This is how the pruning succeeds

Cuts can be a gateway for various pathogens. The horse chestnut is just like that Sweet chestnut quite sensitive to diseases and various pests. Particular attention is paid to fungal diseases or the Horse chestnut leaf miner. The latter occurs mainly in the common horse chestnut. With others Chestnut species it hardly causes any significant damage.

When is it necessary to cut the horse chestnut?

It is highly recommended to cut off sick or dry branches of a horse chestnut. A very dense growth with many water shoots is a reason for pruning, as is an inharmonious shape.

How should I go about cutting?

So that your horse chestnut gets as little damage as possible from a cut, you should choose the time carefully. The period from October to late February or early March is ideal for pruning. If possible, the temperature should not rise above 4 ° C in the following days, this minimizes the risk of a fungal infection enormously.

Use only well-sharpened and thoroughly cleaned tools for pruning your horse chestnut. This will help keep the tree healthy. Because the horse chestnut does not have particularly good wound healing. Unclean cuts heal even worse.

In particular, prune your horse chestnut when it is still quite young. The branches to be cut should not be thicker than about five centimeters, if possible. This dimension is difficult to maintain with older trees. In addition, a tree that was pruned early rarely needs a major pruning later. Only a thinning out may still be necessary.

The essentials in brief:

• ideal time for pruning: October to February
• Carefully prune younger horse chestnuts
• only thinning out older chestnuts
• If possible, only cut branches with a diameter of less than 5 cm
• clean and sharp tools minimize the risk of disease transmission