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Before After
I pruned this lovely southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) in Corona Heights. I wanted to relieve some of the weight over the street to provide city-mandated clearance. Structurally, this had an added benefit of decreasing the weight on these already too-large lateral limbs. These branches over the street had already seen a lot of damage from run-ins with parking vehicles and street-sweepers.
It’s necessary to not focus purely on clearance without understanding the importance of a structurally sound tree. The magnolia has a tendency to hold its limbs very close together which can make for weak joints of attachment, that is why it is critical to prune often during establishment.
Before After Before After
This is a strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’) I pruned a couple years back in the Portola neighborhood. This particular species tends to get very dense foliage which can create issues for parking and pedestrians alike. I also tend to see very wavy branches which can make it hard to encourage an upright structure. When working with urban trees, industry practice is to encourage a strong central stem to serve as a stable base for the other branches. With early pruning and a good eye, I was able to achieve comfortable clearance and a more stable long-term structure for this young tree.