How to prune and feed pittosporum trees?

aaronkhoocy

 

Hi there, looking for advice on my three pittosporum trees in the backyard. 

I’ve had professionals to prune a third of the three off the top. They have however left some hanging branches with leaves that are drooping on the front and back of the trees. 

My questions are: 

1. Can I remove the hanging branches as they are quite unsightly at the moment, not to mention I’d prefer the branches to go up and not sideways! 

2. Do I need to fertilise these trees to encourage growth at the top where the cuts were made? It has only been 2 months so not sure how quickly they should be growing. 

thank you! 

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @aaronkhoocy. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about pruning your tree.

It looks like the professionals have performed a fairly drastic prune on your pittosporum tree, cutting off the entire top half and leaving only the lower branches. Given how severe the pruning was, it's important to be patient and allow the tree time to recover before doing any further pruning.

Regarding the hanging branches, I would advise against removing them at this point. Since the tree is still recovering from the hard prune, removing more foliage could put additional stress on it, potentially affecting its recovery. Instead, let the tree focus on regrowing shoots from the remaining branches. Once new shoots start growing upwards, you can then remove any lower branches that are in the wrong locations or are not growing in the desired direction.

As for fertilising, it can help encourage new growth, but since it's only been two months, the trees may still be focusing on recovery. I recommend waiting a little longer before fertilizing, as the tree may still be in shock. Once new growth starts to appear, you can apply a balanced, slow-release fertiliser to encourage healthy growth. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell