Spring Season Pruning Made Easy
Excerpted from: Early Season Pruning
When spring is in the air, you might be itching to get outside and do a little yard work. Pruning is a perfect
chore for late-winter and early spring because most trees and shrubs are dormant. What's more, it's the
time of year when there are few gardening tasks on your list.
What to prune? The prospect can be daunting — even to experienced gardeners. But, with a few simple
guidelines, even a beginner can prune ornamental shrubs successfully.
Some shrubs should not be pruned in spring. In general, spring bloomers, such as magnolias and lilacs,
should be pruned after they bloom. If you prune in spring, you'll most likely cut off the dormant buds, and
there will be no flowers. For these early-flowering shrubs, just look for dead or damaged wood and remove
it.
. . . begin by removing the 5 "D's":
Remove dead, dying, damaged, disfigured and diseased
wood. You can do this at any time of year. Cut these twigs and branches back to healthy wood — or to the
ground. After that, look for branches or twigs that cross and rub on one another. Remove one of them,
leaving the healthier or better-placed branch.
If you are tackling a big, overgrown deciduous shrub with lots of stems, remove the oldest stems by cutting
them right to the ground. You can cut down about 1/4 of the stems each year to rejuvenate the shrub.
Timing is based on when your shrubs bloom.
Shrubs that bloom in spring to early summer, such as lilacs and forsythia, develop flower buds
in summer, the year before they bloom. If you prune them in the fall, winter or spring, you'll cut off their
flower buds. Prune plants in this group as soon as they finish flowering in early summer
Shrubs that bloom in the summer, such as roses and butterfly bush, develop flower buds on the current
season's growth. Prune this group while they're dormant in late winter to early spring to encourage
vigorous new growth and lots of flowers.
Pruning involves only two kinds of cuts: heading and thinning. Heading cuts remove shoots or branches
back to stubs, buds or smaller lateral branches. These cuts usually cause the plant to respond vigorously
with bushy new growth. Shearing a hedge, deadheading flowering plants and pinching out the tips of plants
to encourage branching are all examples of heading cuts.
A thinning cut removes a branch back to its origin or to a lateral branch that's at least one-third of the
removed-limb's diameter. Thinning cuts leave the pruned plant with a natural appearance.
When you cut a twig or branch back to the trunk or to a lateral branch, it's important cut at just the right
place. Look for a raised bump or rings around the base of the twig or branch and take care to cut just
outside it, leaving the ring intact. It's called the branch collar, and this is where the scar tissue forms to heal
the wound.
Most conifers or needled evergreens rarely need pruning, except to remove the 5 Ds. If you must prune
them, do it in the early spring to early summer. The timing and technique depend on the type of conifer.
Pine, spruce and fir grow whorls of branches around their trunks. Pinch the tips of the soft, new growth
before the needles expand and harden. Don't cut into old wood—it won't regrow from new buds.
Arborvitae, false cypress, cypress, juniper and yew have more random branching and can sprout new
growth from older wood. Pinch, prune or shear new spring growth, or prune twigs back to the branch.
The best time to prune fruit trees is late winter to early spring, while they're still dormant. The goal is to
establish a sturdy branch structure that supports the heavy fruit while letting light and air into the canopy.
The ideal branching structure varies, depending the type of fruit and the size of the tree (full-size,
semi-dwarf or dwarf)
NO. Trees and shrubs heal
themselves by partitioning off the wound and forming scar tissue around it.
Painting or sealing the wound can hinder this process and increase the chances of disease and decay.
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