February is the best time to prune your trees – never prune in April, May or June. Have you considered pruning your trees this year? Pruning is beneficial for many reasons: Trimming off dying or diseased branches protects your trees from further harm.
As a general rule, prune spring-blooming trees immediately after they flower. Prune trees that bloom in the summer or fall in late winter or early spring before the end of their dormancy. Routine pruning of dead or dying branches can be done at any time.
For most trees, the best time for major pruning is late winter to early spring because wounds close faster. Pruning in late summer and early fall may also stimulate new growth, which has little time to harden before cold weather comes.
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.
Many commonly butchered shrubs and trees bloom in spring. This means that they've already formed their flower buds. So if you go crazy with the loppers and wail away on a spring-bloomer during the fall, you just might cut off the flower buds and that means no spring blooms.
The rule on fall pruning is, generally speaking, don't prune in fall. But there are a few trimming tasks you can take on with confidence, provided you approach the job with self-control and a plan. The timing window for these pruning chores is from Thanksgiving to the New Year.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"As soon as trees and shrubs go into dormancy, pruning can begin," he said. "And you can prune up to the time when buds begin to plump up." From mid-November to mid-March, you can shape and thin your deciduous plants in preparation for the spring season ahead.
The best season to prune trees is while they are dormant, or generally between November and March. This means waiting for them to lose their foliage and cease growth, but before forming buds. For fruit trees such as the apple tree, prune in late winter.
Also, do not cut back hardy perennials like garden mums (Chrysanthemum spp.), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria), and Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum). Leave the foliage. It's important to protect the root crowns over winter.
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.
Deciduous Trees
Most trees should be pruned during the late dormant season (February through March). February through March is generally regarded as the best time to prune most deciduous trees.
Spring flowering shrubs and trees.
Shrubs and trees like lilacs, azaleas, and others will grow best when they are pruned right after they flower in the spring. Avoid pruning them in the winter as it may stunt their growth.
Don't shear the branches of spring flowering shrubs (Forsythia, Lilac, New Mexico Privet, Spirea, Flowering Quince, and others). These shrubs produce flowers on last year's wood, so removing old growth will reduce or prevent flowering. These plants should be pruned immediately after they are done blooming.
Choose the Right Time
Likewise, prune in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the newly cut ends of branches becoming scorched by the hot sun. Wait 48 hours after rain to prune, to allow plants to dry out and avoid fungal diseases. When pruning, make cuts just above leaf nodes, or buds.
Save the hard pruning for spring. In the fall, cut off any broken stems. Some gardeners like to cut their rose bushes down to a height of 18-24 inches in the fall to prevent wind and snow damage. They also remove the leaves because the weight of snow on the leaves can cause the stems to break.
DON'T prune during fall.
No matter what type of shrub you have, fall pruning can stimulate late-season growth that may not have enough time to harden. This can weaken and damage the plant—especially if there's an early frost. Instead, wait until winter and trim bushes when the plant is in deep dormancy.
Municipalities and homeowners often remove the lower limbs for pedestrian and vehicular clearance or to let the sun shine in for grass to grow. Mature trees, especially evergreens, benefit when healthy lower branches are left intact. Removing large limbs can increase the risk of decay.
Never prune too early in the winter, as incisions can dry out if the temperature drops well below freezing. When pruning, first prune out dead and diseased branches, especially those caused by the winter's snow and ice. Unwanted lower branches on all evergreen shrubs and trees should also be removed in late winter.
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.
In pruning, there are three primary types of pruning cuts, thinning cuts, reduction cuts, and heading cuts, each giving different results in growth and appearance.