On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:46:45 -0000, "Peter"
wrote:

I have a Monkey Puzzle tree that is now blocking a path. When is the right
time of year to prune it and is there anything I need to know?
Thanks

This is ultimately a *BIG* tree, too often planted in too small a
space. It can eventually grow to 80 feet tall in the UK and its main
trunk can grow to 6 feet wide! If you prune it you will effectively
destroy its shape, you should only "tip prune" at most, other than
removing dead branches.

As it ages and gets taller, the lower branches die naturally so maybe,
if it is tall enough, say 30 feet or more, that's the answer to your
problem - take out the lower branches back to the main trunk up to
about 7 feet from the ground. If it's not that tall, then probably
better to reroute your path!

Caution, when pruning, wear stout gloves and eye protection. The tree
can fight back!

Some friends inherited one in their garden and, in the end, the only
course of action was to remove it. And, of course, it's not a cheap
tree to buy!