How exactly and when a deciduous tree is pruned varies greatly and depends on the specific species and variety. What you should definitely not do, however, is to plant a growing tree in a location that is too small and then hinder its development with severe pruning measures.
Professional pruning promotes healthy growth
Why do you actually have to cut?
A pruning primarily serves to promote the natural structure of a tree and to maintain or restore it later - for example, by a senescent, bare tree experiencing a rejuvenation through a targeted cut. Pruning measures are also necessary to shape hedges and topiaries (e.g. sculptures made of box or hornbeam), but not to limit the height of bushes and trees that have grown stronger than expected. Not every deciduous tree needs to be pruned, and using scissors can often cause a lot of damage. However, grafted shrubs such as many fruit and ornamental fruit trees require regular pruning so that they bear fruit evenly.
The different forms of pruning
Pruning measures should be carried out on deciduous trees during the dormant period if possible. However, because quite a few tree species lose significant amounts of bleeding sap after pruning at the end of winter, they are better pruned in late summer. This is useful for species such as maple (Acer), European locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), walnut (Juglans), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), magnolia (Magnolia), cord trees (Sophora) and lime tree (Tilia platyphyllos).
plant cutting
Deciduous trees are often transplanted with bare roots. They lose part of their roots when they are cleared, so a balance must be created between the remaining roots and above-ground parts of the plant before planting. To do this, remove weak and damaged branches and shorten the remaining ones by about a third. On the other hand, trees and shrubs that grow naturally with few, thick branches do not require pruning. This also applies to evergreen deciduous trees.
maintenance cut
Most deciduous and evergreen deciduous trees basically do not require maintenance pruning, unless they are fruit trees. However, you can thin out the trees or remove dead or diseased wood.
tips
Many small trees such as fruit and ornamental fruit trees and shrubs are propagated in the tree nursery by grafting. It is not uncommon for more or less "wild" shoots to sprout from the rootstock, which you have to carefully remove directly at the point where they originate. Otherwise you could overgrow the noble variety, but at least inhibit its development.