Summer is great for cookouts and lazy afternoons by the pool, but what about pruning plants?
(If pruning didn’t make it onto your summer fun list, we get it. Only so many hours in the day, right?)
What is the best season to prune plants? It depends.
Summer is an excellent time for light pruning, including removing damage from spring or summer storms. But winter is best for more substantial dormant pruning, when there’s less of a chance of those fresh cuts inviting damaging insects or disease.
Keep reading to learn more about when to prune trees and shrubs, including:
Regular pruning, if it’s done correctly and at the proper time of year, is a great gift you give your trees and shrubs.
It benefits your Idaho landscaping in all sorts of ways:
Start regular pruning when a tree is young, and it will need less corrective pruning as it matures.
There’s no one answer to this one, because it depends on what kind of pruning you’re doing, and on what kind of plant.
Check out these examples:
Here in Idaho Falls, summer pruning is excellent if you’re trying to tidy up trees or shrubs. manage overgrown or diseased branches or remove some storm damage. (More on spotting tree damage in a bit.)
A bit of light summer pruning can also let more sunlight and air circulation into a tree canopy.
But “light pruning” is the key here. You don’t want to take more than 10 percent or so off during a tree’s active growing season.
Pruning a tree or shrub encourages new growth, and if you do that too late in the season, your plant can be vulnerable to winter damage.
Also, many trees and shrubs that produce flowers in the spring form their flower buds on new growth in the summer. Prune off the buds, and you won’t have these beautiful flowers in the spring.
More significant pruning should take place in winter, when trees are dormant. It’s called “dormant pruning” for a reason.
In Idaho Falls, winter is the ideal time for pruning trees and shrubs.
Winter is the time of year when your trees and shrubs are dormant. That means you’ll do less damage than if you tackle this task during their active growing months.
Remember, pruning means cutting into the branches, which leaves fresh, open cuts. Those fresh pruning cuts will heal faster during the dormant season — and are less likely to attract insects, which can carry diseases.
A couple more reasons most significant Idaho Falls pruning happens around here in late winter:
Late winter means no leaves on deciduous trees and shrubs, which offers a clear view of each branch. This unobstructed view helps you identify any dead, diseased, or crossing branches that need to be pruned.
Removing diseased, broken or dying branches during the dormant winter season means they won’t tumble down later, causing possible injury and property damage.
Don’t add pruning to your list of fall landscape tasks. There are plenty of other fall chores to tackle. Pruning in the fall leaves your trees and shrubs vulnerable in a few ways.
While you’re watching football and sipping cider, your trees and shrubs are out there storing energy and moving sugars to their roots to get ready for winter. Pruning makes them use that important energy to encourage new growth instead of preparing for winter. Your tree or shrub gets weaker, without the strength it needs to endure our cold and stormy Idaho winters.
Those fresh pruning cuts attract damaging insects and create entry points for fungal diseases. And those open wounds don’t heal as quickly as a plant is heading into dormancy.
Fall pruning in Idaho Falls stimulates new growth, which doesn't have enough time to harden before the cold weather sets in here. This tender new growth is easily damaged or killed by frost.
One day, you pull into your driveway and notice your once-petite shrubs look huge. Whoa — when did that happen?
Ideally, regular light trimming will keep your shrubs at the right size for their spot.
If you just said “oops” out loud, maybe it’s too late for that strategy. (Note to self: get on a regular shrub pruning calendar.)
But it might not be too late to save your shrub.
Rejuvenation pruning can help restore the natural shape and size of an overgrown plant.
It involves cutting the shrub back to near ground level to stimulate vibrant new growth from the base.
It sounds like a drastic technique, but it can do wonders for an overgrown shrub.
Can’t bear to cut it back so far? You can tackle the process more gradually by removing about one-third of the oldest, thickest stems each year for three years, cutting them back to the ground level.
You’ll still get the benefits of a healthier, rejuvenated plant better suited to its space, without the nail-biting of drastic pruning.
The best time for this heavy pruning in Idaho Falls is late winter when the plant is dormant. You’ll start to see new growth in the spring.
One of the main reasons to prune a tree or shrub is to remove damaged or diseased branches that shouldn’t be there.
Your trees and shrubs can be damaged by a variety of factors, including hungry insects, severe winter weather, diseases, and poor maintenance.
What does a struggling or damaged tree or shrub look like?
Leaves aren’t a healthy, vibrant green anymore. They might appear pale, yellow, or brown, with spots or deformities.
You might see dead or dying branches.
The trunk might show stress. It could be cracked, split, or areas might feel soft or spongy. Bark may be peeling or falling off.
Mushrooms might be growing on or around the tree. This might be cute in fairy tales, but it’s actually a sign that a fungus is growing inside the tree, causing decay.
Small piles of sawdust around the tree's base are a sign that damaging insects are boring under the bark.
The earlier you catch the damage, the better chance that pruning or other plant health care can save your ailing tree or shrub.
It’s a great case for a solid landscape maintenance program that includes a tree pruning schedule. You’ll have expert plant pros on your property who will take care of your regular pruning needs, spot any worrisome signs of damage early, then swoop in to solve the problem.
Maybe you’re comfortable trimming a twig or two, but serious pruning makes you nervous. It’s kind of confusing. What if you lop off your hydrangea buds at the wrong time and you don’t get those spectacular blooms? And you have enough on your plate without worrying about a shrub pruning calendar.
Let the pros at Outback Landscape tackle your Idaho Falls tree and shrub pruning.
Regular light pruning on trees up to 15 feet tall is part of our ongoing maintenance to keep your property safe and your trees and shrubs healthy.
Regular pruning helps catch potential issues before they turn into costly problems. At Outback, we know exactly what your trees and shrubs need, all year long.
Located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Outback Landscape serves residential and commercial properties in Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Pocatello, Idaho, as well as Bonneville, Madison and Bannock counties. Call us at 208-656-3220, or contact us to schedule an on-site consultation. We’d love to hear from you.