Tree Trimming Question From Ter:

Is there any way to stop or at least minimize the number of new sprouts that grow on the cuts after i trim the California pepper tree? i take off a branch, turn around, and there are a dozen sprouts growing where the removed branch was. If i can’t stop them i’ll be like Sysiphus lock

Answer From Pat:

Thank you for your wonderful question. What you are noticing is an effect of global warming, which is in turn creating climate change. In normal years the growth rate of most trees and shrubs slows down in fall and winter. Part of the reason is that nitrogen in the ground is less accessible to tree roots during the cooler temperatures of fall and winter. Cold temperatures also slow down plant growth. Thus, when one prunes a pepper tree in fall, in most Southern California climate zones, it most likely won’t send out new shoots until spring. You also are seeing why we shear hedges to make them grow into thick screens with many leafy twigs on the outside. When we cut off the twiggy growth on the outside of a hedge, it multiplies and makes more.

But back to global warming, this autumn, when plants are usually slowing down and hardening up for winter, they are doing something differently: They have not stopped growing. This is partly because of warmer temperatures but also because of the far greater amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Plants absorb carbon dioxide through their leaves and once inside the plant, it acts just like a fertilizer making them grow. In April of this year measurements made by the observatory on Mona Loa in Hawaii showed more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than has ever before measured in recorded history. The result is that plants here in Southern California are growing rapidly now in November, instead of slowing down as they usually do. It is particularly noticeable in the rate of growth of trees. Where I live it’s easy for me to look out from my desk, where I am now seated and see that an Italian stone pine in the distance that used to barely touch the horizon, has suddenly grown a considerable distance above it.

All this means that, no, there is no way that you can slow the growth of your pepper tree. It will keep on growing and most likely the more you prune it the denser that growth will be.

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