If the size of your pine tree exceeds the space capacity of your property, radical pruning is necessary. You may also be keeping your pine tree as a bonsai and would like to maintain its shape and inhibit growth by pruning heavily. Regardless of why you choose secateurs, here you will find valuable tips on what you need to pay attention to so that your pine tree recovers well from the severe pruning.
How do I cut back a pine tree severely?
For a severe pruning of the pine, you should proceed differently depending on the species: Remove old branches from the mountain pine in May or June and halve the candles, cut back outer shoots from the pine and remove narrow shoots from the pine and in May from the Japanese black pine Cut back to two thirds and shorten long needles in June.
General
The basic rule is that if you have symptoms of illness, i.e. if the needles turn brown or shoots die, you definitely have to cut them back heavily. Otherwise a radical cut can contribute
- to inhibit growth (pine as bonsai)
- or thinning the pine tree (removing branches from the crown)
The best time is winter, as the pine produces less sap in the cold season. Below you will find three instructions for heavily pruning three popular pine species.
Pruning the mountain pine
- In May or June, remove old branches and thin out the tree
- cut new candles back to half
- The mountain pine tolerates severe pruning down to a third of the branches and twigs
Cutting the girl's pine tree
- If the outer shoots become longer, cut the shoots back in the middle
- You can cut back strong shoots drastically, delicate shoots only carefully
- especially remove shoots that grow too close together
- You should not cut shoots less than 1 cm long
- usually old needles from the previous year turn brown in late summer. You must remove these
Pruning Japanese Black Pine
- cut the Japanese black pine back to two thirds in May
- In June, cut back any needles that are too long to a length of 1 cm
- In October, remove the unnecessary and annoying branches. Strong branches usually hinder the development of delicate shoots. You can cut these back heavily as new ones will form next spring
