On Jan 16, 2:47*pm, aquachimp
wrote:
On Jan 15, 3:46*pm, "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

As others have said, your options are limited.
And you need a hardy pair of gloves and *a *couple of layers of
clothing, preferably, something with a hood, or, is you've got no
protective glasses..; a peaked cap (if that's the right term for a
baseball cap style item)
In the event that you wish to remove dead branches at a height that
entails going up a ladder, I suggest you also take a draw-hoe up with
you; use this to shove the dead branch upwards.. that'll cause it to
snap, and then you can pull it downward.
having such a hoe (not a Dutch hoe) will afford you far greater reach
and the fact that you can dislodge branches from a bit if a distance
away from you will reduce the amount of bird shit and armour-plated
"leaves" that the would otherwise engulf you.

er, when I said "that'll cause it to snap" I meant flush with the main
stem and not snapping in the middle of a dead branch leaving you with
ugly jagged edged spikes.
At ground level you can just yank the dead branch upwards in an abrupt
manner and it just comes off at the main tree trunk.