When should you prune a roof plane tree? And how?

Sycamore oaks (Platanus hispanica) are beautiful, distinctive trees with large leaves and peeling bark.

However, they do grow very quickly. Tree-form varieties of the sycamore, such as a canopy tree or umbrella tree, must therefore be pruned annually.

If you don't prune a roof fig regularly, it will be much harder to restore it to its proper shape later on, and you may need to make rough cuts to achieve the desired size and shape.

When should you prune a roof plum tree?

The best time to prune a roof plane tree is in the winter. Generally speaking, the period from November through March is suitable. February is often ideal. However, if it’s freezing, it’s best not to prune.

If you wish, you can also trim back the growing branches in the summer (around June–July). This saves work in the winter, and it keeps the branches a bit thinner, making them easier to prune.

When a sycamore tree still has its leaves, it often releases a kind of dust or small particles of lint, which can cause eye irritation (and skin irritation if you're allergic). Pruning in the winter means you won't have this problem.

How do you prune a roof plane tree?

It’s important to keep a roof tree small and maintain its shape. This means pruning back all upward-growing branches annually, right down to the main branch. If you don’t want the umbrella shape to grow any larger, you can also limit the growth of the main branches by pruning them back to the desired length.

In addition to pruning away all upward-growing branches, it is, of course, also necessary to prune dead, diseased, and crossing branches.

How do you prune other trees on the roof?

Other (deciduous) trees suitable for growing on rooftops—such as sweetgum, hornbeam, roof mulberry, roof maple, or roof swamp oak—can be pruned in the same way.

Please note that you should not prune the so-called ABC trees (Acer, Betula, and Carpinus) in the winter.