How to Prune Redbud Trees for appearance, stability - Ask Extension
I've had failures with pruning redbud trees recently.
How should I prune the redbud trees shown in the two attached photos for appearance and stabili...
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How to Prune Redbud Trees for appearance, stability #830932
Asked May 19, 2023, 2:16 PM EDT
I've had failures with pruning redbud trees recently.
How should I prune the redbud trees shown in the two attached photos for appearance and stability?
Cecil County Maryland
Expert Response
The redbud in the first photo is too dark to see well but doesn't appear to need pruning (at least nothing significant) at this time. If there are any crossing secondary/minor branches, one of them should be removed so they don't keep rubbing bark and create a wound. The preference as to which to remove in that situation would be whichever one is contributing less to an open canopy by growing into the canopy instead of outwards from it; all else being equal, you would likely remove the younger, thinner one of a pair of crossing limbs.
The second tree may not need much pruning either with the notable exception of what appears to be codominant stems. These are leaders (or major upright stems) that are competing with each other and which have a narrow crotch angle (attachment point gap). Over the long term this type of narrow union can be more prone to storm breakage. The stem in the pair that appears to be less in-line with the vertical growth of the main trunk is the one that is usually removed as the "subordinate" stem. You can always ask the opinion of a certified arborist about tree pruning, as priorities change as trees mature. Although we don't endorse particular businesses, we did find this video by Bartlett Tree Experts (at about the 1 min. 30 sec. mark) that at least shows how to cut off the codominant stem, albeit briefly. Plenty of Extension web pages discuss this type of pruning, but few actually demonstrate how to do it that we could find, so we thought this might be useful.
Miri
The second tree may not need much pruning either with the notable exception of what appears to be codominant stems. These are leaders (or major upright stems) that are competing with each other and which have a narrow crotch angle (attachment point gap). Over the long term this type of narrow union can be more prone to storm breakage. The stem in the pair that appears to be less in-line with the vertical growth of the main trunk is the one that is usually removed as the "subordinate" stem. You can always ask the opinion of a certified arborist about tree pruning, as priorities change as trees mature. Although we don't endorse particular businesses, we did find this video by Bartlett Tree Experts (at about the 1 min. 30 sec. mark) that at least shows how to cut off the codominant stem, albeit briefly. Plenty of Extension web pages discuss this type of pruning, but few actually demonstrate how to do it that we could find, so we thought this might be useful.
Miri