Cut Tuscany cypress in late summer if possible
The ideal time to cut a columnar cypress is late summer, between late August and late September. If the weather is still accordingly mild, you can still pull out your secateurs in October. In addition, cypresses should be pruned as early as possible in the morning, as at this point there is no risk of drying out due to intense sunlight - unfortunately the otherwise rather insensitive trees react sensitively to this.
also read
- Column cypress - care, cutting, diseases, wintering
- Column cypress is only partially hardy
- The roots of the columnar cypress do not go deep
Do not prune cypress trees too much
Column cypresses should not be cut back too much, and it is better not to cut the tip. Instead, you should follow the natural shape of the tree when cutting instead of forcing it into an unnatural corset. When cutting, always make sure that there are always some twigs with needles on them - the columnar cypress will sprout from these again. If the tree gets too tall, cut off branches in general - but preferably not the top! In this case the cypress would sprout in all directions and lose its typical columnar habit.
Cut back against brown spots
Brown spots on cypress trees are usually a sign of a lack of water. If these spots appear after winter, the cause is not frostbite, but a lack of moisture during the cold months. Even with regular watering, brown spots no longer disappear; the only countermeasure is to cut back. Then the column cypress will sprout again and cover the formerly bare or brown areas with fresh green.
Tips
If a strong pruning should be necessary, it is advisable to spread this over several years. This gives the tree a chance to recover from the intervention in between and you can more easily determine the natural growth habit.
