A nor’easter comes in and with it the tab for a costly cleanup; has that become all too familiar? You have probably been known to eye an overhanging branch and ask yourself if it is up to the task of an ice storm. Consider this: put in a couple of hours of pruning this fall and you could be out of pocket thousands less when winter arrives.
We at Marquis Tree Service have been around long enough to have seen it all in New England. John Marquis put us in business in 1993 and our team has been tending to trees from Lexington and Greater Boston to Nashua, NH ever since. To see your property put in order before the snow starts, pick up the phone at (781) 650-4873.
Homeowners are apt to let the quiet of the autumn months pass them by. Yet there is no better time to put your trees in shape for what a New England winter will bring.
The Hardships Winter Puts on New England Trees
You can make an argument we have some of the harshest weather in the country here. Unprepared trees are under immense strain from high winds, freezing rain and heavy wet snow.
A poorly placed or dead branch is only asking for trouble in a storm. The wind will have its way and the ice puts on the weight until the limb gives. It is not going to come down in a neat pile either. More often than not you are left with a tangle of broken wood on the car, the fence, the driveway or the roof.
Storm Damage and What Fall Pruning Does About It
An arborist will go over the tree and excise the parts most apt to fail so the storm does not have to. In autumn we deal with:
- Brittle, dead or dying wood
- Narrow unions in the branches that are weak
- Limbs in each other’s way
- Any overgrowth to collect excess ice and snow
- Unbalanced growth putting stress on the trunk
- Branches encroaching on power lines or your home
Shaping and thinning the canopy allows the wind to go through rather than battering against a wall of limbs. And with the dead weight gone, there is not as much to break off.
What the Numbers Say on Cleanup
It is invariably cheaper to have a tree pruned in advance than to clean up after a storm. For one thing, emergency work is dictated by the storm. A big limb on your roof is an urgent matter and the crew has to contend with downed lines and hazards.
When we do planned pruning in the fall we can be methodical about it. There is no need to rush, and the job is done safely. You would pay more to put right a heap of shattered branches afterwards. Then there are the ancillary costs of a branch through the roof: the water damage, the repairs, the insurance runaround. A well-tended tree spares you that.
Arborists Prefer the Dormant Season for a Reason
Once the leaves are down you have a better vantage point to put in a precise cut and find any trouble spots. The tree is slowing for the winter and has not yet put energy into spring, so the cuts are less of an imposition. Your trees will be none the worse for wear and return in good health in the spring.
For When a Storm Has Other Plans
No property is entirely immune to a bad storm. Our line is open day and night for that reason. Should a branch decide to come down at 2 a.m., Marquis Tree Service is on hand with 24/7 emergency response for hazardous trees and storm damage.
From stump grinding and crane removals to plant health care, we serve 55 towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for municipalities and private clients alike. John Marquis had a pair of push mowers and a station wagon when he began, before his studies in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry at UMass’ Stockbridge School of Agriculture. You will find that same attention to detail in our work, something that has won us the Angie’s List Super Service Award in 2020.
Give us a ring at (781) 650-4873 to get an estimate on your fall pruning. Do not let the first major storm show you where the weak branches are.