Fine Gardening Project Guides

Pruning

Guide Home
Chapter
How-To

How to Remove Dead Wood

Timing doesn't matter when it comes to certain types of pruning

Gary Junken

 
A lot of the pruning you do for woody plants is done in late winter or early spring. But there are a few exceptions to this general rule. Dead or diseased wood should be removed whenever you see it, even if that is during the active growing season. In this video, Lee Reich, author of The Pruning Book, published by The Taunton Press, demonstrates how to remove dead and diseased wood.

Why remove these plant parts in the first place?

Removing dead or diseased wood makes for more attractive trees and shrubs. It also helps to prevent disease from killing your plants. When a piece of a plant is compromised by disease or entirely dead, it creates a gateway for certain pests or pathogens to enter the plant, and that can cause severe damage.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when pruning out dead or diseased wood:

  • Be sure to cut back 6 inches or so into live wood.
  • Remove an entirely dead branch to the base of the shrub or trunk of the tree.
  • Sometimes it’s a good idea to first check halfway down the branch that appears dead to be sure that the wood inside isn’t actually green. If it is, that indicates the branch isn’t fully dead but perhaps has just gone dormant.
  • Be careful when cutting back to the trunk of a plant that you don’t scrape or cause injury to the bark with your pruning tools.
  • Do not cover pruning wounds with poultices or stem tars. Allow the cut to heal on its own.

Pruning is an art and a science. If it’s done correctly, your plants will be healthier and more productive. In the case of the currant shrub and pawpaw tree in this video, pruning out the dead and diseased wood may result in a larger harvest of fruit, which makes everyone happy.

Previous: How to Prune Out Diseased Wood Next: Five Common Pruning Mistakes, and How to Fix Them
View Comments

Comments

  1. tekleini 11/28/2022

    Thanks for the post

  2. tekleini 11/29/2022

    Now watch all movies for free on beetv and filmplus https://beetv.onl/ https://filmplusapk.me/

  3. questcraftvr 04/03/2023

    Download no 1 app store for android users https://filesynced.net/ https://unlinked.vip/

  4. questcraftvr 04/03/2023

    Happy Chick is a free multi-platform emulator that allows users to play video games from various classic gaming consoles on their mobile devices or computers. It is available for both Android and iOS devices, as well as Windows and Mac computers. Happy Chick supports a wide range of gaming consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, PlayStation, and many others.
    https://happychick.me/
    https://kiddionsmod.com/

  5. Thoutencers 11/17/2023

    You can have much fun with fnaf games

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Pruning

Pruning

Expert advice on where, when, and why to trim your plants

View Project Guide

View All Project Guides »

Become a member and get unlimited site access, including the Pruning Project Guide.

Start Free Trial

Basics
Shrubs
Trees
Fruits