The most important information at a glance
Deciduous and coniferous trees differ not only externally, but also with regard to a very specific point: Conifers have no sleeping eyes and therefore do not sprout again if they are cut back too much. Instead, you can only cut back into the green wood, as increments only grow at the tips of the shoots. A strong cut back leads to the creation of unsightly holes that do not close again. There is one exception, however: yew trees can even be radically cut back and still sprout again.
also read
- Fertilizing conifers properly - suitable means and their application
- Shortening conifers - useful or not?
- Which conifers are shallow rooters?
The most important tips when pruning conifers:
- Only cut green shoots, not brown wood!
- Always trim back a little.
- This not only applies to trees, but also to bushes and hedges.
- If possible, do not cut the central drive.
- This stops the growth in height, but a side shoot now grows as a new central shoot.
- This creates an unsightly kink in the tree.
- Therefore do not cut any tree tops!
The ideal time to cut most conifers is around the end of July. Only pines are cut back in May.
How to properly prune conifers
Even if most conifers get along well without regular pruning, you still have to use secateurs occasionally for various reasons.
Care cut
This applies, for example, to kinked, dead, frozen or dried-out branches that should be removed to prevent disease. Even very dense twigs or branches can be thinned out, whereby as a rule no new shoots appear here - so it is better not to take away too much.
Hedge and topiary pruning
With the exception of yew trees, the pruning rules listed above also apply to hedges and topiary trees. Here too, only the green shoots may be cut, otherwise bald spots will remain. If you haven't cut a hedge in a long time, you can only come to terms with its height and width - because drastic pruning does not work. The only alternative is to pull out the hedge and plant a new one.
Tips
Pines can be limited in their growth comparatively well by reducing the candle-shaped new shoots by two thirds about every two years.
