Pruning is an invigorating process (Fig. 4). By removing the apex, pruning temporarily destroys apical dominance and stimulates the growth of lateral buds into shoots.
A great part of the growth is determined by the genetic potential for growth in the tree. Secondly, leaves manufacture food for plant growth. The more leaves that are cut off the plant, the slower the plant will grow. Therefore, to promote rapid growth leave as many branches and twigs on your young tree as possible.
Pruning can remove any portions that have a disease, fungi, and other types of decay, stopping it from spreading to healthier branches. Removing these branches can also expose the others to more sunlight and air circulation, which also helps to reduce the incidence of disease. Encourages fruit production.
Pruning and cutting away leaves, stems, and branches — in most cases — doesn't harm your plant. In fact, it's healthy to do this every now and then. Plants will benefit from a good trimming the most during spring and summer, which are their active growing seasons.
Trimming forces leaves around the vicinity of the cuts to become reproductive leaves. Trimming stimulates the cork cambium to produce more secondary growth. Trimming stimulates the plant to produce more rhizomes which results in more branches.
“Root pruning does not stimulate root branching all the way back to the trunk. Roots are often pruned before moving a tree in hopes of creating a denser root ball. However most root growth after root pruning occurs at the end of the root just behind the root pruning cut, not back toward the trunk.
Pruning stimulates the plant to grow, so when you snip the tip of one branch, four to six new branches take its place. This abundance of new branches happens because removing the tip of the branch also removes the apical (dominant) bud, which chemically inhibits the buds below from growing.
You Risk Your Plant's Health
Plants often catch diseases. Pathogens cause biotic infections that can quickly move within and spread between plants. Therefore, by not pruning dead, dying, diseased or insect-infested branches, you risk the health of all your plants, especially the ones surrounding the infected plant.
Tree pruning actually promotes new growth. When you remove struggling or unattractive branches, your tree can dedicate more resources (like water and nutrients) to other parts of the plant.
Though pruning may cause harm, it often creates long-term benefits that outweigh the immediate damage, including: Increased safety. Increased health. Increased beauty.
Pruning reduces yield
Pruning removes wood with flower buds, and thus potential fruit. Yield from pruned trees is nearly always less than yield from nonpruned trees, but fruit quality is improved by pruning. Pruning improves fruit size by increasing the amount of leaf area per fruit.
In John 15:2 (AMP), Jesus says, Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]. Pruning is vitally important for us to grow in our walk with God.
“At other times of the year, such as leaf out, leaf drop or during flowering, pruning can have a very negative impact on plant health.” Plants expend a lot of energy during those stages, and pruning can place undue stress on trees and shrubs because it causes so much of that vital energy to be lost, he said.
Plants are more brittle in cold temperatures. Messing around with them may cause branches to snap and split unintentionally. It's minor, but it could impact the look of a plant or create a haven for insects and diseases later. Don't prune when the temperature falls below 25°F.
Pruning to remove damaged, dead or diseased parts can be done at any time of the year. Most trees and shrubs, especially those that flower on current season's new growth should be pruned in late winter or early spring before the onset of new growth.
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.
Cut too much and you'll risk nutritional deficiencies or branches that are too weak to tolerate the wind or fend off diseases or insect invasions. Over pruning and topping can permanently disfigure your trees, or even kill them. Further, a tree's foliage is important for protecting it against excessive sun exposure.
Van Volkenburgh says plants can also respond defensively to physical disturbances like being cut open or wounded. But that doesn't mean they perceive painful stimuli the same way a human or animal would, with all the emotional connotations that come with it.
Late summer or early fall pruning causes vigorous re-growth of tissue, which in some cases may not harden off by the time winter arrives, leading to possible cold damage to the new growth.
You should not do aggressive pruning in summer. Major structural pruning should wait until the plant is dormant in winter. Improper pruning will stress the plant. You might cut off valuable buds.
While they may not have brains like humans do, plants talk to one another through smell and even communicate with insects to maintain survival. Like any living thing, plants want to remain alive, and research shows that when certain plants are cut, they emit a noise that can be interpreted as a scream.
Studies have shown that within 48 h after pruning, the sugar and starch of the buds on the plant stems will be temporarily lost, and then will increase rapidly and reach a stable level. The changes in nutrients directly promote the development of flower buds (Girault et al., 2010).
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.