I am not going to do anything to jeopardize my newly rehabbed trees, but I did notice now that the branches are heavier with leaves and flowers, that many of the branches are so low on the trunk they brush the ground. (The flowering is heaviest on these lower branches if that makes a difference but there are flowers on the higher branches too.)

I'd like to have some clearance at the ground level, can I prune off some of the lower branches? If so, when is the best time? Saw them off? Seal the cuts?

I also found that the two trees that are the heaviest bloomers were the ones I had unknowingly cut the worst of the diseased limbs away from, and the navel which has never been touched with a clipper has zero flowers. Coincidence?

Thanks,

KC