Pruning during the growing season always stimulates new growth. During summer's heat, having to produce that ill-timed new flush of growth greatly stresses a tree. Pruning in the fall is even worse as it prevents the tree from going into a natural dormancy. The exception is heavily damaged, disease or dead wood.
There is never a bad time to remove dead, damaged or diseased branches. But most trees benefit from pruning in mid to late winter. Pruning during dormancy encourages new growth as soon as the weather begins to warm. The lack of leaves after autumn allows you to easily identify branches and limbs requiring removal.
Avoid pruning in fall.
Pruning cuts can stimulate new growth that, unfortunately, will be killed as temperatures drop to freezing. Trees and shrubs reduce their energy production as the growing season ends, so new growth in autumn will use a plant's stored energy reserves.
The solution is to wait until winter and prune again using thinning cuts or reduction cuts. The former takes out an entire branch at its point of origin on the trunk, while the latter cuts a branch back to a lateral branch. Making the wrong cuts – The ultimate in bad pruning moves is to top a tree.
Pruning Too Early
If you prune too early in the season, there's a good chance you'll snip the buds right off their branches, which means no flowers in the spring. Before you cut, do a little research, like with our pruning guide, or just wait to trim until the plant has finished blooming for the year.
An improper cut like a flush cut (cutting too close to the trunk) or a stub cut (cutting too far from the trunk) can cause irreversible damage to a tree. A flush cut removes the branch collar and leaves a large wound in the side of the tree that won't heal properly.
Although it's impossible to fix damage from too much pruning, there are some things that you can do to support your tree moving forward. Make sure it gets enough water and provide fertilization as well. If you need help with a tree that has been over pruned, please give us a call.
For a tree to completely compartmentalize and seal off the exterior of a severed branch, it may take upwards of 15 to 20 years. However, within the tree, this containment process is fast-paced and extremely effective.
The 1/3 rule involves cutting about 1/3 of wood during any pruning activity. This moderate pruning practice is a balanced approach to thinning out shrubs to stimulate new growth. The plant loses a good amount of stems, usually on the top section, allowing more light and air to enter the inside of the plant.
How to Fix an Over-Pruned Tree or Shrub. While some plants need a heftier prune than others, in general, the golden rule is to trim no more than 15 to 20 percent of a tree's canopy at one time. Keep that in mind for next time.
If you need to drastically reduce the size of a shrub or tree, it's often best to look at it as a long-term project, cutting off no more than a third at one time and giving it plenty of time to recover between pruning sessions.
If you want to prune in fall, wait until trees drop their leaves and are dormant—usually October or November. After leaf drop, you can see the tree's structure and identify disease and insect problems more easily.
According to gardening expert Mike McGrath, author of Mike McGrath's Book of Compost, and radio host of the show You Bet Your Garden, the rule of pruning is that you should NOT prune in fall. That's right, nothing and no exceptions.
The answer is: do not trim your trees in the fall! Trimmed trees may look neater to you, but dead or diseased trees are not very neat at all, and that's what you are risking by cutting back trees that are slipping into dormancy. Pruning trees stimulates them to produce new growth – it's meant to.
The best time of year to cut down a tree would be during winter or early spring when the leaves have all fallen and the branches are free from them. You may worry that the frozen ground would make it more difficult to remove a tree, but the fact is, warm earth is more easily disturbed.
A good rule of thumb is to maintain at least half the foliage on branches arising in the lower 2/3 of the tree. Pruning of newly planted trees should be limited to corrective pruning. Remove torn or broken branches, and save other pruning measures for the second or third year.
Follow The 1/3 Rule
It involves trimming around 1/3 of the branch, as cutting more than that may increase the chances of damage or stunt its growth. However, pruning too little will not give you the desired result.
The node is where leaves, buds and shoots emerge from the stem. You should always cut just above a node, as this prevents 'die back' and therefore disease. Also, by cutting above a node you can manipulate new stems, leaves or flowers to form in a desired direction, as nodes form on different sides of a stem.
Differences Between Pruning and Trimming
Webb said pruning typically involves removing dead or diseased wood and thinning out stems and branches to improve the overall health and appearance of a plant. On the other hand, trimming typically involves cutting back plant material for reasons other than health concerns.
In cases of small cavities, it is usually best to allow the tree's natural defensive processes to seal the cavity. Larger cavities may never seal over; however, they may not be a problem if the tree is able to successfully compartmentalize the wound and further damage does not occur.
The roots of a tree are like its foundation, and they play an important role in anchoring the tree and absorbing water and nutrients. Once a tree is cut down, the roots can continue to grow for some time. This is because the root system is still alive and is trying to support the tree.
After a tree is topped, it grows back rapidly in an attempt to replace its missing leaves. Leaves are needed to manufacture food for the tree. Without new leaves, the tree will die. The new branches that sprout up below the cuts will continue to grow quickly until they reach the same size it was before it was topped.
ALWAYS prune back to or just above a growing point (branch or bud) or to the soil line. NEVER leave a stem or branch stub. NEVER top a tree to “rejuvenate” growth.