Jeff: Breaking dormancy is not a problem in the autumn. In temperate zones, trees
ENTER dormancy in late autumn or early winter. In my Louisiana climate, I can get
away with later pruning than you can in northern Ohio.
The problem is, as someone else pointed out, that pruning tends to induce
new growth. That is usually a good thing. But it is a bad thing when the plant is
heading into dormancy. This is because fresh, new growth has not yet "hardened off"
and is still fragile and more vulnerable to any kind of insult whether it be cold,
bruising, bending, or whatever.
If you do prune in autumn, then you have signed on for more diligent cold
weather care than you would normally need to exert. If you are set up with a
greenhouse and lots of time for monitoring, feel free to prune away. Otherwise, you
will do well to exercise restraint in the autumn. (All this assumes that you want
the tree to survive and thrive.)
Alan Walker, Lake Charles, LA, USA
http://LCBSBonsai.org http://bonsai-bci.com
================================
SNIP
Heavy pruning is out of the question. You would be encouraging soft, new
growth which would be subject to winter kill. Wiring could be OK, provided you
don't place major stress on any branches. Stressed branches might be killed when
frozen.
Marty
----------
"Isom, Jeff (EM, PTL)" wrote:
Will heavy pruning cause the plant to break dormancy? If not, I'm not
understanding how pruning can encourage ANY growth if a plant is dormant.
Thanks,
Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH / Sunset Zone 39

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