Why Prune in Winter?

One of the easiest and most effective ways to promote your property’s value is to put your deciduous shrubs and small trees on a seasonal care program that includes structural pruning in winter.

Structural pruning, or pruning designed to ensure a sound structure and aesthetic form, is done during a plant’s dormancy for a number of reasons.  It gets young shrubs and trees off to a good start, removes dead or stressed wood, encourages healthy flowering and foliage in the spring, and improves their ability to survive storms.

Pruning in early winter will protect your trees and shrubs from the toll that heavy ice and snow can take when the weight of snow on branches can break limbs and cause damage to your landscape or liability and safety concerns.

ELM believes that proper pruning is an essential part of an overall commitment to the health of your landscape, a best practice that includes a regular program of soil nutrition, root zone conditioning, smart watering, insect and disease prevention, and plant health care.

Depending on which species of small trees and shrubs on your property, ELM’s pruning team will be identifying which plants on your property will make the cut and why.

If there are holly trees and shrubs on your site, you’re in luck. Cutting hollies back in December means the plant gets a new shape and the clipped branches make jolly holiday decorations.  Just ask. We’ll save some trimmings for you.

ELM’s dormant pruning principles:

  1. Supports disease management
  2. Creates a healthy canopy for spring
  3. Delivers more aesthetic results
  4. Improves spring growth, flowering and foliage
  5. Improves ability to withstand weather events and storms
  6. Proactively supports safety and liability by removing weak branches

For questions on landscape health in winter, or to schedule dormant pruning, please contact Bruce Moore, Jr., vice president, operations at 203-316-5433.

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