The Best Time to Prune Trees

Whether you're an avid gardener or a novice, you may be wondering when is the best time to prune trees. After all, it’s possibly not something you have needed to give a lot of thought to. As a result, that arduous task can fall by the wayside.

While you could leave tree pruning to the experts, what’s the harm in having a little bit of extra knowledge? Prep those green fingers and read on to find out more about tree pruning.

Why do you need to prune your trees?

Before we focus on when is the best time to prune citrus trees, shrubs, and similar, it’s a good idea to work out why you need to prune your trees in the first place. Do they really need it? In short, yes.

Think about it this way. Your hair always looks at its best and healthiest when you visit your hairdresser regularly. Haircuts promote healthy growth, beautiful hair, and make it easier to maintain. The same rules apply for tree pruning and trimming. When you work on making your tree as strong as it can be, it is as strong as it can be.

Your job, or that of the landscaping and lawn care company you hire, is to take out the weak branches to strengthen the overall structure. Remove broken branches, diseased limbs, and encourage new growth. The more time and effort you put into your trees and shrubs, the healthier and stronger they can be.

Tree pruning in early spring

If you’re wondering whether the best time to prune trees is in early spring, then the answer is yes. But, also no. You can prune trees in early spring but focus on those that you can class as summer-flowering trees.

Crepe myrtle, for example, is a beautiful feature plant that produces lovely autumn foliage. For the most part, they are care-free. However, they do benefit from early spring or late winter pruning sessions to remove twiggy growth. Other summer-flowering trees and shrubs should also be pruned in winter or spring while they remain dormant. The trick is to get in before new growth begins.

Tree pruning in early summer

If your hedges are looking a little worse for wear, or you have early-spring blooming shrubs and evergreen trees, then the best time to prune is now! While now is not the best time to prune lime trees or other citrus trees, it is the ideal time to focus on those trees that tend to thrive in summer.

Evergreen trees tend to take off once the weather warms up. Free up your weekend to tackle the task, or hire a tree pruning business near you to take care of it for you. Just remember, now is definitely not the best time to prune lemon trees or any stone fruit trees.

Tree pruning in late summer

If you don’t mind battling the rising mercury at the tail-end of summer, then now’s an excellent time to tackle your maples and birches. Remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches, and any that are rubbing against each other. At this point, you can also remove narrow or weak limbs that could break once they are much larger.

Tree pruning in late winter

Winter is the time of year when you want to spend the least amount of time outside, but it can also be when a lot of trees require pruning. For example, it’s the best time to prune fruit trees, and even the best time to prune peach trees, apple trees, fig and plum trees, too. So, if you can brave the freezing-cold temperatures, then your trees will thank you for it!

Winter is also the best time of year to take care of tree trimming on nearly every other type of tree. Unless it falls into the category of summer-flowing, evergreen, and early-spring blooming shrubs, then get your secateurs ready. If you’re not sure how to do so safely or correctly, then consider hiring tree trimming businesses to take care of it for you.

When is the best time to prune citrus trees?

We’ve just said that the best time to prune fruit trees is in winter, but is that always the case? Just to confuse you further, it’s not. Sometimes, citrus trees don’t require pruning at all.

If they are starting to become misshapen or too large, then, of course, tree trimming is necessary. You can trim branches to achieve your preferred shape, and take care of diseased stems. At the same time, you’re also improving the tree’s air circulation.

However, often, the best time to prune fruit trees is after they have fruited in spring. You can prune them in winter (and sometimes other parts of the year) but only in frost-free regions. If you do it in a frost-prone area during winter, then you may discover frost damage on delicate new growth.

Given how finicky pruning fruit trees can be, you may find that asking for help or advice from a lawn care company is the best step to take.

Call in the experts

Tree pruning can be a complicated task. It can also be a dangerous one if you’re not sure what safety precautions to take. If you don’t feel confident tackling the job on your own, then call for help. There are plenty of gardening businesses across New Zealand that will be more than happy to assist.