I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. I know a lot of you have taken advantage of this very mild winter weather we’ve been experiencing here in the Chicago area and have taken down your holiday decorations. Now is also a good time to prune your trees and shrubs. Dormant pruning is an excellent way of ensuring healthy growth and a great time to re-shape the plant. Pruning done during this winter period allows the wound to harden over before insects are prevalent in spring and summer.
You may need a few items such as lopping shears, pruners, a pruning saw, a ladder, and a rake.
When you prune, take off the dead branches of the plant. Not sure which ones are dead? Snip off a little bit, if the branch is brown on the inside, it’s most likely dead. Snip a little at a time toward the middle of the plant until the middle of the cut is green.
Inspect your trees and shrubs for branches that are “criss-crossed” or that rub other branches. Take off one of “criss-crossed” branches. Be safe and do not try to cut branches that may be too large for you to handle or that are over head. Once cut, these branches may fall and strike you. Leave this type of pruning to a professional.
Snip off the suckers that are coming out of the ground or that are growing perpendicular or straight out of the plant. Crab trees often have both of these types of suckering growth, as do many maples.
Trim off any broken branches within the plant and discard. Again, cut those branches that you can safely cut.
After removing any diseased or dead branches, you should clean your tools with a bleach or an alcohol solution to disinfect them so that, if diseased, the disease is not spread to other branches or plants.
Now is a great time to re-shape the plants – just remember to trim a little at a time, step back and take a look at it – because once you cut it off, you can’t put it back on. Dogwoods and especially Spirea benefit from this.
Dormant pruning is one of the best things you can do for your plants. If it’s your first time, it may be a little intimidating, but know this: most plants are pretty hardy – you may over-trim, but sooner or later, it will grow back, just be patient and take your time.
