You’ve been waiting all year to prune your trees and bushes, but you know the best time to tackle that task is when the plant is dormant. The time has arrived! Winter tree pruning season is here, and it’s time to get to work caring for your plants so they’re at their best come spring.

Why Winter Tree Pruning is Best

During the winter, you can easily see what branches need to be cut since the leaves have since fallen off. When you prune the dead or dying branches when the tree isn’t actively growing, you don’t cause added stress to the tree. You’re also ridding the tree of its dead weight, so come spring it can focus reserved energy on new growth of the remaining, healthy branches.

Here are some of the trees and shrubs that benefit most from winter pruning:

• Beauty berries
• Mallow
• Hydrangeas
• Crabapples
• Cherries
• Plums
• Poplar
• Spruce
• Juniper
• Bald cypress

Best Ways to Prune

1. Remove dead, dying, and diseased branches.
2. Cut below the diseased areas when the plant is dry. Pruning wet plants could help spread disease.
3. Cut branches that overhang where you walk or mow. This ensures you don’t run into them and they don’t break off.
4. If you see two branches crossing, cut the smaller one off.
5. Thin out dense areas of branches to allow more light and air to the center of the plant.
6. Cut at an angle next to the branch collar.
7. Cut large branches in three parts: prune one-third of branch to reduce weight. Undercut the remaining stub. Make the final cut from the top.

When to Call a Pruning Pro

Winter tree pruning is easy enough to do for the home gardener, unless the tree or shrub is too tall. If you can’t reach the pruning area from the ground with a pole pruner, it’s best to call someone who can. Any tree near power lines should also be left for a professional pruning team. If limbs are too heavy to handle, call in reinforcements to help get the job done right, and safe.