The ash tree in my front yard taught me about pruning timing
I've been climbing for about six years now, mostly residential work around Columbus, and I always figured winter was the best time to prune everything. Then this spring I did a late April job on an old ash that had some serious dieback, and the owner asked why I was taking off so much live wood. I tried to explain the whole dormant season thing, but honestly the tree looked worse after I was done than before I started. A month later I drove past that same house and the crown had bounced back way better than I expected, new growth filling in all the gaps. That got me thinking about how ash trees respond differently than maples or oaks when you cut them late. I'm starting to think we lean too hard on one pruning calendar for every species, especially with all the emerald ash borer stress around here. Has anyone else noticed better recovery on ash when you wait until bud break instead of pruning in February?