Okay gardeners, now that you have your ornamental trees all planted and perfectly positioned in your backyard to beautify your landscape, next thing you should do is learn how to take proper care of their health and looks. And when it comes to taking care of trees, the first thing you should perfect is the art of pruning. Not just that pruning is a technique for maintaining a tree’s health and good condition, it’s an activity that has a very calming effect on people.  

How do you perform the perfect pruning on your trees? While all trees do have to be pruned, some types, like ornamental trees for example should be taken special care of. After all, you chose them not just for being trees with large branch crowns, but because they’re decorative and look nice. So, prune them to look even nicer. Let’s start with the basics.

What is pruning?

Pruning is a maintenance technique that comes down to a selective removal of specific parts of the plant for the sake of the entire plant. The technique involves using various pruning tools for cutting the shoots and branches mainly, although the technique itself can be practised on roots, flower buds, seed heads and fruits as well.

Why is pruning important?

A lot of you beginner gardeners will probably keep asking this question because well, pruning takes time and you should dedicate at least one day in the month to take care of your trees. Here’s why pruning matters big time.

• Overall health – Cutting wounded or completely dead pieces of the tree is beneficial for the tree’s health. Spindly, crowded stems should be removed along with suckers and water sprouts in order for the canopy to be thinned. That way, sunlight can easily penetrate the branch crown.

• Size and growth control – pruning is essential if you want to encourage plant vigour. By removing weak, overcrowded branches, you allow new, young ones to grow; plus, at the same time you control the crown and shape in the tree’s canopy.

• Flower and fruit stimulation – by regularly cutting off current flowers and fruit clusters you create space and conditions for the growth of new ones that will be much fresher and much brighter in colour and appearance.

When is the right time for pruning?

While there’s no specific time as to when they will get damaged, there are some seasonal times when you should prune your trees regardless of their current situation. According to the season of flowering, trees that flower right before June should be pruned immediately after flowering. Other trees that flower after the end of June are mainly pruned in early spring or in winter, right before the new growth of flowers begins. There are trees that should be pruned shortly before and after flowering so that the overall process of flowering and fruiting is stimulated.

So, get your pruning kit ready and start trimming your trees to make them an even better addition to your overall landscape design.