How to Trim a Fern Pine

Remove all dead and broken branches and twigs in the fern pine. Make the pruning cut with a bypass or hand pruners 1/2 to 1/4 inch above a lower leaf, leafy twig cluster or junction with an alive branch. Get rid of all dead and broken tissues before you tackle trimming, as removal of the damaged branches may affect how much trimming you ultimately want to complete.

Trim off branch tips and twigs on branches to limit the size or shape of the fern pine. Make the clipping wounds in between leaves on the outer ends of branches, avoiding cutting any leaf blades in half. Avoid trimming back into naked areas of branches where no leaves exist. Use a sturdy A-frame ladder to conduct trimming on taller parts of a fern pine.

Taper the overall silhouette of the fern pine to maximize the amount of light that reaches all parts of the foliage. Fern pines naturally attain an upright oval or rounded canopy of leaves and branches. When you trim branch tips, more stem length may be removed from branches higher up. From the side, the fern pine should look more like an A than a V. Slightly tapering the lower branches to be wider than those higher up ensures light still reaches the bottom of the plant. Excessive shading leads to thin foliage and lots of naked branches at the bottom of fern pines and other conifers.

Return to evaluate the fern pine's growth and shape in midsummer. Trim off errant branch tips that spoil the symmetry of the plant. Also take time to remove any further dead or broken twigs or branches that have occurred since the late winter trimming.