Is my eastern white pine safe in a storm?
Structurally the worst of the common Indiana conifers under ice — soft brittle limb wood on long horizontal branches arranged in distinct whorls, so limbs snap a few feet out from the trunk and cascade down through the tree, stripping one whole side. Tops break out regularly as well, and a white pine leaning over a roof or a driveway is the conifer most likely to actually put something through it.
What pruning can and can't prevent
Prune in late winter or early spring while dormant, because it bleeds resin heavily from growing-season cuts, and pines set no latent buds on old bare wood — anything cut back past the last needled whorl stays a bare stub for the life of the tree. The only correct way to keep one smaller is pinching the soft candles in late spring; shearing the woody branches like a hedge permanently ruins it.
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