Posts Tagged loppers

Pruning for your Landscape Business

by:
Lawn Care Business

How to properly
prune a limb off a tree.

Small pruning jobs can bring extra money into your lawn care / landscaping business. In today’s example, we have a branch that
has been damaged. The bark is peeling away from the subwood. The entire limb is
dead and needs to be pruned off to maintain the health of the tree.  Read
the directions below the video window.

 

 


This tree limb is joined at a collared union

This limb is joined at a collared union. 
The bark of the tree poofs out as the limb come out of the tree. The poofed out
part is the collar. All cuts at a collared union should be on the branch side of
the collar. You should never cut into the collar of a tree. Cutting into a
collar can do severe damage to the tree.

If this branch were smaller, we could use a pair of anvil loppers to prune away
the branch. Since it is so large, our anvils will not produce a correct cut. For
this branch we are going to use a bow saw. A pruning saw will work too.


Proper pruning: Three Cut Method

The proper method of cutting a branch with
a saw is to use the three-cut method of pruning. If you just use the saw and cut
it at the collar, the weight of the branch will pull down and you risk tearing
the collar damaging the tree. We are going to use the three-cut method.

The first cut is made on the underside of the branch about 5 inches away from
the collar. Cut the branch about 1/4 way through.


Underside Pruning Cut

The second cut is made about 2 inches
further away from the collar than the underside cut. As you can see in the
video, while making the top cut the branch fell downward before the cut was
complete. This action tore the underside of the branch to the underside cut. If
we had not made the underside cut, the tear may have proceeded to the collar and
damaged the health wood inside. The underside cut protected the collar.

After the main branch is cut away, you can make a third cut just outside of the
collar to cut away the remaining stub to finish your pruning job.

Pruning Sealant

On some pruning cuts, you may need to use
an arborists’ sealer to protect against insects and disease. However, since we
made this pruning cut during the cold season, we are not going to seal the cut.

Lawn Care / Landscaping Pricing Guidance

For more information on how to start a lawn
care and landscaping business, check out our lawn care business program found
at:
http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com
 

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Pruning shears for the lawn care business

by: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Pruning Tools for your Lawn Care Business

Sooner or later your lawn care customers are going to ask you to prune
shrubbery branches or small tree limbs. Proper pruning is an art and as an
artist you must employ the proper tools for the job.

There are two types of loppers which will help you perform the
most common types of pruning jobs.
Shears are small handled cutting devices.  Loppers are very similar to
shears though loppers have longer handles than shears.
The two types of loppers are bypass and anvil.
 

Bypass Loppers

bypass lopping shears loppers pruning

The most familiar type of lopper is the bypass lopper. 
Bypass loppers are designed to cut through green and soft woody material. 
Bypass loppers should not be used to cut hard woods or softwood branches that
have hardened over time.  Overly tough cutting jobs will deform the cutting
blade.

Bypass loppers have two blades.  The
cutting blade severs the branch while the counter blade provides resistance
against the branch.

bypass lopper blades, cutting and counter


Anvil Loppers

anvil loppers for cutting hardwood

Anvil loppers are tougher than bypass
loppers.  Anvil loppers are designed for hard woods and branches that have
hardened over time.

Anvil loppers have one blade and one anvil. 
At the end of the cut, the blade comes to rest within a grove in the anvil. 
The anvil is often made of a soft metal which will not damage the cutting blade.

anvil and cutting blade

 

We advocate teaching new lawn care
companies how to properly prune low, small tree branches and shrubs. 
Proper pruning knowledge will gain you respect with your lawn care customers
allowing you to attract better quality customers that are willing to pay you a
higher price to do their lawn care work.

If you want to operate a better,
more profitable lawn care and landscaping business, check out our lawn care business program available from our website: 
www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

 

 

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