Hard Pruning Question

mfp1028

Hi ya'll.

Assuming it (hard pruning) is done after fall leaves have fallen and before spring growth has started, is there any difference between pruning in the fall or spring, or dead of winter for discussion sake.

Thanx for your time. If any and all answers could be kept under 700 words that would really help cause my riddlin just ran out...
mike

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TreeBay

Yes.

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mfp1028

Yes?
Wow that exceeds all expectations i had concerning word length. i guess your riddlin ran out too...

just wondring if that means yes - there is a difference or yes go ahead and prune away.

TreeBay

You'll want to do the hard pruning of deciduous trees after leaf drop in the fall and before the tree buds out again in spring. Keep in mind that trees like maple will weep a lot of moisture, and you may need to trim the roots a bit at the same time to reduce the pressure.

Regards,

Matt

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Tony

I suppose you are talking about cold hardy trees that will spend the winter outside. In that case you don't want to hard prune in fall. That will cause alot of new tender growth that will be killed off by the first freeze. For these trees do your hard pruning in late winter- early spring right before they come out of dormancy. Also, this way the pruning scars will start to heal right away instead sitting around all winter and drying out.

Tony

Carl_Bergstrom

Hi Mike,

Good question - I've wondered about the same thing myself.

Given that I'm going to do my pruning some time between when the leaves come off and when the new ones start again, when to actually cut? Based on what I've read on the subject, Tony is right on the money. You want to time the pruning so that it takes place BEFORE the sap starts rising (early spring?) but not too much before, otherwise the cuts will dry out and possibly lead to dieback.

In fact, I've read that sacrifice branches should come off in late winter / early spring rather than in fall after the leaves drop. In the past I've always done after the leaves drop so as to have my trees looking decent throughout the winter. This year I'll try some each way and see what happens.

So...Did I make my word limit?

Best regards,
OMC

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