Questions tagged [pruning]

Questions about how to best cut plant branches, vines or stems. For questions about root pruning please use the [root-pruning] tag.

"Pruning" is the act of cutting a plant's branch (typically of a or ), or (of a , , etc.).

Pruning is performed primarily to produce a better shaped plant, or to promote new growth of branches or .

In many cases, prunings (i.e. the discarded branches) can be used as to create new plants.

In rare situation even roots could be pruned to remove rotten parts, or to be able to remove a plant from an outgrown pot, etc. For questions like these use the tag.

582 questions
1
vote
0 answers

Tips or thoughts on pruning old giant leggy jade?

I have an old leggy jade tree that has a lot of horizontal growing branches. The stems are thick and woody and are already spilling over the sides of the pot, so there's actually only one or two vertical branches. I'd like to get it bushier and…
Ron
  • 11
  • 1
1
vote
1 answer

How many brown-spot leaves to trim from my fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)

I have a new Ficus lyrata I just bought and I think I was over-watering it for awhile. I've stopped but a bunch of the leaves have brown spots on them. Almost all of them do, actually. Maybe one or two have no spots. Advice on the internet is to…
jflournoy
  • 113
  • 4
1
vote
0 answers

How do I properly cut and cultivate my lemon trees to keep them smaller?

I started growing these two lemon trees from (random storebought lemon) seeds a few years ago and they grew considerably over the last summer after putting them in larger pots. Because I live in Nothern Germany where we sometimes get -10°C in the…
douira
  • 163
  • 4
1
vote
1 answer

What is the proper way to prune a multi-variety stone fruit tree being trained in fan shape espalier?

I bought a multi variety stone fruit tree (cherry, prune, apricot, peach) and tied each branch/variety onto wires in a fan shape to minimize the tree footprint. But as I read more on espaliered fruit trees, there seems to be differences between…
Andrea
  • 11
  • 1
1
vote
1 answer

Can I keep this tree without it destroying my fence?

I have an unplanned (privet?) tree growing right at the base of a fence. It's currently around 15' tall at the peak, but not particularly wide. I don't dislike this tree, except for the danger to the fence. Is there anything I can do to keep it…
G__
  • 113
  • 5
1
vote
1 answer

How does removing spruce tips affect the tree health and growth?

I recently learned that spruce tips are edible. Having an abundance of spruce growing around here I'd like to harvest some for culinary experiments. My question is, how will this affect the trees' growth and health? If I remove the new growth at the…
1
vote
2 answers

Does this palm look pruned right?

I bought a Chinese Fan Palm last year which I have in a large container. The palm is growing well but the trunk doesn’t look like it has been pruned correctly. Does this look strange to you? Would you cut this closer to the trunk? And if so what…
mxcolin
  • 149
  • 7
1
vote
1 answer

Anti-fungal after pruning a honey locust?

I recently had two companies give me quotes on pruning the deadwood from my large honey locust tree. Company A was marketing itself as stronger in tree health, and they boasted spraying anti-fungal on the freshly-cut limbs, claiming honey locusts…
calcium3000
  • 135
  • 6
1
vote
1 answer

How to get rid of sprouts on the trunk of my willow tree

I have a willow tree that I pruned back most of the top. Now I have sprouts coming out all over the trunk. I can cut off the new sprouts in unwanted areas, But is there a way to keep them from coming back?
Jo Ann Bryant
  • 11
  • 1
  • 2
1
vote
1 answer

Is this a climber? Any idea what it is?

enter image description here I inherited this beautiful rose plant when I bought my home. I live in Florida. I studied pruning online and thought I did pretty well, but I don't know if I should prune it way back next year during our one (sorta)…
Denise
  • 13
  • 4
1
vote
0 answers

Apple tree concerns

I purchased a house with an apple tree, maybe 15' tall and 6" in diameter. The tree has two longer branches and I was wondering how to go about trimming them. If anyone can tell me where to make the cuts that would be appreciated. Also, if anyone…
1
vote
1 answer

Advice on caring for large potted Ficus Benjamina

I live in Berlin. When a friend was looking to offload her large Ficus Benjamina, I volunteered to care for it. She has been in my home now for ~10 days and appears to be getting used to the place (some initial shedding of leaves, but stabilized…
Inkridible
  • 11
  • 1
1
vote
2 answers

What do I do with this pile of branches, collected from pruning?

After pruning my trees I piled up branches and I was thinking of shredding these with some wood shredder and using them as mulch. But unfortunately there is no shredder nearby this village and I can't do it. My options are: Get rid of them (Burn…
Mehdi Azizi
  • 169
  • 6
1
vote
3 answers

How to prune this newly bought cherry?

I bought this cherrytree (hedelfinger) for cheap. Therefore you get what you pay for I guess. I want to prune it in a good shape(open vase/goblet as I read thats the best choice. However it currently has crossing limbs and also is 'flat'. My…
David
  • 153
  • 6
1
vote
3 answers

Spring, trimming a Redbud - Wrong time?

Is it too late or too early to trim/prune a redbud tree? The upper branches of our redbud tree have encroached on the house. We would like to prune the branches back so they don't touch the house and provide a path for crawling insects. We just…
B540Glenn
  • 245
  • 1
  • 10