Trimming trees and shrubs regularly improves the appearance of your landscape, ensures that the plants are healthy, and prevents them from overgrowing and becoming hazardous. Pruning is most effective when it’s done correctly, which is why hiring professional landscapers is the key to healthy greenery. Here is how you can tell when it’s the right time to schedule a trimming.

How to Know When to Trim and Prune

The proper time for pruning and trimming depends mostly on the plant type, but there are instances when branches and shrubs have to be removed at once if they pose a safety risk—no matter the season.

• Summer-flowering plants: Shrubs and trees that bloom during summer should be pruned in late winter or early spring. Summer-blooming shrubs can be trimmed from the middle of February to early April and still blossom in time for summer.

• Spring-blooming plants: Shrubs that flower in spring should be pruned right after they bloom to give them enough time for next season’s buds. For overgrown shrubs, extensive, heavy pruning must be done from mid-February to late April to revive them and restore their health.

• Deciduous trees: An excellent time to have landscapers prune trees like maple and oak is sometime between February to early April before their leaf buds spring out. Avoid pruning them in the fall when barks tear easily.

• Conifers: The best time to prune evergreen trees like spruce and fir is in late winter while they’re fully dormant. Have the lower branches removed as well during this time. Pines, on the other hand, are better pruned from early June to early July.

• Fruit trees: Like conifers, fruit trees should be ideally trimmed in late February to early April since anytime earlier exposes them to possible winter injury.  

Why Right Timing Matters

There are many benefits to trimming trees and shrubs, and these advantages are further magnified when done at the right time. Prune plants when they’re at their dormant state normally in late winter. During this season, there is less sap flowing through the plants than other times of the year, resulting in little or no bleeding when they are trimmed and pruned. Less sap also means the chances of the plants attracting pests and diseases are lower. Wounds can also heal faster naturally, especially when they are uncovered. Because plants lose their leaves at dormancy, it’s easier for landscapers to see where to prune and what to cut.

Having your trees trimmed at the right time allows them to stay healthier and grow stronger. The landscapers at Evergreen Landscape Management make sure to get the job done right. Serving the entire community in Rochester, NY, they offer a wide variety of lawn care services including tree removal and yard maintenance. Call (585) 889-9300 to request a quote or visit their website to see a list of their tree services.