Spring is in full swing; days are longer, birds are singing and you may have started thinking about pruning your garden. It’s best to prune most deciduous trees or shrubs before their leaves emerge, so if your trees and shrubs already have leaves, wait until after the leaves drop in fall. Pruning trees and shrubs before they leaf out keeps them healthier. Here’s how:
- Better visibility of branches makes pruning easier
- Reduced risk of spreading disease, such as oak wilt
- Plants are less stressed by the removal of branches when dormant
- Pruning cuts heal better
A few exceptions to these rules are:
- Trees and shrubs that bloom in spring, such as chokecherry and serviceberry, should be pruned immediately after the flowers have faded.
- Pine trees can be encouraged to grow slower and denser by pinching off new growth in spring, a technique called candling.
- The 4 Ds can be pruned any time; these are branches that are dead, damaged, diseased or defective. Note: If an oak tree requires pruning between April 1 and October 31 (to remove a damaged limb, for example), the pruning cut must be treated with an effective pruning paint immediately to seal the wound. Other trees, or if pruning oaks while dormant, should not have pruning paint applied.
For pruning large, mature trees hire a certified arborist, to reduce risk to the health and structure of your tree.