Pruning in winter:

Winter is undoubtedly an ideal time to prune! Pruning trees during winter’s dormant period has many benefits for the trees. A tree’s normal reaction to pruning is to promote new growth and heal the pruning cut’s wounds. When you prune during mid or late winter, the tree doesn’t provide enough change until spring; It’s the time during which the tree is in contact with sufficient moisture, sunlight, and nutrients.

Dormant pruning gives trees time to heal the pruning wounds before warmer weather arrives and brings along pests and pathogens. Winter pruning saves your property from damage caused by diseased, dead, or dying branches. It can also help make the tree’s structure more visible so you can identify dead or dangerous branches. Harmful pests and diseases are inactive during winter; therefore, pruning cuts won’t provide any passageway for them to enter or attack your trees.

Pruning in spring:

Pruning in spring promotes growth and encourages more flowers, foliage, and stems on a wide range of trees and plants. However, pruning trees in the spring can be safe as long as you don’t cut more than 10% of the tree branches. It is essential to remember to not overly cut the stems since it can give rise to pests and diseases. Recently planted trees are best for spring pruning as it can help improve the tree’s structure and promote growth.

Apart from that, early spring-blooming trees complete their flowering or fruiting process in the mid of the growing season; it’s when they start making the next spring’s sprouts. That’s why you need to prune them so you can control the shape and size of the tree and promote its future flowering and growth. The trees ideal for a spring prune includes maple, walnut, dogwood, lilac, and birch trees. In contrast, there are some trees that you cannot prune in spring as they can cause problems. These include honey locust, oak, and elm trees.

Pruning in summer:

Although pruning in summer is not a popular option, it can be beneficial if done with special care. However, it is essential to avoid heavy pruning in summer due to many reasons. Summer is the ultimate time for diseases and pests, due to which an open pruning wound is vulnerable to such problems. For example, the tree you should avoid pruning in summer includes an oak tree as it can give rise to diseases like oak wilt.

As for other trees, summer pruning can also be advantageous and help control overgrown shrubs or sprouts on trees that are getting in the way. It can also enhance air and sunlight circulation by opening up tree crowns. The trees suitable for summer pruning include fruit, maple, or birch trees.

Pruning in fall:

Fall is not the supreme time for pruning and due to many good reasons. Pruning in fall can stimulate growth when the trees are about to go dormant, severely weakening the trees. The trees will not have sufficient time to fully grow and harden, increasing the level of sap within trees.

As the freezing temperature approaches, the sap and half-growth can severely decline the tree’s strength. Furthermore, with winters just around the corner, the short-lived growth of trees during fall will turn out to be useless; this will also deplete the stored energy into making new foliage. Therefore, you need to think twice before pruning in the fall.

The Bottom Line:

Pruning is indeed an essential process of restoring your trees’ growth and wellness, but it is necessary to know the right time. Now that you have a fair idea, you can try and do your best to keep your trees from dying. You can always try and reach out to professionals as they can carry out pruning more efficiently.

At Lucky Tree and Landscape Services, we try to provide customers with the most dependable trimming and pruning services to best suit their needs. We have a highly skilled and trained staff that can cater to your requirements and protect your trees.