If you have already started reading this text, it means that you are in love with tree seedlings or you are planning to organize your tree line. However, no matter how easy this hobby may seem, it is quite easy. Of course, if there is a love for trees and a neat garden, everything is much easier. But don’t even think that just planting a tree is the end of caring for it.
Trees need seasonal attention. So not every day, but from season to season they need some extra care. Caring for trees also means pruning them, maybe even more than anything else. How much you will have to devote to this process depends on a large number of items.
Among many things, it depends on the vertebral tree, the age of the plant, its resistance, and also your ambitions as a gardener. If you are trying this job for the first time, you may think that this job takes too much time and planning, but once you start this story, you will love your garden and the obligations around it.
In this text, we offer you tips on how to keep your garden with trees fresh and decent throughout the year. Cutting old branches sounds much simpler than it is, so read our tips before embarking on this adventure.
Why a tree should be pruned
You pick tree branches for several reasons. However, as we said in the introduction, it depends on the type of wood, but also your purpose. Primarily, by pruning the branches you maintain the health of your tree. You remove diseased and dead branches. In this way, you open the canopy and allow fresh air and sun rays to reach deep into it, to each branch.
This is how you filter the canopy, feed it and keep it healthy. If your tree is the one that bears fruit, with this kind of pruning you can count on many more fruits, not only on the surface of the canopy but also on the inside. On the other hand, if it is an aesthetic wood, it will always look fresh and sailing.
Another very important thing: dry and dead branches can be a danger not only to the tree on which they are located but also to the people and property in which they are located. If you do not take care of them in time, there is a possibility that they will fall by themselves without any announcement, which can be a big risk.
Even so, not every tree is pruned at the same time and in the same way. We bring you some basic guidelines on how to properly maintain your trees. If you are more interested in the topic of tree cutting, check this out!
Pruning trees in winter
How current and dynamic winter pruning will depend primarily on the place where the tree is located, ie on the climate of that area. If you are in the southern part where the winters are milder and warmer, of course, you will have a lot more work to do. By no means do you forget that during team pruning the temperature must not fall below 10 degrees C?
In case you make a cut on the branches at a much lower temperature, except that the place will freeze and eventually rot? If the weather is very changeable and you are not sure if the temperature will stay at this level, it is better to skip the winter pruning and wait for spring.
Pruning in the spring
In the spring, the tree is pruned for two main reasons. The first is the question of form, that is, how the tree will look. If you love aesthetics this is the right time to show off your skills. Another reason for pruning trees in the spring is sanitary.
Again, depending on the type of tree, it depends on whether you will prune the tree at the very beginning of the sap movement or you will wait for the swelling to start. This is an ideal period to reduce the height of the tree and focus its growth in width, as well as to give space to the young shoots to grow freely by oiling old branches.
Also, you need to take into account how much fruit the tree has given in previous years. If she gave birth very poorly, it is a sign that much more needs to be cut to give her full strength and potential this year. If, however, the tree gave a beautiful fruit last year, then be careful not to overdo it, but remove only what you need.
Pruning in summer
You may have the least work here. What is important to follow in this process is that all already formed fruits have enough sun and airflow. The end of June and the beginning of July is the time when fruit-bearing trees give their greatest potential, so fast-growing larger fruits may pinch those that are still developing. This can weaken the strength of the wood and you need to take care of these details.
Pruning in the fall
After the autumn harvest, or if the tree does not bear fruit, then after the last young leaf on your tree has opened, preparations for eating pruning should begin. Fruits, sun, wind, pests during spring and summer and how they can make the branches damaged. Therefore, in the fall, pay attention to damaged branches, and especially damaged branches within the canopy. Go planned and in order.
First of all, remove large branches and branches that are visibly and much damaged. Then focus inside the canopy on the young shoots that have started to grow at a sharp angle. Under the pressure of snow and wind, these branches can very easily break in winter and damage either the tree or its surroundings. So don’t be sorry, remove them immediately. In the fall, the tips of branches that have started to grow too high are removed. Also, make sure that two branches grow from the same place. This can take a lot of strength away from the wood, so remove the one that seems weaker to you.
The tree requires attention throughout the year, some more, some less. It all depends on its type, so before you start the pruning action, ask your tree what suits it best, and what can weaken it. We recommend one good trick when it comes to carving: before each triggered branch, ask the question: “why am I tearing this particular branch”. If you have an answer that is clear and precise, then get on with it. If you still don’t have an answer, or you’re not sure, leave that branch, and if it turns out that it took a while, you can always do it.
