I know it’s February, and I know it doesn’t look or feel like gardening weather outside. But right now, the last weeks of winter, is the best time of year for pruning many trees. Deciduous trees, the ones that shed their leaves in the fall, generally do well if their unhealthy branches are removed before their spring leaves start sprouting.
Liz Cramer, horticulturist for Siebenthaler Nurseries in Dayton, Ohio, said that at this time of year some maple trees have sap running, and homeowners become concerned when they prune a branch and find sap dripping from the site the next day.
“Sap isn’t blood, and the tree isn’t bleeding to death,” Cramer said. “The sap will dry up and the tree should be fine.”
Cramer added: “If you want to, you can prune flowering trees now. You’ll lose the blossoms that would have grown on the limbs you remove, but pruning won’t hurt the tree.”
Pruning basics
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The pruning regimen that’s best for one species of plant may not be best for another, but there are some general procedures that are appropriate to most trees and woody shrubs.
The first step in pruning a plant is taking a good look at it to figure out which branches should be removed. Start pruning by removing branches that are dead, dying, diseased or defective. In general when you’re pruning a woody plant you’ll be removing one-fourth to one-third of the longer, older branches at their bases.
One defect you should look for is the “crossing” or “rubbing” branch. A crossing branch is one that is growing in such a way that its bark touches another branch or the tree trunk, and failure to remove such branches can lead to problems later.
Prune branches by making a clean cut at the base of the branch, but leave the branch collar intact. The collar is the rounded extension at the point where the branch meets the trunk or its parent branch.
Hand pruners are best for branches smaller than about one-half inch. If you haven’t replaced your pruners in a few years, visit a gardening, home improvement or discount store to check out some of the new models. New gear-assisted pruners can cut branches with a lot less effort than older standard pruners.
Loppers that have pruner blades at the ends of long handles are good for branches up to about an inch. Saws still may be needed for bigger branches, though.
Whatever you’re using to prune branches, though, make sure the blades are sharp and clean. Sharp blades make neat cuts that are better for the plant. And if you dip the blades in bleach occasionally, you’ll kill the fungi or bacteria that might otherwise be transported from tree to tree as you work.
If the tree is so large that you can’t reach most of the branches while standing on the ground, you may be better off hiring a tree service to do the work. Trees approaching utility lines too are best left to the pros.
If you think you can tackle a heavy branch on a mature tree, then use the three-cut method. Saw a notch on the underside of the branch a few inches out from the collar. Then move the saw to the top of the branch a few inches farther out and saw until the branch breaks. Finally, saw off the stump of the branch at the collar.
This method keeps the falling branch from tearing away bark on the parent branch as it breaks free.
You don’t have to seal the wound left when you cut off a branch. In fact, sealing the wound can create an incubator for infection and do more harm than good.
Training a tree
Young trees that will be large at maturity must be trained while they are young; their growth must be controlled and directed so they have a sturdy, tapered trunk and well-spaced branches no more than half the diameter of the trunk.
When considering removing a few branches to improve the tree’s shape, try to imagine the tree viewed from above. The tree should be shaped somewhat like a wheel, with the trunk as the hub and the branches as evenly placed spokes.
Apple and pear trees should be pruned to give the advantage to the stems with the greatest potential for bearing fruit. In the next few weeks, you can look at the branches and see which are carrying the most stems with buds. Removing some of the less-productive branches allows more light to reach the interior of the tree, improving the quality of the fruit.
There are some common mistakes people make that you should try to avoid.
The most serious mistake is topping–cutting off the upper branches of a tree to control its height. A similar mistake is trying to shape the tree by cutting off the ends of branches. The shaping effect created that way is short-lived, and the technique seriously undermines the health of the tree.
Another common mistake is putting too much mulch around trees. Mulch should be spread around trees in a pyramidal mound that is thin at the grass line, thin where it meets the tree and no more than 2 inches at its highest point in the middle of the mulch ring.
The last common error is picking the wrong tree for the wrong spot. If you plant an oak destined to be 50 feet tall under a power line, for example, you can expect to have trouble later on.