Pruning

Hey!  Hold on there...Just because some guys with a truck are pruning your neighbor's trees does not necessarily mean they know what they are doing.  But you could know what you are doing by learning just a few easy facts.  It doesn't take a degree in horticulture to prune properly, but it does take the proper equipment and some basic understanding of the rules of pruning.

First, the proper equipment.  You need sharp pruners or loppers.  As long as they are sharp, most pruners or loppers will do, but the best brands are Felco, Fiskar, Bahco, and Corona.

Next, the technique.  Cut all branches cleanly with no jagged edges.  Prune just after a branch or bud and if next to the trunk, prune flush to the trunk.

Warning:  Do NOT use  tar or any product on the wound.  Mother Nature will heal it up all on her own.  The use of these products will kill the cambium layer of the tree in that area. The cambium layer is the area just below the bark that divides to produce wood or xylem on the inner side toward the center of the tree. Leave the wound open to air.






Light Pruning
Trees and shrubs can be lightly pruned any time of the year.  If it is a flowering tree or shrub, prune it right after it blooms.  If you find disease in a plant or insect infestation, wipe down your tools with alcohol before moving onto the next shrub.

You prune to:

• Help shape the plant (but try to stay with the natural shape of the plant)
• Help balance the shape of a plant
• Remove a weird branch that is sticking out
• Remove dead branches.  Dead branches can encourage disease and pest infestation, so they need to be removed as soon as possible.
• Removing crossing branches.

If you have to prune to keep a shrub from growing, it has been planted it in the wrong area of your garden.  It should be moved, but if that is not possible, try pruning it down into the middle of the plant as opposed to using hedge trimmers, which only prune the very ends of the branches.  There are enough cultivars of various plants on the market today so that you should be able to find a plant in the size and shape you desire without having to force it to your will.  Buying a Gold Mop cypress and trying to keep it as a 3'x'3 mound is like buying a Great Dane and trying to dwarf it because you want a small dog.

Hard pruning of Crape Myrtles is not only ugly, but an unsound horticultural practice.  It promotes unhealthy sucker growth and exposes the tree to disease and insect infestation.

And please, unless you are Pearl Fryar, try to stay with the natural shape of the plant.