Winter And Summer Pruning: What's The Difference?| Olle Garden Bed

Pruning is essential to plant health because it promotes new growth, improves air circulation, removes dead wood that may spread disease and pests, and maintains the shape of the plant. Pruning can be done in different seasons, such as summer and winter. In other words, the timing must be right, because pruning at different times of the year will affect the health of the garden. This content also has some reference value for Olle Garden Beds.

What is the difference between summer and winter pruning?

The two best seasons for pruning are summer and winter. Due to the temperature difference, some plants will be better pruned in certain seasons:

Summer pruning: When you prune in summer, you prune plants when they are fully grown, or even produce fruits and flowers. Summer pruning is for various reasons; Typically, it is:

• Limiting the growth of overly vigorous shrubs and trees
• Promote fruiting or flowering in the second year
• Reduce the spread of pests and diseases

Summer pruning helps to transfer the energy of plants to produce more fruits or flowers instead of new branches or leaves. Pruning dense leaves and branches helps limit the growth of fast-growing trees and shrubs. Some plants, such as the Damsen tree, plum tree, apple tree, pear tree and cherry tree, will benefit more from pruning in summer than in winter.

Plant diseases are at an all-time high in summer. Pruning helps minimize the risk of cross contamination by eliminating diseased dead trees. In addition, summer pruning allows enough time for plants to heal from cuts, preventing plant diseases in the cool season from affecting the garden.

Winter pruning: When you are pruning in winter, you are pruning plants that are dormant. Their leaves have fallen off, so you can see the skeleton shape of the plant, which makes it easier to determine which areas need to be trimmed. Winter pruning is usually used for:

• Eliminate potential safety hazards
• Size of pruned trees and bushes
• Promotes leaf growth

Because you can see the actual shape of trees and shrubs without leaves, you can determine which areas will become security hazards and quickly eliminate them. It is also easier to determine the shape of the plant when pruning in winter because the leaves have fallen off. Winter pruning is very suitable for pruning large trees and shrubs. Plants can recover quickly from pruning when they are dormant.

When plants are pruned in winter, their energy is more concentrated on the fruits and flowers in spring. This means that in spring, you can expect more fruits and flowers from your favorite summer plants. Overgrown deciduous shrubs should be pruned in winter, as well as Japanese maples, birches and trees that are easy to bleed when felling.

What season is best for pruning?

Between summer and winter pruning, the latter is the best time to prune trees and shrubs. Plants recover faster during winter pruning because they are dormant in cold weather. Cold weather also inhibits the spread of diseases and pests, which makes winter pruning much safer than summer pruning. Ideally, plants should be pruned between November and March, when most trees have lost their leaves and are dormant.

What are the four types of pruning?

There are four different types of trimming methods. These are cleaning, thinning, lifting and reducing.

Cleanliness: Cut off dead, dying, sick, fragile, crowded and low vitality branches from the top or crown of plants.

Thinning: This method helps to improve the light penetration and improve the air flow through the plant crown. Selective removal of branches can minimize the weight of heavy branches while maintaining the natural shape of plants.

Lifting: Cut off the lower branches of the dense trees to make way for buildings, pedestrians and vehicles.

Reduce: This pruning method minimizes the spread or height of the tree. The tree may have dense and over spread leaves or branches, which may become a safety hazard during a storm or when the branches reach the electric pole. Reduction can promote air circulation, improve sunlight penetration, and reduce wind resistance.

What plants should not be pruned in winter?

Many plants and trees will benefit from winter pruning, but in cold winter, some plants and trees must be alone. These plants are:

• Syringa
• Clematis
• Jasmine
• Honeysuckle
• Rosemary
• Lavender
• Rhododendron
• Forsythia suspensa
• Mulan
• Cornus officinalis
• Cherry tree
• Pear trees
• Maple
• Rhododendron

Some rose varieties should also be placed separately in winter. It is best to wait until the beginning of the second year to remove excessive growth, so as to ensure that fruits and flowers are produced to the maximum extent during the growing season.

Pruning is essential to maintaining the health and appearance of the garden. Of course, it is equally important to have all the right trimming tools. Trimming tools such as pruning shears, trimmers, and hand trimmers minimize the trauma of pruning and make plants heal faster.