Winter pruning

Pruning in winter promotes growth, while summer pruning limits growth.

There’s a few thing to keep in mind before cutting back your trees and shrubs this winter. Here’s a list to follow to make things a tad easier and more doable.  Keep in mind that winter pruning promotes growth as well as watersprouts and suckers - so don't go crazy. If you want to restrict growth while reducing watersprouts and suckers, then go easy now and prune in summer. 

Not all trees and shrubs need to be pruned. If it is flowering well, looks good, isn’t in the way and is doing what it is supposed to do, leave it alone.
For more on pruning click here to go to my website. For rose pruning, click here. 

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What To Remove

• dead, dying and diseased plant parts
• broken branches
• suckers and watersprouts
  • suckers: non-branching shoots that grow vertically upright from the tree base and roots and below the bud union (on grafted plants such as hybrid tea roses)
  • watersprouts: straight non-branching shoots that grow vertically along branches
• spindly and weak stems
• stems that cross and ones that rub 
• branches in the way of pedestrians, vehicles etc.,
• overly long branches that distract from the shape of the plant
• old branches that no longer flower and/or produce fruit
• branches that grow towards the center of the plant
• stubs: remnants of branches that were removed improperly
• branches that are attached to the trunk at a narrow angle – 45 degrees or less

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Remove dead growth as soon as possible, any time of year

Cut branches off where they originate or to a side branch. Don't leaves stubs.

Remove crossing and rubbing branches.

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Removing the lower branches from conifers makes them top-heavy and unsafe. It looks silly too.

Broken branches should be cut off asap as they are a potential hazard.

Watersprouts grow bolt upright and don't branch.

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Suckers grow from the roots of many grafted and non-grafted trees.

Remove suckers that appear from below the graft of roses and other grafted plants before they take over.

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What To DO

• Purchase and use the right tools for the job. It makes the job easier and safer.
• Before pruning, decide what you want to achieve:
  • to shape, promote flowers, remove suckers, errant growth.
• Know the natural shape of the plant before pruning.
• Decide which stems should stay and which should go. Assess the plant first, before cutting.
• Stop occasionally and assess your work. It’s easy to get carried away.
• The best time to prune most plants is right after flowering so don’t prune spring flowering plants this time of year unless they really need it. Fruit trees are an exception as they are pruned in winter as well as summer.  
• Disinfect pruning tools after each plant, especially if plants are infested or infected.

This Young's weeping birch doesn't require pruning and should be left alone.

This Young's weeping birch was topped. Now all that's left are suckers. It's weeping form has been destroyed permanently.

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Where TO Cut

• Cut back stems to an outward facing shoot or bud that faces away from the inside of the plant.
• Make cuts at a 45 degree angle slanting downward away from the bud, ¼ inch above an outward facing bud (node).
• Don’t cut the branch flush to the trunk. Look for the branch ridge (collar) at the base of the branch. It looks like a raised or wrinkled ridge where the trunk and stem meet. Cut branches just outside the branch collar so the cut will heal properly.
• When cutting back a stem to a bud (node), note the direction a bud is facing as that determines the direction of the new branch.  For example, if the bud faces towards the plant, that's where the stem will grow.
• Cut just above buds that point away from the centre of the plant. An open centre is the objective.
• To remove an entire limb of a tree, cut it back to the trunk, just above the branch ridge (collar).
• To shorten a limb, cut it off just above a side branch.
• Don’t cut or top the leader (the main stem) on trees with a single trunk. Topping trees kills them or at least disfigures them. The resulting new growth will be suckers, which are not firmly attached to the tree. This makes all topped trees unsafe and a hazard.
• Remove heavy and long branches with the 3 step method (jump cut). This prevents tearing of the bark and makes the pruning of big limbs safer. 
• To promote fruiting spurs on apples, pears, plums and nectarines, cut side shoots back to 2 to 4 nodes (buds).
• For pruning grapes, remove their side shoots to a couple of buds. 

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When removing a branch, cut next to the branch ridge (collar).

This branch was cut off too close to the trunk. The branch collar was cut off so the tree could not heal itself.

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To make more fruiting spurs on apples and other spur bearing plants, cut back side shoots to a few buds.

To shorten branches, cut them back to a side branch.

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To shorten this apple stem, cut it back to the flower buds. They are fatter than leaf buds and are held in clusters

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PLease Don't....

• prune plants if they don’t need it
• prune spruce, pine and other conifers: just remove errant branches
• prune flowering ornamental cherry trees and Japanese maples during the winter, wait until late spring or summer
• remove or cut back all the branches from a tree (duh!)
• cut off a tree’s leader (the main trunk) prune spring flowering plants in winter as it removes their flowers
• remove more than ¼ of growth at one time
• remove well-formed healthy stems unless necessary
• prune when it is raining and when plants are wet
• leave a stub by cutting a branch in the middle
• remove all the lower branches of a tree, especially evergreens (conifer) as they become top-heavy and unsafe
• apply pruning paint or anything else to cut stems

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Although this cedar is between overhead wires, it was not interfering with them. It was topped anyway.

There was no need to top this cedar. Snow will accumulate on the flattened top, followed by errant growth. It's been decapitated and the neighbouring trees are probably wondering if they are next.

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Does this look good to you? Topping is not how to prune a tree - obviously.

This tree was topped and suckers took over. It doesn't just look silly, it is now dangerous.

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This Japanese maple tree is now an unsightly shrub. It's days are numbered as the remaining trunk is decaying.

This is what a Japanese maple tree should look like.

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Safety

• Always wear gloves to save your hands and to secure your grip.
• As you remove branches, place them away from your work area to avoid tripping.
• Place debris on tarpaulins away to drag to the next plant and for easy disposal.
• Use sharp clean pruning tools appropriate for the job.
• Avoid climbing trees and shrubs; use a ladder or hire a professional.
• Avoid pruning plants when they are wet as tools easily slip.
• Don’t remove large limbs without using the 3 step method.
• Don’t cut down large trees by yourself. Hire a professional.

Wear gloves as they protect the hands from blisters and thorns. They also give you a solid grip.

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Tree too tall? 

Don't be worried about a tree becoming too tall and falling over. Nature isn't stupid. A tree's roots are at least the same size of its canopy. In fact roots reach out far beyond the canopy especially if there is room for the roots to spread out. When you prune off the top, the roots also die back in proportion to what was removed. So if your worried that your tree is too tall, cutting the top off is going to make an otherwise safe tree - unsafe.

If it a tree is interfering with any overhead structures such as power lines, then cut back the offending branches to a side branch or removed the entire limb. Don't behead it!  Cutting back or removing all a tree's branches encourages even more growth. The tree needs foliage to make food, so it pumps out suckers to replace the lost stems and leaves. Suckers originate from the dormant buds from under the bark, not from the tree's core. They are easily broken off, especially in high winds and as they get longer. Suckers are not branches. 

​Pruning is to maintain health of trees and shrubs and should not be used to continuously reduce the size of a plant. If constant pruning is necessary, consider removing the plant and replacing with a plant of smaller stature keeping in mind its width and height at maturity. Select the right size of plant for the space.

Keep the tops of trees in tact. Why mess with perfection?