How to Prune a Brazilian Pepper Tree
- 1). Protect your arms, hands, legs and eyes with adequate covering before pruning the tree. Cut the tree when the fruit is not present, if possible, because the fruit can cause skin rashes.
- 2). Avoid pruning from September through December when the Brazilian pepper tree flowers and its red fruit appears. Limit propagation by clearing the ground of any flowers and fruit that drop. Clear the ground frequently during flowering and fruiting seasons.
- 3). Cut the limbs from below to shape the tree. Walk under the tree to be sure you have cut high enough. Be diligent in cutting, as the tree tends to clump as a canopy develops and its limbs grow at every angle.
- 4). Prune the branches and shoots to gain control over the tree. Be sure all the branches are trimmed of new growth to curb the expansion of the tree.
- 5). Eradicate the Brazilian pepper tree by cutting it down to its stump, as close to ground level as you can get. Apply an herbicide that is specifically recommended for Brazilian pepper trees within five minutes of cutting the stump. Cover the ring just inside the bark line with the herbicide, as this is where the living tissue called cambium comes from and this is where new growth emanates from. Continue applying the herbicide over the entire top of the stump.