If you have trees, you’re going to have broken branches. Whether from weakness due to disease, damage, wind, or just simple overgrowth, at some point you will have branches that snap and come down. Others might break and then get hung up in the tree, looking very untidy. Either way, you should know what to do about broken branches.

Clean up. First, check to be sure no branches are touching a power line. If so, stop what you’re doing immediately and call the power company to report the incident. Then, check to be sure there aren’t any more branches half broken or hung up in the tree, ready to fall at any moment. Cleaning up can be dangerous in these circumstances.

Assuming you’re safe to begin work, it’s time to cut up large limbs into manageable pieces so that they can be hauled away or used as firewood. If you aren’t totally comfortable with a chainsaw, or if you don’t have the proper protective equipment, use hand tools instead. And of course, you can always call us to help you clean up.

Investigate the tree’s wound. Don’t attempt to climb the tree without the correct safety equipment. But if you can reach the tree’s “wound”, check to see if it’s a clean wound, or if it’s “ripped” or pieces are left hanging. The wound should be smoothed out to prevent disease and to help it heal.

Make a plan to deal with severe damages. In some cases, the tree will be too badly damaged after a major limb falls. It might be weakened if the trunk was deeply damaged, or the tree might be unbalanced if most of the weight is now on one side. In this case, the tree will pose a danger of falling onto your house. Give us a call to discuss whether it needs to be removed for the sake of safety.

Assess your tree’s appearance. If the damage is purely cosmetic, you can probably reshape it to some degree. We can discuss tree trimming that will help your tree to maintain a more appealing shape.