When to Prune?

[Theocus]

I keep getting asked and i am sure other are too, when should we be pruning? A hopefully new client today called and asked when should her Walnut be pruned and could i advise as she had read many conflicting pieces of advice.

Is there a definitive book with all the answers or even a rule of thumb to follow.

I never blind a client with rubbish and bull because it is too easy to for them to check up and ruin any credibility you may have.

Some trees are obviously more susseptable to pruning and others are not, age and health are obvious factors in judgement too.

I try and give an honest opinion at all times and say i dont know when i dont but has anyone come across good guides to follow?

 

Apologies if this thread has already been done, but i did search and could not find much.

 

David

[Amelanchier]

Ideally; Full leaf and Mid-dormancy.

 

Some people worry that certain species "bleed" when pruned at certain times of the year but its no big deal.

 

Pruning dose is more of a concern - Shigo's Modern Arboriculture explains about energy levels and tree age / stress and strain. A lot of good basic concepts there that will do you better than a specific guide.

[David oakman]

Dont prune cherry in winter they will bleed and dont prune ceder of lebenonor silver fir in the winter they are still bleeding 8 months later.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I always tell my customers it's not the pruning you worry about, it's the amount you take off. You can prune a tree at any time of year if it is light pruning. Heavy pruning needs to be timed

[MattyF]

ive done light reductions on large trees say chesnuts or sycomoress in early summer,and they have gone in to dormancy two months early i recon to shock but have come back and are thriving years after....

cherrys ect should be done in summer to advoid things like silver leaf...personally i would rather prune trees in leaf unless there is a drought as wound responce is quicker.

[Drella]

I always tell my customers it's not the pruning you worry about, it's the amount you take off. You can prune a tree at any time of year if it is light pruning. Heavy pruning needs to be timed

 

Exactly^^^

 

and Tony Sorensen is spot on with his comment- "Full leaf and Mid-dormancy."

[NickJC]

yep, bleeding isn't great but it's no killer. Leave silver birch from Feb - June, Prune Walnuts in the summer, prune apples in winter, prune cherry and plum in the summer due to silver leaf infection, everything else dorment or full leaf.

 

Hedges trimming can always be a debatable one - I stick to doing most late summer so they look good throughout the winter and spring

[Dean Lofthouse]

just a weird thing that happened this year.

 

In the wood I own is 300 mature trees, when we held the Climbing get together early this year, we climbed two large sycamores, using cambium savers ect.

 

When the trees started to leaf it became obvious these two were well ahead of the rest and appeared greener and healthier.

 

They came into full leaf much ealier than the rest and if you went uphill and view them they were much greener

 

Just goes to show, trees love us

[Pete Mctree]

Monkey-puzzle is a winter prune- the sap buildup on the cuts is unsightly and nodoubt stresses the tree via it's production.

 

For me summer or midwinter. These days i'm leaning heavily toward summer as the tree is active and can react to any present pathogens imediatley, especially the reduction in fungal activity due to the warmer drier conditions

[Dean Lofthouse]

I'm of the opinion that for the majority of trees, pruning is best done when fully active then the wound compartments quicker