Recommended time is in late winter
Cutting back in the middle of the season means pure stress for your columnar oak. Therefore, choose an appointment in the middle of the juice rest. This has the advantage that the tree does not wear its foliage, so you have a clear view of the arrangement of the branches. This allows a precise cut, which benefits the harmonious look. In practice, a frost-free day between January and March, in good time before the fresh shoots, has proven to be extremely effective.
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This is how you guide the secateurs correctly
A conscientious cut is rewarded on a columnar oak with dense foliage and compact growth. It is crucial where you start the scissors. A cut a few millimeters above a sleeping eye acts as an impulse for a bud. So keep an eye out for small bumps under the bark to cut the branch at this point. Please also pay attention to these aspects:
- Do not just cut a columnar oak in the crown, but shorten it all around
- Remove branches that are steeply upward and inward
- Clear out all dead wood
Take a few steps back as you work to plan the next cuts. The natural growth form should be preserved as far as possible, even after a more extensive topiary.
Avoid cutting into old wood
Regardless of their tolerance of pruning measures, a columnar oak has a hard time sprouting out of old wood. You should therefore limit the amount of the cutback to the growth of the last year, at most the past 2 years. If there is limited space available from the outset, we therefore recommend an annual shape cut by a maximum of a third.
Tips
The mother of all German columnar oaks can still be visited today. Visit the 'Schöne von Harrenhausen' in Babenhausen in Hesse. The magnificent tree has been thriving here in the Harrenhausen district for more than 570 years. Its seeds are traded as a rarity among enthusiasts and come up trumps with a high success rate of columnar descendants.
