Plant dormancy is defined as the resting phase of a plant’s annual life cycle. It’s characterized by a drop-off in energy use and major plant functions (i.e. transpiration, photosynthesis, respiration, etc.,). Triggered by shortening day-length and several deep frosts, the plant dormant period usually starts in late November and ends when plant buds begin to swell in late March-early April.That’s a stretch of about 4 months of relative calm for trees and shrubbery.
Absent important stressors such as water shortages, insect and disease pests, it’s also the ideal time to prune plants. That’s because research shows that pruning wounds actually resist infection and produce protective wound-wood much sooner in the spring when they are made during the plant dormant period.
So get out your pruning tools.Train young trees for good structure.Improve the productivity of woody shrubbery by ridding them of dead, dying and rank branches.
Eliminate up to 1/3 of the total number of stems in multi-stem plants like hydrangea, forsythia, red-twig dogwood and lilac. This will renew the plant by encouraging new stems to sprout from their base.
