If you are in the Eumundi Noosa area and interested in getting someone to prune your frangipani(s), please read about our Frangipani Tree Pruning Service.
Old Frangipani Trees
Frangipani trees have an impressive lifespan, often living for over 100 years. As they grow larger with age, they produce more and more branches. Over time, these branches begin to compete with one another for sunlight and nutrients, leading to fascinating growth patterns.
Frangipani Branches
Frangipani trees develop branches and leaves that harness energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. Longer branches with ample sunlight access grow stronger and healthier. It’s almost as though the tree intuitively favors these sunlit branches, allocating them a greater share of nutrients from the soil to support their growth.
Dead Branches
The shorter branches, including lower horizontal branches and higher vertical ones that lack sunlight exposure, often become weak. These weaker branches tend to produce smaller leaves, grow at a slower pace, and often become softer. Weak, soft branches are less able to resist disease and rot. If rot takes hold, the rot begins to spread through the branch. Initially, the healthy white wood turns brown, progressing to a black liquid as the decay worsens. Over time, the affected branch dies, and the remaining wood hardens. These dead, dry hardwood branches remain attached to the tree for a while before eventually falling to the ground and lying beneath the tree.
Removing Dead Frangipani Branches
The quickest and easiest way to tidy up around a frangipani tree is to pick up the dead branches off the ground from around the trunk. The next thing to do is to remove hard, lifeless branches still attached to the tree. Sometimes soft weak branches can regain health and survive for a long time so removing or leaving them is up to you. If you find branches that are extremely soft, the rot is most likely well on its way to killing the branch and these branches are best removed by cutting them off around one centimeter from the nearest healthy fork.
If you’d like to remove more branches, look for the softer and weaker branches to cut off first. These will often be the shorter branches in the centre of the tree which are denied sunlight by the canopy. Next, look for shorter branches that aren’t getting sunlight which will be the next in line to be ignored by the tree. Alternatively, remove the longest, highest branches and allow the remaining branches to finally get some sun and thrive. While pruning suggests cutting off small amounts, “cropping” is a term used to describe cutting off big branches.
Frangipani Branch Tips
In Australia, animals like kangaroos often nibble on the tips of shrubs and small branches. Many native Australian plants have evolved to regenerate quickly after such damage, with some species even thriving as a result of regular pruning by herbivores. Australian native plants respond well to frequently having the tips of their branches snipped off. Frangipanis, on the other hand, evolved in central America and respond differently.
Cropping A Frangipani Tree
If your frangipani has gotten way too big and you’re thinking “it’s got to go”, consider cropping it and letting it start again as a baby tree. If you cut off a large frangipani tree back to a 1 metre or 2 metre stump, the stump will produce new shoots. Shoots will turn into branches and in a couple of years you have a great new tree half the size. Note, there is obviously a lot of shock for the tree and some risks associated with the big wounds. Horizontal cuts are particularly risky as they can hold rainwater that leads to rot.
Thinning
As the number of branches increase, there more competition for nutrients and sunlight. Reducing the number of branches allows each branch more nutrients and more sunlight which produces stronger healthier branches.
For the Flowers
Another common reason to reduce the size of a frangipani tree is to better enjoy the flowers. Many frangipani trees in residential areas are positioned between structures and aren’t able to grow into a mushroom shape. For example, it’s common to see a frangipani tree between a side fence and house with all its flowers and leaves above the second story roof. This happens because the residents need to cut off many of the lower branches as the branches grow towards the house or into the fence. These large frangipanis can be reduced to a height of 3 metres, 2 metres or even to a 1 metre stump allowing new branches to produce flowers and leaves lower and closer to eye level or, depending on the situation, closer to a bedroom window or a balcony.
Where to Cut Off Frangipani Branches
If you need to cut off a single branch or small number of branches, you can easily do it with a chainsaw, handsaw or loppers. If possible, make the cut vertical so the branch does not hold rainwater.
If you don’t want new shoots to grow from the branch, make the cut close to the fork, think one centimetre.
If your frangipani is already lanky or you are planning to cut off all the branches, you should encourage the branches to produce new shoots. A long healthy branch with a clean cut will want to create new tips and keep growing. Keep an eye out for branches that produce too many shoots. Think of a stump producing 5 or 6 new shoots and me snipping some off while they are very small, leaving 3 evenly spaced shoots to grow into a nicely balanced 3-way fork. You’re the artist!