4 Benefits of Dormant Pruning
When it comes to pruning your trees and bushes, timing is everything. Pruning during the wrong time of year can interfere with your trees’ health and ability to grow properly. While people might assume that you should prune trees during their growing season, there are many benefits to pruning in the off-season when they’re dormant.
Here are a few reasons you should consider dormant pruning:
1. CONTROL DISEASE
When you prune a branch during its active growing season, it is more susceptible to invasive insects, which can cause disease. By pruning your trees when they’re dormant, you reduce the risk of introducing insects and disease, making them less vulnerable to attack in the upcoming growing season.
2. INCREASED VISIBILITY
It’s much easier to see where a tree needs pruning in the winter months because its branches are bare. Diseased or weak limbs can be easily identified and removed, increasing your tree’s overall health.
3. ALLOW FOR HEALING
Whenever you cut a branch, the plant has to heal from its “wound.” Since trees are already resting during their dormant season, dormant pruning exposes trees to less stress and gives them a better opportunity to heal.
4. IMPROVE SAFETY
Thinning your trees allows more wind to blow through, which reduces the risk of a branch snapping or a tree uprooting. Thick, overgrown trees can be particularly problematic if they are close to your house. Dormant pruning increases airflow through your trees and decreases the likelihood of storm damage during the winter months.
