Fall Tree Trimming vs. Pruning What’s the difference?
- Richard Rodgers
- Sep 19
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 28
What is the difference between trimming a tree or pruning a tree?
We will review the difference between trimming and pruning a tree as well as the following related questions we receive from thousands of homeowners in the St. Charles and surrounding areas.
How do I know if I need to Trim or Prune a tree?
When is the best time to prune or trim a tree?
Should Wound Dressing be applied?
DIY: Can I trim or prune a tree myself?
What is the difference between trimming a tree or pruning a tree?
Trimming:
The easiest way to think about it, is that trimming is removing parts of the tree to make it more aesthetically pleasing or more uniform. For example you have a few branches that are growing faster and begin sticking out past the rest of the branches. Removing the overextended branches will make your trees canopy look more uniform. A lot like Grandpas eyebrows! Ha! So you trim it to make it conform!
Pruning:
Pruning is done for the health of the tree or reducing risk to surrounding structures. This would mean removing any diseased, decayed or at risk (dead) limbs that could break off and cause damage to your home, your neighbors home or other structures. It could also potentially land on the road or driveway and do damage to vehicles. Think of the 2025 spring storms in the St Louis metro area that caused a lot of homeowners and insurance companies requesting limbs and branches to be removed from overhanging homes for this very reason.
How do I know if I need to Trim or Prune a tree?
Examples on Trimming vs. Pruning
The best way to begin is to decide what the objective is for your tree. The examples below show you some differences of trimming vs. pruning techniques on 2 different trees, to provide a reference.
Fall Pruning objectives:
Fall pruning objective can include taking out any diseased, decaying or dead limbs, reduce wind resistance and any at risk limbs that need to be removed prior to storms. See examples below. .
Pruning Objectives:
Reduce wind resistance - cutting back or thinning out a heavily weighted branch to reduce the risk of damage due to wind..
Reducing risk - Some branches may be at risk to homes or other structures or a risk to the overall tree
Tree health- this in itself is removing diseased or dead limbs (dead wooding).
When is the best time to trim or prune a tree?
If your pruning objective is the health of the tree, then it is best to wait until the later part of the winter or just as we are entering spring. In St. Charles, O'Fallon and Lake St. Louis area this generally ends up being February to March, just as the temperatures begin returning consistently above 40 F.
You can reference our infographic on “We get asked by a lot of our customer "When is the best time to trim prune trees in Missouri?"
Should Wound Dressing be applied?
Don't waste your money on wound dressing. They advertise that it will help accelerate wound closure and reduce decay. There is not enough scientific proof to show that it is or is not that effective to apply wound dressing. It's really neither here nor there. If you feel better putting on wound dressing, that's okay, it wont hurt your tree. Completing the pruning in the cooler fall weather is the best way to ensure that the tree has the maximum ability to compartmentalize the wound. Therefore, this allows the tree the best chance of using it natural ability to close the wound.
DIY: Can I trim or prune a tree myself?
Of course, but only up to a point. So at what point do you "DIY" it or hire someone?
If your DIY version includes a ladder then, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT PROCEED!
Take 5 min and look up “tree cutting fails” and remember, you don't want to be that guy!!!
That said, if after watching the videos and you are still willing to attempt to DIY it, below are some tips that will help you complete the pruning correctly. Also you can read our blog on “How much does it cost to have a tree removed?”. This will help understand potential extra costs that you may not be considering such as equipment, disposal, etc.
Safety:
First, in all seriousness, please be careful when cutting branches and make sure you have a clear path for the branch to fall and not hit any structures or more importantly, yourself. “Things can be replaced but people cannot”! Make sure the area the branch is falling is clear of yourself, any others & pets.
Proper pruning:
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