Cut out dead branches to the stem.

Aug 22, The best time of year to trim arborvitae is after the growing season, once the plant has gone dormant until the next growing season. Essentially, this is the fall and early winter, depending on your local climate. Basically, you want to wait until you’re sure there will be no warm spells.

So, after late November is a good rule to follow. Aug 16, Technique 3: Late is Great.

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Gaétan Paquet, an ecological arborist with 30 years’ experience pruning arborvitae hedges, recommends late summer pruning, from August 15 th to 30 th. By pruning at this time, at the tail end of the hedge’s growing season, the hedge will retain a dense, very conical shape through the winter that will prevent the snow from clinging to the twigs and prevent any. Oct 08, The tops of arborvitae trees are often cut off when the height becomes problematic, or people want to prune the tree into a hedge.

Removing the top creates a very flat appearance since the shrub will no longer grow upwards after the central leader is removed. Avoid taking the top off when trimming arborvitae if you are only thinning your shrubremoval.bar: Jeffrey Douglas. Dec 10, Like most evergreens, arborvitae should be trimmed while it is dormant.

This is roughly from about Thanksgiving to St. Patrick's Day. Many gardeners like to prune. Pruning Arborvitae to Shorten a Tall Hedge Late spring after flowering - After the arborvitae has flowered and before mid summer is the best time to prune back a tall hedge row. The plant can maintain itself after flowering and maintain the height you are looking for. Trim your overgrown arborvitae in the spring before new green growth appears, but after the last hard frost occurs in your region.

Step 2 Cut away dead, discolored or diseased foliage, plus twigs and small branches from the interior and perimeter of the tree or shrub. Dec 15, Because arborvitaes grow continuously during the growing season, you can prune them at any time through mid-summer.

Topping arborvitaes, however, negatively affects the trees' growth and appearance.

So, timing is important.

Oct 02, Prune arborvitae to reduce height in the late winter, before the sap rises in the main trunk. To thin out overgrowth, prune in mid-summer, so new growth can take hold before the tree goes dormant for winter. Prune down to ground level in the early spring, before flowering and budding.