pruning before spring

BlueBSH

Well up here its starting to warm up a little bit, and the hedges and trees are looking a little ragged... no leaves on them yet or anything, is it a good idea to prune now? or should I wait for leaves? none of them are flowering plants

DexterII

Not an arborist, or anything close, but we have quite an assortment of trees, bushes, etc., on which we do a lot of trimming over the winter, with no adverse affects that I have ever seen. It's a good reason to be outdoors, you can see what you are doing better with the foliage out of the way, and I have always figured that the extra clothing that you need in cooler temperatures offers a bit more protection against poison ivy, etc. Hedges, as an example, I will usually trim just the larger limbs back, and wait until spring, when everything is coming to life again, to do more precise trimming. But, in the case of apple trees, I work my way from the center out every winter, nipping suckers, and removing any dead, diseased, or otherwise unwanted limbs. Some people leave ornamental grasses and things like that alone until spring, but we always cut those back in the fall or early winter, when we don't have to be as selective.

KTBrewer

You should always do your trimming late summer or early spring. Cold weather could hurt newly trimmed areas. Always trim when you see your plant, tree, or shrub growing and not when it's dormant.

chrisn

yes

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chrisn

[quote=KTBrewer;611727]You should always do your trimming late summer or early spring. Cold weather could hurt newly trimmed areas. Always trim when you see your plant, tree, or shrub growing and not when it's dormant.[/quote]


Not necessarily true, depends on what you are pruning. Most deciduous trees, dormant is the BEST time to prune

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