One of the very, very slow growing trees is the laurel tree. It is considered a tree that is planted but not seen to grow and, as the saying goes, it grows so slowly that whoever plants it cannot see it in all its glory. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to do some maintenance. For instance,Do you know when the laurel is pruned? Or how to make it look like a tree?
If you have a bay tree, or are going to have one, and you want to shape it or make its growth year after year noticeable, then we are going to give you all the keys to achieve this. Dark?
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Why do we prune a laurel tree?
There is a saying that goes something like: “He who plants a laurel does not see it grow.” It is because it is so slow in its growth that the years pass and the one who planted it reaches old age and the end of his life without the tree having changed much.
Laurels are plants that take many years to reach their “adult” appearance. This is why they are so appreciated and important.
It is therefore possible that you wonder why prune it if it takes so long to grow. What is certain is that There’s a reason for that: to keep it nice and clean. Over time, it may have broken, dry, diseased branches… which will make the tree ugly and less beautiful. Moreover, they are a source of infection for diseases and pests and that is more than enough reason to spend some time cleaning it.
In reality, drastic pruning is not necessary, in fact it is not advisable. But it is necessary that can be pruned to a maximum of one third of its size since this will activate the development of the plant.
When is the laurel pruned?
Once you know the reason why you should prune the laurels, the next thing is to know the best time to do it. And in this sense, the best is always wait for autumn and winter. During these two seasons, the plant completely stops its growth, which makes it possible to carry out any pruning without suffering.
Of course, keep in mind what we told you before, that it should not be pruned to more than a third of its size because it is one of the plants that suffers a lot from pruning .
In addition, you have to control the weather a bit. We explain to you. If you live in an area where it is quite cold in winter, it is not recommended to prune bay leaves in this season. Not even in the fall. It is better to wait until the end of winter to do this because this way you ensure that it will not freeze (due to the scars that occur) or contract any disease or plague that ends with its health.
Outside of this size, some experts recommend that, in the spring, a small cut is made at the top of the tree. In this way, he will be able to produce new branches and make him take the form of a tree.
How to prune bay leaf
Now that you know when the laurel is pruned, all that remains is to know what are the steps to follow to do it. And for that, we have produced a little guide that can illustrate everything you have to do (don’t worry, it’s not much).
bay pruning tools
What do you need to carve a laurel tree? You may think that scissors and maybe gloves to protect yourself. But is it enough? Yes and no.
Depending on how the laurel is, you may think that with scissors and gloves it’s enough, but what if it’s already big enough? Don’t you need stairs or scaffolding prune it?
It can also happen that the branches are quite thick, and that with scissors you cannot cut, so you will need to have one on hand. chain saw. And if we talk about high cuts, helmet and goggles they are also very important.
In fact, all the tools we told you about are the ones you would use in any situation. Obviously, if your laurel is small, a pair of scissors is more than enough. But we wanted to give you the full list because you may have a Laurel in different phases.
Types of laurel pruning
Next, we want to tell you about the different kinds of size that you could achieve on your laurels.
maintenance pruning
This is the most common and the one you will do almost every year. Consists of remove diseased or dry, damaged branches, etc. Branches that interfere with or prevent air from penetrating well through the laurel would also enter here.
training size
It is one of the first that we do to this tree because it is up to it to give it shape (hence its name) and allow it to grow healthily.
To shape it, just figure out how you want your tree to be and follow it to the letter, cut off any branches that stick out of this design.
In the case of reducing the size of the laurel, you will have to mark a certain line or space of your laurel and cut what is outside this area.
Plan the size
You already have the tools, you have decided on the type of pruning. Now it remains only to get to work, and that’s where you should not “fly in the dark”. In other words, you must have planned in advance the cuts you are going to give. This way you make sure you don’t prune too much and at the same time know which branches to remove and which to keep.
Start with the root shoots. These consume a lot of power, and unless you want it to keep its original, usual shape, it’s best to remove them.
Then continue with the diseased, weakened, dry branches… These won’t give you much trouble and cut easily, although if they are thick you should have some healing ointment on hand to keep bacteria out and harm your health.
behind these branches the next thing would be the training size itself, in case you want it to have some shape or other.
For example, if you want it as a tree with a high crown, you will have to cut off part of the crown so that it branches and, when it does, remove the branches from the lower part to leave the trunk bare .
On the other hand, if you prefer it in a low ball, you will have to make sure that it does not grow much in length and that it has a ball shape, by cutting the branches that leave this circle.
As you see, it is not only important when the laurel is pruned, but also how it is done and the reasons why certain branches of this plant are cut. Do you have a laurel and do you want to do it? Our recommendations will surely help you succeed.