What is Crown Raising?

Clearance: Crown raising is often done to provide clearance for pedestrians, vehicles, buildings, or other structures beneath the tree. It’s commonly used along streets, in parks, or near buildings to prevent lower branches from obstructing pathways or causing hazards.

Aesthetics: Raising the crown can enhance the visual appeal of a tree by making its trunk more visible and creating a cleaner, more open space underneath. This can improve sightlines in landscapes and highlight the tree’s form.

Light and Space: This technique can also be used to allow more light to reach the ground below, which can benefit understory plants, lawns, or other landscaping elements.

Crown raising involves the careful removal of lower branches or parts of branches. The goal is to raise the canopy without compromising the tree’s health or structural integrity.

Typically, no more than one-third of the tree’s total leaf area should be removed during any single crown-raising operation to avoid excessive stress on the tree.

Cuts should be made at the branch collar to allow for proper healing and to minimize the risk of disease or decay.

Crown raising can be done at any time of year, but it is generally best to perform major pruning tasks during late winter or early spring when the tree is dormant. This timing reduces the stress on the tree and allows for quicker recovery.

Light pruning for clearance purposes can also be done during the growing season if needed.

Care must be taken not to remove too many lower branches at once, as this can destabilise the tree, making it more vulnerable to wind damage or reducing its ability to photosynthesize effectively.

It’s important to maintain a balanced canopy after crown raising to prevent the tree from becoming top-heavy or uneven, which can lead to future problems.