How to Prune a Young Eastern Redbud

Eastern Redbud is a common ornamental tree native to North America. This flowering tree has vibrantly colored leaves and small white or pink flowers.

It is necessary to prune the Eastern Redbud to promote vigorous growth. This gives the tree a perfect shape and allows for uniform growth. The best time to prune the tree is early summer. Dead and diseased branches and shoots are removed in winter.

The Eastern Redbud is susceptible to many infections, the most common being canker. Therefore, pruning and shaping this tree at a young age would be a good option. This is because the limbs or branches of young trees are small, and the wounds left behind by pruning will naturally be small and would heal faster.

Eastern Redbud trees are generally pruned by pinching, thinning, and shearing.

Step 1 - Pinch

Eastern Redbuds are usually pinched back while they are still young. Their stem shoots are removed in order to promote branching and to avoid the need for aggressive pruning in the future.

Step 2 - Thin

By the thinning process, entire branches—excluding the trunk—of the young Eastern Redbud tree are removed. The cuts made during the thinning process are mainly for improving the air circulation.

Step 3 - Shear

In order to maintain the shape of the Eastern Redbud, shearing is performed. Old, dead or diseased branches are removed from the tree to keep it in a good shape.

Removing too many branches during pruning may lead to the death of the tree. It is better to remove low-lying large branches that overlap with other branches and those that grow inward. Remove all the shoots that arise at the bottom of the trunk. In the case of the older Eastern Redbuds, pruning is done by removing the old and dead branches. Further, the remaining branches are lightly trimmed.