If you're regularly giving your landscape plants the TLC they deserve, they will naturally flourish and reward you with vibrance on your property. However, leaving your plants alone may lead to overgrowth, which is not suitable for their health or your curb appeal. Regularly trimming and pruning your landscape trees and shrubs will keep them at their best health and appearance.

Trimming and pruning are different from each other. Trimming focuses on the aesthetics of your plants, while pruning keeps them healthy and free from dead and diseased branches. The two terms are often confused with each other, so keep reading to learn more about their subtle differences and why your plants in Michigan need them.

Trimming Keeps Your Landscape Plants Looking Pristine

Healthy plants on your landscape tend to be healthy when they receive the best care. Trimming your plants will keep them in good shape and make your landscape constantly look pristine.

The term trimming is often confused with pruning, and we're here to set the record straight. Trimming is the process of removing excessive overgrowth in your plants, and it focuses on your plant and property's aesthetic appeal. There's no right season to trim your plants because it can be performed whenever you think your shrubs and trees are starting to look unruly.

Regularly trimming not only maintains a manicured look for your trees and shrubs but also promotes better growth by improving air circulation. Cutting certain parts of a plant also trains it to grow in a specific direction, allowing new growth to maintain a good shape.

Getting rid of overgrowth lets more much-needed sunlight reach all areas of your trees and shrubs.

Pruning focuses on the health of your trees and shrubs.

Close up on our professional pruning a tree branch in Williamston, MI.

It's not enough to keep a stunning landscape if the trees and shrubs in it are diseased or dying. Pruning involves removing dead or diseased branches from a plant to prevent them from impeding new, healthy growth. Aside from focusing on their health, pruning also prevents weak branches from falling and damaging your property, or worse, hurting you! These problematic branches provide suitable starting points for harmful insects and other diseases to damage the plant. Pruning done right encourages healthy growth because it allows plants to direct energy to their most important parts.

The first step to successful pruning is to assess what trees and shrubs you have on your landscape. The correct pruning time depends on the plant type and its growing season. Check out these helpful tips on determining the right time to prune your landscape plants:

  • Prune spring-flowering shrubs like lilacs and viburnums after they bloom, so you don't miss out on their vibrant colors.
  • Shrubs that bloom in summer benefit the most from late winter to early spring pruning.
  • Late winter to early spring is also the best time to prune deciduous shrubs.

Trim & Prune Your Plants to Achieve a Beautiful & Healthy Landscape

Our landscape professional trimming hedges on a property in Lansing, MI.

Now that we've expounded on why each service is necessary, we're here to tell you why an excellent landscape maintenance checklist has both. As a responsible homeowner, you naturally want to achieve a beautiful and healthy lawn. Tree and shrub trimming will give you attractive plants, but they will end up weak without pruning. On the other hand, solely pruning your softscapes leaves you with messy plants that in no way help your curb appeal. Pruning and trimming get you both beautiful and robust plants.

We highly urge hiring professionals to trim and prune your plants. They know the ideal time to perform these tasks and the correct trimming and pruning processes, which will help prevent putting more stress on your plants.

Call us today to schedule our trimming and pruning services!

Trimming and pruning are more than just cutting down leaves and branches since they aim to improve your plants' health and appearance. Hiring professionals like our team at Outdoor Expressions Landscaping to perform these tasks will give you the peace of mind that your plants are in good hands. Our trained professionals are experts at trimming and pruning, as well as identifying the correct season to prune the plants on your landscape.

Our trimming and pruning services are available to properties in East Lansing, Okemos, Haslett, MI and surrounding communities. Call (517) 333-7999 today and get an estimate for our services.