nick16 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Not being a gardener, I tend to ask my french neighbour if I am not too sure about things.Some of the lower branches of our walnut trees were in need of a prune - nothing drastic, and only branches that were about as thick as your thumb. She didn't see a problem doing them about this time of year.However within minutes of pruning them, they started to bleed quite copiously, and have continued to do so for a few days.Was I wrong to do it at this time of year? Have I harmed them in any way, and should I be doing anything to stop the bleeding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 It's recommended to prune walnut trees in winter, when they are dormant so they don't weep. If the pruning didn't involve cutting too much wood, the ends of the branches should be drying off. There are products you can buy to paint on fruit trees after pruning, although I think they went out of fashion. Depending on what type of walnut trees they are, plants nearby could be affected, as they produce chemicals in their sap.I don't know much more - maybe an expert will be along later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 August is the recommended time for pruning walnuts. Though I don't think that pruning now would seriously damage a walnut tree but you do get the bleeding that you've experienced. Spring is the worst possible time to prune walnuts. Don't seal the cuts. That has mostly gone out of fashion for two (probably more) reasons. The first is that branches break off trees naturally and therefore trees are able to "heal" damage themselves by growing to seal a cut. Covering the cut with a "sealant" prevents this natural process being effective. The second reason is sealing to keep fungus, bacteria, insects etc out of the open "wound". Fungus spores, bacteria etc occur naturally in the air and sun, frost, fresh air will often deal with any problems following pruning. However, artificially sealing a cut can seal in the organisms that cause rot etc and can give them the perfect environment to cause damage to the tree. The only reason to use a sealant is if the cut is likely to give insects an opportunity to damage the tree and I think that's a problem in warmer climates than northern Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I thought winter was the best time to prune after reading an article by RHS on walnut trees. Thanks for the info about sealant - I knew the article mentioned it had gone out of fashion, but couldn't quite remember why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I think - as with most things - advice varies, particularly with the arrival of the www - but there's an RHS link here that suggests mid-summer (ie, full leaf) is the time to prune walnuts. We had two walnuts trees in our garden in Wiltshire which we pruned a couple of times and, even in August, there was some bleeding but not much and only for a day or two. The staining washes off (or bleaches in the sun) over time.http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?PID=233 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Like you, Nick, I'm an amateur where such things are concerned but I had walnut trees in the UK and also have them here. I've hacked bits off them at all sorts of times of year - sometimes they have bled and sometimes not - I have never put anything on their "wounds" and even I have not managed to murder one yet.[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick16 Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thank you to all for your replies. It seems I haven't done too much damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Our walnut tree died this year. It was very sudden. In May, it had blossomed and then it died within a couple of weeks. It was such a shock as it was at least 40 years old.The only warning was that last autumn, one year after pruning it, we had an outbreak of fungus - see this thread.http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2/1430123/ShowPost.aspx#1430123We had to prune it because we live in a storm zone and our insurance company stipulated no tall trees near the house. I have no idea whether the pruning and the fungus were related but thought you would be interested so that you can keep a watch on your tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick16 Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Thanks Cathy. Sorry about your walnut tree. Must be like losing an old friend. I'd be distraught if we lost one of ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael123 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 HI cathy, i checked ithttp://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2/1430123/ShowPost.aspx#1430123it is really helpful for me, i am agree with you, keep it up, thanks for sharing cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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