Whether it makes sense to trim a conifer or not is not discussed in this article - sometimes you really only have the choice between cutting off the top or clearing the whole tree completely. In order to limit the damage as much as possible, you should heed our tips.
Conifers may be trimmed only after September 30th
The right time
No matter how much the neighbor pushes you, you can't just grab the saw and trim the tree at any time. Especially with large, old trees, you can quickly get into legal trouble for several reasons:
1. Shortening and felling of trees is not permitted between March 1st and September 30th of each year for reasons of bird protection.
2. The shortening and felling of large and old trees, even on private property, often requires official approval in accordance with the Tree Protection Ordinance. It is best to submit such applications to the city or district office responsible for you.
All in all, February is probably the best month for such a project: At this point in time, the tree is still in the vegetation break, but it will soon be able to sprout again with the approaching spring.
Cut back the conifer in a pyramid shape
It's not enough to just cut off the top of the tree and hope for the best - the result will look ugly for years to come. Instead, it has proven useful to cut back the tree according to its natural growth form - often pyramid-shaped in the case of conifers. This way the result is not too drastic and the tree remains aesthetic. Proceed as follows:
- In a first step, shorten the tree as desired.
- Cut straight at right angles to a branch.
- Choose two strong leading branches and tie them together vertically upwards.
- They should form the new top.
- Then cut back all side branches.
- They should get longer and longer from top to bottom.
- But only cut the new shoots of this year.
- Old shoots often no longer sprout, which is why a gap remains there after a cut.
One to two years after cutting, also remove the weaker of the two new top branches, leaving the stronger one as the new tip.
tips
Before you start cutting with hope, consider the following: In order for the result to remain aesthetic, you will have to reach for the saw or scissors every year from now on. The tree will try to form a new top itself, which is why several strong branches sprout strongly and henceforth compete with each other.