The hemlock is a tall tree with horizontally growing branches that usually have irregular branches. The evergreen tree is frost hardy and tolerates pruning. In the spring before budding is a good time to carry out pruning measures.
A professional pruning ensures nice branching
The hemlocks have a slender and upright or a wide and bulbous habit and hanging branches, which are often arranged irregularly. They can reach considerable sizes of several meters both in height and in width. In larger gardens or parks, the large firs can develop unhindered. There they are planted individually or in groups. In a smaller home garden, spreading growth could become a problem that can be curbed with appropriate pruning measures.
General cutting instructions
The hemlock is considered a low-maintenance tree that is particularly pruning-friendly. Nevertheless, you should avoid cutting into perennial wood if possible. Branches that are more than four years old usually sprout very hesitantly or not at all after cutting. Pruning is preferably done before sprouting between February and April. A second cut that may be necessary, for example with hemlock hedges, can also be done during the summer. It is better to choose a cloudy day.
Special cutting measures
- In order to obtain denser and more regular branching, the "green", one-year-old wood is cut back.
- To prune a very large, old tree, make the cut as pyramidal as possible.
- The side shoots are shortened for slimmer growth.
- If the fir has two trunks, one of them can be removed at the base, which also leads to slimmer growth.
- If, on the other hand, you want to grow in width, this can be achieved by cutting off the tip. It should be noted, however, that not just one, but several peaks develop after topping.
tips
Under good conditions, the hemlock can grow about 50 cm per year. Older trees grow more slowly. Tsuga heterophylla is a faster growing species than Tsuga canandensis.