Dear Just Be: Due to the heavy snow my trees have broken branches, is now a good time to prune the trees?

This time of year is really the best time to do extensive pruning, but you can lightly prune your trees any time of the year. The reason it is good to prune your trees now is because one, trees have dropped their leaves so it is easy to see what you are doing. Two, wounds on trees close fast when done before new shoots emerge. Third and finally, there are not many insects and spores that are diseased to get into the wounds where you just pruned your tree.
The proper way to prune your trees depends on the type of tree. When done correctly pruning will ensure the health and growth of the tree. If you have a large mature tree, it is best to hire a professional arborist. This is to ensure the tree is not indiscriminately chopped at, and more importantly for your safety. When selecting an arborist make sure they are bonded and insured and look for arborists that are certified with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).

In regards to your question, taking care of broken branches is referred to as cleaning on your tree; most pruning on older trees will fall into this category. When cleaning it is important that you not remove healthy branches and live foliage, also don’t clean out healthy growth in the tree’s interior. To minimize risk if the branch were to completely break off and fall, you should remove any dead branch larger than a two inch diameter and higher than 30 feet. In addition to being a safety hazard, dead branches can become a source for insect and disease in the tree. There is much more to cleaning and taking care of mature trees and it is probably best and easiest to hire an arborist. However, if you want to make this a DIY project, check out the following website on when and how to prune your trees:

Colorado State University Extension