About That Tree

with Tree Surgeon Tony Wootton, our local arborist and author, meeting the Hinterland's tree needs since 1996

People often ask me “What’s the best time of year to prune your trees?“

Well, the answer is, right now!

Late winter is the optimum time to prune your trees, for several reasons.

Firstly, the trees are largely dormant. This means that their sap flow is at its lowest ebb. For example, you can bareroot transplant deciduous trees in winter. You simply dig up the tree you want to transplant, shake off most of the dirt and then put it in the new hole.

You can only do this because the tree is completely dormant. It is like it has gone into suspended animation. This same principle allows you to prune large limbs off trees at this time of year, without causing too much shock to the organism.

Having said that, we are lucky enough to live in a very forgiving climate , and we can prune most species all year round. I just find that we get the best results in terms of recovery when we do it at this time of year.

The reason late winter is better than the rest of winter is because spring is just around the corner, so while the tree is dormant when you carry out the pruning, the sap flow that will allow the recovery process to begin is just about to happen, so the tree is sitting with a large open wound for the minimum time possible before it begins to deal with the wounding.

From a tree health perspective, these are the two main reasons why this time of year is best for carrying out structural pruning of your trees, whether that be height reduction, lateral spread reduction, or limb removal.

Mobile: 0403 467 664

Mobile: 0403 467 664

Landline: 54 944 917

Landline: 54 944 917 www.twtreesurgeon.com www.twtreesurgeon.com