and Shrub Pruning
Proper pruning of landscape trees improves their structural strength, maintains health, enhances beauty, and increases value. Pruning is advisable under the following circumstances:
- Trees have crossing branches, weak branch unions, or other defects.
- Branches are dead, dying, decayed, or potentially hazardous.
- Lower branches interfere with people or vehicles, or block visibility of signs.
- Branches are growing into buildings or utility wires.
- Limbs have been broken by storms.
- Trees have grown too large and might injure people or damage property.
Protect and enhance trees as true property assets with proper pruning to keep your worthwhile investments healthy, safe, and providing their environmental benefits efficiently!
IMAGE ON LEFT DEPICTS A CROWN REDUCTION PRUNE
Tree and Shrub Pruning
Who Is Qualified to Prune Trees?
Anyone who understands plants and has the proper tools can do simple types of pruning, such as cutting lower branches from small trees. But only trained individuals should structurally correct young trees from the ground. And leave the climbing into trees to qualified arborists. This type of tree work requires knowledge of scientifically based pruning techniques, tree physiology, and safety practices, as well as experience working with various tools and tree species. Because shoddy and unsafe work abound, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) led the development of national standards for pruning and safety. Please leave the potentially hazardous activities associated with climbing trees, including using power tools and especially working near electric lines, to qualified professionals who follow these standards.
This publication offers guidance for those who want to prune young trees. It can help you find a qualified tree professional, understand proper pruning practices, and recognize work that could damage trees.
Tree and Shrub Pruning
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Pruning Mature Trees
By the time a tree reaches maturity, providing it has had its maintenance needs met throughout its life, it should only need pruning for specific purposes like managing risk, clearance of branches from infrastructure, or restoration from storm damage. Protect and preserve the tree's natural form. Not all mature trees need pruning and instead may benefit from a yearly inspection with perhaps a five- to 10-year cycle of pruning. Prune trees judicially. Pruning a mature tree excessively or incorrectly can cause more harm than good. Every vigorous branch removed reduces photosynthesis and the manufacture of sugar. Any cuts open the chance for decay organisms to enter the wound.
To promote quick closing of a pruning wound by callus, always use the precut method when removing a branch over 1 inch. This pruning method protects the branch collar and prevents tearing the bark. Do not leave a stub when you prune a branch, and do not cut flush against a trunk. Use sharp tools and keep wounds as small as possible, clean, and smooth.
Tree and Shrub Pruning
Pruning Young Trees
Before pruning a young tree, first consider the natural form and desired future growth of the tree. Some trees like pines and sycamores have strong central trunks and require little pruning. Others, such as oaks and maples, branch out more. A natural pruning system accentuates the natural branching habit of a tree and corrects structural defects and future problems by developing a mechanically stronger and healthier tree.
A few minutes of thoughtful pruning on a young tree can eliminate hours of costly future pruning when the tree is mature. When planting a tree, prune only broken, malformed, or diseased branches. Newly planted trees gradually restore the balance between roots and branches; excessive pruning can delay normal growth and establishment. Ideally, train a young tree over several years to correct structure, and keep pruning wounds small by removing branches before they exceed 1 inch in diameter. Maintain one dominant trunk by removing any other leaders (dominant stems). Some exceptions apply, such as for special forms like weeping cultivars. For the first two years, leave lower branches as "temporary" to produce food for the growth of roots, trunk caliper, and branches.
Consider the permanent height of limbs when pruning for structure. Street trees or trees along walkways must have limbs high enough to accommodate pedestrians and vehicular traffic, signs, and lights. Minimize the need to prune for clearance by purchasing trees that have been grown in a nursery to street tree specifications.
Because trees grow from their tips and tops and not from the bottom, allow for appropriate long-term clearance. Branches growing 6 feet off the ground will always remain at that height and may droop as they grow longer. If clearance is not a problem, keep branches on the tree to help the tree grow.
About two or three years after planting a tree, examine it closely again and prune any broken, malformed, or diseased branches. Remove any suckers from the base of the tree. Step back to look at the tree from all sides and select the permanent branches and branch structure that the tree will have for its lifetime.