While most aravah bushes have gotten some pruning from cutting off aravos for lulav and hoshanos, now, after Sukkos, is the time to prune them back heavily.
While in middle of the summer it is best to only cut back on that year’s growth, now, at the end of the summer, is best to prune onto last years wood also, cutting off all this year’s growth. This will help them grow back well next spring.
The pruning should be done soon, so that the new growth – which will still grow back now – has time to ‘set’, and will not be damaged by frost – which can harm the bush.
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“the new growth – which will still grow back now”
We are forecast to be having significantly cooler temps shortly (in the NYC-NJ-tristate area). I don’t think it will “grow back” now.
They can be pruned in the coming spring.
Do not prune now, as pruning (especially drastic pruning) can stimulate new growth, which does not have enough time to mature/harden off before cold weather.
Rather wait until spring. At that time any winter damage can be seen and removed as well.
That is actually important news. Thank you !! really!
I’ve always wanted to plant arovos in my yard. I live in an area with seasons similar to NYC.
When is the best time to plant?
What is the process of cutting from an existing tree and planting it to grow a new one? The back of my yard is low ground where much water collects from the area and so that area would seem ideal for arovos location, which I understand thrive best when growing near a water source.
Arvovos are one of the easiest plants to grow from cuttings.
Cuttings root readily when placed in water for a while.
If you can find some arovos from Yom Tov that haven’t dried out yet, put them in a container of water now (it needn’t be filled to the top with water, a smaller amount is okay too), hold there for a while, and hopefully you will see new roots in a few weeks. That could be done inside. Perhaps outside as well. You can also take left over arovos that haven’t dried out and stick/plant them in the ground back of your yard where the ground is wet now.
If those don’t work, or you want to try later, at the end of winter or early spring, cut some thin branches of arovos from a plant and do the same.
Daven for success.
הצלחה
P.S. Donot plant arovos near pipes (e.g. water/sewer), as their roots can be quite vigorous and aggressive. They can get into pipes and cause blockages after a while, something you want to avoid.