How to Prune Hybrid Willows
- 1). Wash the blades of your pruning tools in warm, soapy water and dry with a soft, clean towel. Sterilize them with rubbing alcohol to kill any surviving bacteria from previously pruned trees or plants.
- 2). Prune diseased, damaged or dead branches from your hybrid willow to keep it looking and feeling its best. Make clean pruning cuts at the base of the branches, just outside the branch collar. Cut through branches that are less than 3/4 inch thick with pruning shears. Use loppers or a pruning saw to remove thicker branches.
- 3). Remove suckers growing at the base of the hybrid willow to help it form a strong single trunk. Keep the bottom 3 feet of the trunk free of suckers or branches.
- 4). Remove vertical shoots growing from the tree's secondary branches to allow it to focus its energy on developing a healthy main trunk and strong primary branches.