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Pines set their own limits on pruningPines have strict limits on pruning to control their height and width. Their payback for a too-severe pruning is simply not to respond. And, because they won't fill in those cutback areas again, the result can be a permanent, rather deformed look. "The thing to remember is that pines normally don't produce new buds on old wood. So, a branch can't stage a recovery if you prune it back into old wood," said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension. Pines' annual growth--the part that's safe to prune--doesn't start out looking like new wood. It's the thick, needle-incrusted shoot or "candle" that develops at the end of each branch in spring. "The recommended time to prune is late spring when all the candles have elongated and the new needles are starting to pull away from them," Upham said. "You may not feel like you're accomplishing much, but you really can help control plant size by just removing one-half to two-thirds of each candle. You'll be encouraging denser growth at the same time. "If you just want to help a pine attain a more uniform shape, another alternative is to prune the candles selectively. Some short branches may need no pruning. The fast growers could lose a full two-thirds of their candle length, while the rest merit something in between zero and two-thirds." The horticulturist said the implications of pines' limits come down to this: --You must start while a pine is young to train it into the "perfect" shape you desire. --You may have to prune yearly to keep a pine unnaturally small. "If you plant a dwarf mugo pine, for example, you'll have to prune to keep it looking like your definition of a dwarfed plant. On its own, it will mature at about 7 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide," he said. --After you've let a pine get overgrown, your only real options are to tolerate or remove it. 9/8/08 Date: 9/2/08
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