When Should I Prune my Trees?

Throughout the year, various types of pruning can be performed on most trees depending on the species, age, location of the tree and reason for pruning. Winter months are good for pruning deciduous and citrus trees. Citrus trees may be pruned before bloom, or after flowering (to thin fruit), usually from the first of January to the beginning of March. Extreme caution must be exercised however on older Citrus even during the cooler months. Citrus that are over 25-30 years old should only have primarily dead wood removed with very little live growth taken out to reduce the risk of sun scald, plant pathogen or other disease.

May to June is a great time to prune in preparation for monsoon season, especially on trees more vulnerable to damage such as mesquites, and eucalyptus.

This is also a good time to trim date palms before their fruit ripen, and queen palms as their seed pods begin to grow. Fan palms will also produce their seed pods now but are typically trimmed at the end of June to the beginning of July (after seed pods have opened).

Talk to one of our arborists to know when would be the best time to prune your trees to accomplish your needs and maintain optimal health of your trees.