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| Proper
pruning is one of the most important things you can do to keep your trees
healthy. |
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| Pruning
can provide the following benefits: |
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remove
dead, diseased, or infected branches |
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improve
tree structure by controlling size and shape |
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enhance
tree vigor |
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maintain
safety by removing low-hanging or damaged branches |
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| When
you prune, each cut you make has the potential to change your
tree’s growth or to damage it, so never make a cut without
having a good reason to do so. Pruning should always be performed
sparingly, because overpruning keeps the tree from gathering
enough sunlight through its leaves to survive. |
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| Pruning
mature trees can demand special equipment, training, and experience.
If the pruning work requires climbing, the use of a chain or
hand saw, or the removal of large limbs, you should protect
your ears and wear protective eye wear. For these projects,
you may want to consider hiring a professional arborist
or landscape company. |
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| Pruning
Tools |
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Hand
pruners are used for branches 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter.
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Loppers
are used for cuts more than 1/2 inch in diameter. |
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Pruning
saws are used to remove larger limbs. |
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| Note:
Do not use fine-toothed carpenters' saws. Hedge shears
are of no use in pruning trees unless a formal hedge or screen
is desired. |
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| When
to Prune |
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Flowering
Trees: |
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Ornamental
trees that flower before June 1 should be pruned immediately
after flowering. These include redbuds, smoke trees, magnolias,
flowering and kousa dogwoods, hawthorns, crabapples, flowering
cherries, peaches, pears, and plums.
Trees that flower after June first should be pruned in winter
or spring before new growth begins. These include goldenrain
trees, sourwoods, and other late-flowering trees. |
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Shade
Trees: |
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Trees
restore themselves more rapidly if they are pruned in early
spring before they leaf out. When the framework is bare, you
can easily see which branches need to be removed. When pruning
is done in early spring, the plants are soon in full leaf and
actively photosynthesizing, thus providing food and energy required
for closing or sealing wounds after pruning.
Some trees, such as birch, yellowwood, elm, pine, spruce, fir,
and maple, will bleed excessively if pruned in the spring. Bleeding,
or loss of sap, will not harm the tree, but may be unsightly
or messy around the home. Bleeding may be reduced by pruning
such trees when they are in full leaf (June). |
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| How
to Prune: Some guidelines from the National Arbor Day Foundation |
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Never
remove more than 1/4 of a tree's crown in a season. |
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Where
possible, try to encourage side branches that form angles that are
1/3 off vertical (10 o’clock or 2 o’clock positions). |
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For
most species, the tree should have a single trunk. |
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Ideally,
main side branches should be at least 1/3 smaller than the diameter
of the trunk. |
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f
removal of a main branch is necessary, cut it back to where it is
attached to another large branch or the trunk. Do not truncate or
leave a stub. |
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For
most deciduous (broadleaf) trees, don't prune up from the bottom any
more than 1/3 of the tree's total height. |
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| Large
Limbs: |
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A.
Make a partial cut from beneath. |
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B.
Make a second cut from above several inches out and allow
the limb to fall. |
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C.
Complete the job with a final cut just outside the branch
collar |
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| Small
Branches: |
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Make
a sharp clean cut, just beyond a lateral bud or other branch.
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| Treating
Cut Areas |
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| Cut
areas don’t need any special treatment. When cuts are made properly
at the branch bark ridge, trees are able to compartmentalize, or set boundaries,
at the injury (pruning) site. This process helps resist the spread of infection.
Wound dressings do not stop decay and actually increase the rate of decay.
Therefore, it is best to leave the tree to its own defenses. |
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| Pruning
Trees is an Annual Job |
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If
minor pruning is done every year, the job is manageable and the plant remains
healthy. A beautiful plant form is retained, and pruning cuts remain virtually
unnoticed unless close inspection is made.
However, when plants are neglected over a period of years, major pruning
considerably changes the plant's form. Furthermore, removing large amounts
of wood at one time is detrimental to the plant's health. |
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| Why
Topping Hurts Trees |
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| Topping
is the indiscriminate cutting back of tree branches to stubs or lateral
branches that are not large enough to assume the terminal role. Other names
for topping are, heading, tipping, hat-racking, and rounding over. |
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| Topping
is perhaps the most harmful tree pruning practice known. Despite more than
25 years of literature and seminars explaining its harmful effects, topping
remains a common practice. The process removes 50-100% of the leaf-bearing
crown of a tree. Since the leaves are like “food factories,” the
tree can temporarily starve. |
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| Cuts
made along a limb, between lateral branches, create stubs with wounds that
the tree may not be able to close. Decay organisms are given a free path
to move down through the branches because trees cannot defend the multiple
severe wounds caused by topping. |
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| There
are several alternatives to topping. Branches should be removed back to
their point of origin. If a branch must be shortened, it should be cut back
to a lateral that is large enough to assume the terminal role. A rule of
thumb for this is to cut back to a lateral that is at least 1/3 the diameter
of the limb being removed. Sometimes the best alternative is to remove the
tree and replace it with a species that is more appropriate for the site. |
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| For
an illustrated, detailed guide on pruning trees throughout their lifecycle,
click here.
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