Fall Pruning?

I’ve been a bit “bothered” by a number of major pruning projects I’ve observed from the windshield recently.  The specific projects don’t bother me so much as the message they communicate – “time to prune.”  Wrong.  It’s a bad time to prune.  It’s unfortunate but true that a lot of folks observe what is being done from a distance and assume it must be the right thing to do.  Witness the volcano like piles of mulch around so many trees.  (No, we do not need piles of bark mulch around the bark of a tree!  Mulch goes over the roots not over the trunk.  Please!)

Late summer to late fall is generally the worst time of year for pruning.  I guess a lot of people put things off during the summer, then notice plants that “need” to be tidied up.  If you need to do some minor shaping, that’s one thing.  But I’ve noticed several major cutbacks recently.  Some years these plants will do OK.  But these plants are now headed into winter with increased risk of more injury from severe cold temperatures. 

And just as a fine point, many people consider plants slightly less attractive when you see large stems cut back with little to no foliage left on them.  If you do this type of pruning in March, the plant will soon put on new growth and hide the new cuts.  Plants pruned recently are likely to look no better than they do right now for several months.  But the main reason to delay major pruning now is that the plants are more susceptible to cold injury.  Don’t pick up any bad habits.

alcooke

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