Ornamental Cherry Tree Pruning - Ask Extension
Hi. I live in the Charlesbrooke community in Baltimore County. Nothing on my property was pruned or maintained prior to me moving here last year. Can ...
Knowledgebase
Ornamental Cherry Tree Pruning #880720
Asked August 08, 2024, 2:11 PM EDT
Hi. I live in the Charlesbrooke community in Baltimore County. Nothing on my property was pruned or maintained prior to me moving here last year. Can I prune an ornamental cherry tree in August?
Thanks, Bill
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Virginia Tech's deciduous tree pruning guide advises that only early to midsummer pruning (June to July) should be performed for flowering cherry. However, their notes indicate that is mainly because later pruning (like August) will remove flower buds, and since you'd be thinning or reducing the canopy anyway unless pruning is only removing dead wood (which can be done any time of year), then the flowers on those branches would be removed regardless, so in that sense, the timing won't matter much.
That said, it's best not to perform any tree or shrub pruning in autumn, and it will reduce the energy stores a plant has shunted out of foliage and into wood for the winter. (Regrowth after pruning in autumn is less likely because of seasonal dormancy cues, but if it does produce new foliage or shoots as a result of pruning, they will likely freeze and die during winter since they may not develop cold-hardiness in time.) Avoid pruning cherries in midwinter since pruning wounds can be vulnerable to certain infections, and they won't start sealing-over until spring growth resumes, leaving the trees with a period of greater susceptibility to diseases that cannot be treated. (No matter how much you prune off or when it's done, do not coat the pruning cuts with anything, as it can interfere with the wound-closure process.)
If needed, consult with or hire a certified arborist or licensed tree expert who can show you what to prune based on your priorities (canopy reduction, thinning, shaping, etc.). Don't remove more than a quarter to a third of the tree's canopy any one year.
Miri
That said, it's best not to perform any tree or shrub pruning in autumn, and it will reduce the energy stores a plant has shunted out of foliage and into wood for the winter. (Regrowth after pruning in autumn is less likely because of seasonal dormancy cues, but if it does produce new foliage or shoots as a result of pruning, they will likely freeze and die during winter since they may not develop cold-hardiness in time.) Avoid pruning cherries in midwinter since pruning wounds can be vulnerable to certain infections, and they won't start sealing-over until spring growth resumes, leaving the trees with a period of greater susceptibility to diseases that cannot be treated. (No matter how much you prune off or when it's done, do not coat the pruning cuts with anything, as it can interfere with the wound-closure process.)
If needed, consult with or hire a certified arborist or licensed tree expert who can show you what to prune based on your priorities (canopy reduction, thinning, shaping, etc.). Don't remove more than a quarter to a third of the tree's canopy any one year.
Miri
