|
Generally pruning involves the removal of crossing,
damaged or diseased branches that promote the
attractive, structurally sound and productive (fruit
or/flowers) growth of a woody plant. Practice
safety with proper equipment and protective gear.
If a job is too big or complicated, consider hiring
a certified arborist. Let's start with a new
tree. Pruning at the time of transplanting, while
once thought to be beneficial, is now not
recommended. This past practice of balancing top
growth and root volume was found to be unnecessary.
Pruning, however, should begin early as we train a
tree to have one central trunk and four to five
scaffold branches spaced twelve to twenty-four
inches apart. Early training will eliminate future
issues such as double-leaders or co-dominant stems
which can be big splitting problems down the road.
If you were to look at a properly trained tree from
above, the branches would be displayed in an array
like the spokes of a wheel. Branches with a greater
than forty-five degree angle are also to be
encouraged. Branch attachment of less than a
forty-five degree angle tends to be structurally
unsound and open to splitting. When pruning trees
or shrubs, always keep in mind the natural growth of
individual species.
Pruning techniques have also
made great strides in the past few decades. A
favorite technique in the past was one called
"topping" or hat racking. Topping is not only a
violation of our local county tree ordinance, but
also leaves a tree looking bad and stressed. The
new growth that may grow back from the stubs
develops into crowded, structurally unsound branches
that have poor attachment and are open to breakage
in storms. Pruning techniques such as thinning,
which is the complete removal of branches back to
lateral branches, the main trunk or in shrubs, to
the ground, are fine and warranted. Heading back,
another technique, involves the removal of part of a
branch back to an outward pointing branch or bud.
Never remove more that between a quarter to one
third of the total volume of a woody plant at any
one pruning.
As mentioned earlier, generally
tree pruning involves the removal of dead, diseased,
or broken branches. Removing large branches (over
one and one-half inches) from trees will involve
what is known as the "three-cut" method".
First, at a point about one foot out from the trunk,
make an undercut part way through the branch;
usually until the saw binds. Next, make the second
cut from above about two to four inches out from the
first undercut. The branch will break at the pivot
point and the bulk of the branch will detach. If
this was not done, it is likely that a long strip of
bark would detach with the branch and further wound
the tree. A final cut is made just outside the
branch collar region. The branch collar is a
swollen point where the branch attaches to the
trunk. Research has found that this area has
natural healing (sealing, rather as trees do not
heal, but rather lay down layers of wood to
"compartmentalize" wounds) zones that need to be
preserved. Old information said that a pruning cut
flush with the trunk was acceptable. It is not!
Again make your pruning cut just outside the branch
collar. Also, wound paint is not needed. Research
has shown that if the proper pruning cut is made,
the tree will effectively seal itself up from
bacteria and fungi. The use of pruning seal was
found to possibly trap in bacteria and fungi.
Accordingly, there is no need to use a pruning seal
material unless it makes you feel better and
only a thin layer if at all!
There is much more to pruning
than you may think. I've only touched on a few
items of interest that needed some attention. For
more information, I would recommend that you obtain
a copy of our publication" Pruning Landscape Trees
and Shrubs" from our office and/or chat with a
Master Gardeners on the Plant Lifeline at
764-4360 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays. Our office is located at 25550 Harborview
Road, Suite 3 in
Port Charlotte. Our Plant
Clinics are available across the county:
Demonstration Garden at 7000
Florida Street, Punta Gorda from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m every Thursday.
Englewood/Charlotte Public Library 9 a.m. to noon every Monday.
Murdock Public
Library the first Thursday of the month from 1 pm to 3 pm.
Punta Gorda
Crossing Publix the third Friday of the month from 9
am to Noon
Monthly Plant
Clinics are Saturdays from
9 a.m. to noon at the
following
locations:
Peachland Promenades Publix ‹ second Saturday of the
month; Burnt
Store Publix ‹
third Saturday of the month
Home Depot
fourth Saturday of the month
Ralph Mitchell
is the county extension director/horticulture agent
for the Charlotte County Cooperative Extension
Service. You may contact him
by e-mail
Ralph.Mitchell@charlottefl.com
You may also contact a volunteer
Master Gardener
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at
764-4340 or by
e-mail Master.Gardener@charlottefl.com
Resource:
Gilman, E. F. & Black, R. J. (1994) Pruning
Landscape Trees and Shrubs, the University of
Florida Extension Service, IFAS.
Ralph E. Mitchell is a Horticulturist
and Charlotte County Extension Agent
|
firms.
We had at least one hundred participants combined
for both programs. Why is pruning such a popular
topic? I believe that it is because pruning is such
a mystery to people. In addition, there are many
old, wrong bits of information that not only damage
the look of a woody plant (tree or shrub) but also
can promote disease and insect infestation and storm
hazard issues. Let me take a moment and get you
up-to-speed on some very general basic pruning
techniques.
