Rent What you Need for Spring Pruning

Why prune? The benefits of spring pruning can greatly affect the health and appearance of flowers, bushes, shrubs and trees on your property. And it’s a great seasonal project to strike from your to-do list even if you don’t have an experienced green thumb. Pruning helps plants produce better blooms, a defined shape and stimulates new growth. The Home Depot Rental has all the pruning and tree trimming essentials to help you take on spring pruning. 

Gather Tools for Spring Pruning and Tree Trimming 

You’ll only need a few basic tools for pruning, and you can rent them online at The Home Depot and pick them while stocking up on other supplies at your local store: 

• Cordless hedge trimmer 
• Pole pruner 
• Cordless chainsaw 

• Lawn edger 
• 4" chipper 
• Ladder 

Time to Start Pruning

Experts suggest that when pruning, you should always look for the 5 D’s: dead, dying, damaged, disfigured or diseased wood. These are the areas you’ll want to focus on when pruning your outdoor plants. Spring is also the perfect time for pruning because most plants are still dormant. But you should always do a little extra research to identify the types of plants in your yard. For example, magnolias and lilacs should be pruned after blooming to ensure you don’t accidentally cut off their dormant bulbs. 

Pruning Flowering Bushes and Shrubs 

Tackle overgrown bushes and shrubs with a cordless hedge trimmer or hand pruners. Remove the oldest stems and twigs first using either heading or thinning cuts. Heading cuts remove branches back to their stubs, buds or smaller lateral branchers and encourage new, bushy growth. Thinning cuts remove branches back to their origin or lateral branch and leave shrubs with a natural appearance.  

When pruning flowering bushes, timing is everything. Always prune summer flowering plants in the spring. Spring flowering plants like forsythia and lilacs should always be pruned in the summer after they bloom. If you prune spring flowering plants in the fall, winter, or spring, you’ll most likely shear off their dormant buds. Use the same heading and thinning cuts with your hedge trimmer or hand pruners for these plants, too. 

Tree Pruning and Removing Heavy Branches 

Tree trimming and pruning is essential for the health and safety of trees on your property. It’s simple to tackle low hanging or trouble branches with a pole pruner rental. However, if you need to take down heavy branches, opt for a chainsaw and follow these guidelines: 

• Make a partial cut through the underside of the branch about 6-12" from the trunk 
• Make a second full cut about 12-18" from the trunk which should leave a stump 

• Make your third full cut just outside the ring where the branch meets the trunk 

Always enlist the help of a pro for branch pruning if you have a large limb that’s extremely high, near utility wires or another structure you don’t want damaged by a falling branch. 

Cleanup After Pruning 

Pruning can make a mess out of your yard, so make sure you have an easy, sustainable cleanup option on hand. Instead of stuffing pruning debris into bags, consider renting a chipper. Chippers chop branches and pruning refuse into mulch or chips, which you can use for other projects or accenting garden beds. You can further accent your garden beds with a lawn edger rental, which creates crisp, distinct edges. 

The Home Depot Rental has everything you need for spring pruning. The best part? Rent these tools online and pick them up at your local Home Depot store while stocking up on all your seasonal landscaping supplies.