Can you kill a plant from over-pruning?
When you shift into a new place, especially one with a large, mature landscape, the gardener in you will immediately start twitching if the plants on your lawn are overgrown. You may develop an irresistible urge to open the canopies and hard prune every plant you can reach — and some that belong to your neighbors. But, over Tree pruning in plants can be as bad, or even worse, than not pruning them at all. Can You Kill a Plant From Over Pruning? Although over shrubs and pruned trees don't mainly die if some part of the canopy remains, the damage from over-pruning can be extensive. Over pruning reduces the foliage available for making food for the rest of the plant and allows pests and diseases to access the tree if cuts are made incorrectly. Plants may grow excessively in response to so much canopy loss to increase food production and protect the plant's bark from sunscald. Over time, continued over-pruning may lead to too weak branches to tolerate wind or ice loads, or the pla...