Why have I never heard this before?

[nuttiest]

And is it even correct? Did not hear this in a bonsai context, but it is supposed to be a rule of thumb to keep in mind for trees and shrubs -
Pruning in summer limits growth; pruning in winter promotes growth.
So now I don't want to shape things in summer.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Pruning at any time limits growth.

 

[johng]

...because it is BS.... Pruning encourages new growth??? You just don't want to encourage new growth too late in the growing season...

 

[Gabler]

It's my understanding that hard pruning in the late winter before buds begin swelling can produce a much stronger flush of growth in the short term, as the tree attempts to compensate for the injury, but in the long term, it depletes the tree's sugar reserves and makes it weaker.

 

[Shibui]

Some of us may be using different definitions of 'growth' Can mean length of new shoots or can also mean total amount of new shoots/foliage.
Most commercial fruit orchards down here have moved to summer pruning. In this context I think 'limits growth' may mean summer prune activates more new shoots. Growth shared between more shoots means each one doesn't grow as long, therefore limiting height extension.
Winter pruning leaves the trunk and roots ready to expend energy to replace lost growth come spring. A few shoots typically take off and grow very long.

Overall response to both is similar in amount of growth but distribution of that growth is different.
We probably get similar results in bonsai.
Autumn/ winter pruning leaves the tree ready to grow vigorously in spring but activates fewer new buds = fewer long, strong shoots.
Summer pruning activates more buds = more ramification and more, shorter shoots.

 

[Styrw89]

Winter pruning often removes reserves of auxins from the tip bud and induces a stress response, promoting breaking latent backbuds and growth with long internodes. Summer pruning will often give shorter internode regrowth (I think this is why decandling works)

 

[nuttiest]

Some of us may be using different definitions of 'growth' Can mean length of new shoots or can also mean total amount of new shoots/foliage.
Most commercial fruit orchards down here have moved to summer pruning. In this context I think 'limits growth' may mean summer prune activates more new shoots. Growth shared between more shoots means each one doesn't grow as long, therefore limiting height extension.
Winter pruning leaves the trunk and roots ready to expend energy to replace lost growth come spring. A few shoots typically take off and grow very long.

Overall response to both is similar in amount of growth but distribution of that growth is different.
We probably get similar results in bonsai.
Autumn/ winter pruning leaves the tree ready to grow vigorously in spring but activates fewer new buds = fewer long, strong shoots.
Summer pruning activates more buds = more ramification and more, shorter shoots.

Thank you for mentioning fruit Shibui, as this comment was made in reference to fruit trees, but I figured that would include oaks, olives and some flowering.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It is pretty fundamental, actually. By pruning, you are removing parts of the tree that the tree will need to replace before it returns to the same biological mass that it had before. Now there are many reasons WHY you might want to prune - and pruning may ultimately lead to a better and healthier tree down the road, but in the short term it definitely limits growth... at least considering the alternative of not pruning at all.

 

[Mikecheck123]

I heard that pruning in winter makes the branches shorter.

 

[nuttiest]

Okay now that I think of it, same channel I keep hearing - "espaliered fruit trees grow more fruit"

 

[shohin_branches]

Okay now that I think of it, same channel I keep hearing - "espaliered fruit trees grow more fruit"

Because bending fruit branches horizontal and below horizontal encourages flower buds

Bend branches now to encourage flower bud initiation in high density apple orchards

The window of opportunity to influence flowering and reproductive capability for the 2013 season of branches in apples is upon us.

www.canr.msu.edu

 

[nuttiest]

Here's a new one - everyone on both BBC gardening channels goes to make new cuttings, and they insist on putting it right on the edge of the pot so that side is touching pot. Even if there is only one cutting.
Does anyone know the reason that may help?

 

[HENDO]

Here's a new one - everyone on both BBC gardening channels goes to make new cuttings, and they insist on putting it right on the edge of the pot so that side is touching pot. Even if there is only one cutting.
Does anyone know the reason that may help?

I'm interested to hear more on this. I stuck a Port cutting into the side of the nursery container of the mother plant and it exploded with growth, way faster than the other cuttings planted towards the centres of their own containers. Bad/old picture, but it basically outpaced everything else in growth by >4x.

My thought was that it's because it's a P.Afra and just likes to be more dry, but this would be plant/species-specific then?

 

[shohin_branches]

Here's a new one - everyone on both BBC gardening channels goes to make new cuttings, and they insist on putting it right on the edge of the pot so that side is touching pot. Even if there is only one cutting.
Does anyone know the reason that may help?

Probably to keep the cutting supported. Small movements and gentle breezes can wiggle the cutting and damage new fragile root structures

 

[nuttiest]

Probably to keep the cutting supported. Small movements and gentle breezes can wiggle the cutting and damage new fragile root structures

That sounds right. What about more warmth?

 

[shohin_branches]

That sounds right. What about more warmth?

The cutting will experience more temperature variance near the edge of the pot when compared to the center of the soil mass wich could help. Depends on the temperature of the outside air

 

[penumbra]

An awful lot of very iffy info in this thread. If what you are doing works for you, keep doing it.

 

[Melospiza]

Here's a new one - everyone on both BBC gardening channels goes to make new cuttings, and they insist on putting it right on the edge of the pot so that side is touching pot. Even if there is only one cutting.
Does anyone know the reason that may help?

If this was to make trees for espalier or container, they want roots growing only on one side. That way they can have the tree trunk right up against the wall with roots growing away from it.

 

[nuttiest]

If this was to make trees for espalier or container, they want roots growing only on one side. That way they can have the tree trunk right up against the wall with roots growing away from it.

That's a good one - I forgot to mention no one there has a plastic pot. Everything is done in terracotta.

 

[Melospiza]

That's a good one - I forgot to mention no one there has a plastic pot. Everything is done in terracotta.

1. They have mild, wet winters (and summers) but traditionally British garden plants have been from the hotter Mediterranean region-- clay pots are great at providing good drainage, especially in winter.
2. Because they have milder summers, the plants don't dry out as quickly as they do here, so terracotta is fine in summer too.
3. And they don't get the kind of hard freezes that crack clay pots like we do in NA.

I transfer all my citrus, pelargoniums, rosemary and lavender to clay pots for the winter. It keeps them much happier. Have to move them back to plastic pots for summer or I'd need to water them a lot more.