14 February 2025 · by Sam Whitiora · 4 min read

When (and when not) to prune your pohutukawa

Auckland's iconic native is also one of the most over-pruned. Here's the simple rule we follow.

The pohutukawa is forgiving but not invincible. Prune late summer once flowering has finished, never in spring growth flush, and never remove more than 20% of live canopy in a single season. Heavy reductions cause epicormic regrowth — that frantic, weak shoot growth you see along bare branches — and shorten the tree's life by decades.