When should a tree-of-heaven be pruned?
There is effectively no pruning program for this species, because cutting stimulates it — a topped or cut stem answers with dozens of root suckers and stump sprouts that can put on 6–12 ft in the first year alone. Any cut intended to control it must be paired with immediate herbicide on the fresh stump, within minutes, or handled as a basal bark or hack-and-squirt treatment on the standing stem; cutting alone reliably makes the problem bigger than it was.
Reading tree-of-heaven before you cut
It rarely declines gradually; the notable exception is Verticillium wilt caused by V. nonalfalfae, which produces wilting, yellow vascular staining and dieback and can kill a tree within a single growing season. A tree-of-heaven suddenly wilting and defoliating in midsummer is far more likely wilt-killed than drought-stressed, and the standing dead stem turns brittle and unsafe to climb very quickly.
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