How to Prune Spanish cherry?

(Mimusops elengi)

Spanish cherry, also known as Bullet wood, Tanjong tree

A tropical evergreen with fragrant flowers and ornamental foliage, spanish cherry benefits from selective pruning to maintain shape and promote health. Annually remove dead or diseased wood and thin out dense branches in winter when spanish cherry is less active, avoiding flowering season to preserve blooms. Regular pruning enhances air circulation, light penetration, and vigorous growth, but over-pruning can diminish flowering. Precise cuts prevent damage, preserving spanish cherry's aesthetic and vitality.

What Are the Benefits of Pruning Spanish Cherry?

Pruning spanish cherry ensures vigorous growth and maintains its desirable shape. Strategic cuts improve its vitality and structure, aiding in a healthier and aesthetically pleasing form.

What Is the Best Time for Pruning Spanish Cherry?

Pruning spanish cherry in late winter aligns with the plant's dormancy period, ensuring minimal stress and sap loss. This timing also allows the plant to heal quickly as new growth starts in spring, promoting a healthier structure. Additionally, it avoids cutting off flower buds which would reduce blooming and fruiting potential if pruned too late.

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What Tools Do I Need to Prune Spanish Cherry?

Hand Pruners

These are essential for making clean cuts on smaller branches of spanish cherry. Hand pruners come in bypass and anvil styles, with bypass being preferable for live wood to avoid crushing plant tissue.

Lopping Shears

Due to spanish cherry's potential for moderate growth, lopping shears are ideal for cutting branches that are too thick for hand pruners but not thick enough to necessitate a saw. They provide good leverage and cleaner cuts.

Pruning Saw

A pruning saw will come in handy for the largest branches of spanish cherry. It allows for precise cuts without damaging the surrounding branches, which is important for the plant's health.

Hedge Shears

For shaping the dense foliage of spanish cherry, hedge shears are a practical tool. These allow for the trimming and shaping of the shrubbery to maintain a desired aesthetic.

How to Prune Spanish Cherry

Identify

Inspect spanish cherry for any dead or diseased branches. These are typically characterized by a lack of leaves, brittle wood, or discoloration.

Disinfect

Before cutting, disinfect pruning tools with a solution of bleach or alcohol to prevent the spread of disease to healthy parts of spanish cherry.

Cutting

Using sharp, clean pruning shears, cut dead branches back to the point of origin or to a healthy lateral branch, making sure the cuts are clean and angled away from any buds to encourage proper water runoff.

Remove Diseased

Remove diseased branches by cutting at least several inches below the affected area to ensure all parts of the disease are eliminated from spanish cherry.

Cleanup

After pruning, clean up all removed material from around spanish cherry to avoid any potential spread of disease or pests and to maintain a tidy growing area.

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Common Pruning Mistakes with Spanish Cherry

Over-Pruning

Removing too much foliage at once can stress spanish cherry, leading to stunted growth or a weakened state that makes it susceptible to pests and diseases.

Cutting Too Close

Trimming too close to the main trunk or branches can create wounds that are slow to heal, potentially exposing spanish cherry to infections.

Uneven Cuts

Making uneven cuts or tearing the branches can damage the cambium, which is the layer responsible for new growth, hindering proper healing and regrowth.

Ignoring Diseased Areas

Failing to identify and remove diseased or dead wood can allow the problem to spread throughout spanish cherry, compromising its health.

Using Dull Tools

Pruning with dull tools can result in jagged cuts that make spanish cherry vulnerable to disease, and cause unnecessary damage to the plant.

Neglecting Sanitization

Not sanitizing pruning tools between cuts can spread diseases from infected parts of spanish cherry to healthy ones or even between different plants.

Common Pruning Tips for Spanish Cherry

Selective Pruning

Spanish cherry benefits from selective thinning, which removes certain branches to encourage light penetration and air circulation, thus promoting a stronger structure and better health.

Angle Cuts

Make cuts at a 45-degree angle about 1/4 inch above outward-facing buds to prevent water accumulation and encourage growth in a desirable direction.

Sharp Tools

Always use sharp, clean pruning tools to make precise cuts that will heal quickly, reducing the risk of infection for spanish cherry.

Gradual Reductions

If needing to reduce the size of spanish cherry, do so gradually over the course of several seasons to avoid over-pruning shock.

Protective Pruning

Remove crossing branches that rub together to prevent wounds that can serve as entry points for pests and diseases in spanish cherry.

Structural Trimming

For young spanish cherry, focus on structural trimming to shape the plant and remove competing leaders, ensuring a strong form as it grows.