Alright, so I got around to dealing with those lower branches on my pine trees the other day. Been meaning to do it for ages, honestly.
Why I Did It
Main reason? They were getting annoying. Just hanging down low, catching on you when you walked past, blocking sunlight from stuff I actually wanted to grow underneath. Plus, a few looked kinda dead and scraggly. Just made the whole base of the trees look messy, you know? Felt like the trees couldn’t breathe properly down there.
Getting Started
So, I went out to the shed. Didn’t need anything fancy. Grabbed my trusty folding saw – the one with the good grip – and a pair of loppers for the smaller stuff. Put on some old gloves too, because pine sap is the worst, sticky nightmare to get off your hands. Looked at the first tree, figured out which branches absolutely had to go. Mostly the dead ones and the ones practically scraping the ground.
The Actual Work
I started with the lowest dead branch I could reach easily. Got the saw positioned right up against the trunk collar, you don’t want to leave a big stub. Started sawing back and forth. Took a bit of effort on the thicker ones, felt the saw bite in. You get into a rhythm. Saw, saw, saw… hear that little crack as it starts to give way, then it drops. Moved onto the next one. Some smaller branches I could just snip off quick with the loppers. Snap! Done.
- Got the dead stuff off first. Easy decision.
- Then looked at the healthy low ones. Took off a few that were drooping way down or crossing over others awkwardly.
- Tried to keep it looking natural, didn’t want to just chop everything off bare below a certain height. Stepped back a few times to check how it looked.
Sweated a bit doing it. The smell of fresh-cut pine was strong, pretty nice actually. But yeah, that sap definitely got on my gloves and saw. Sticky.
Cleaning Up
Ended up with a decent pile of branches. Dragged them all over to one spot out of the way. Didn’t feel like chipping them right then, just wanted them cleared. Made a big difference just getting that debris pile gone from under the trees.
The Result
Stepped back again when I was finished with the first couple of trees. Much better. Seriously, it looked cleaner, tidier. You could see the trunk properly, looked like more air could get circulating around the base. Felt good. The trees looked healthier, taller somehow, even though I only worked on the bottom.
It wasn’t rocket science, just took a bit of time and elbow grease. Simple job, but made a real visual difference. Glad I finally tackled it.
