A pruning primer

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Don Clost

EMC Lifestyles -Here is a quick primer on tree pruning courtesy of Tom Mikel, instructor at Sir Sandford Fleming and owner of County Arborists. Tom presented a workshop to the trade, these are some of the notes as transcribed by yours truly.

The reasons for pruning, simply, are clearance, esthetics, flowering, fruiting, shape, health and structure, which can translate into longevity.

Dan's commentary: On this list, I would suggest the first and last items are the most important. There's no point in planting a tree if it won't have room to grow and this includes root growth as well. Proper structure allows air and light to penetrate the canopy, it results in better branch unions, stronger crotches to resist wind and ice damage and it maintains the natural form of the tree. Everything else will fall into place.

There is a lot of seemingly contradictory information available to the homeowner. You might read that pruning at planting time is necessary and you might also be told that you should not prune because of transplant shock. Both statements can be correct depending upon not only the type of tree but also what will be its ultimate purpose on your estate. A good example would be an apple tree in a commercial orchard or the same tree in your back yard. In my back yard, a bushel or two of nice apples is sufficient especially if the tree is pretty and has nice blossoms in springtime, in the orchard there is a much greater emphasis on yield. We expect our trees to outlive us, commercial orchards have a definite block rotation strategy that might see several plantings during an orchardist's career.

Today, we'll take the perspective that all of the practices mentioned here are intended for trees on your home lot.

The first question is when to prune. There are two aspects to this question. The first is the time of year. I know I said forget the orchards but I will return to them for a moment. Many years ago, at Morning Star Orchards in the days of Jack and Florence Alyea, we pruned when we had time. That meant nipping away year round. Timing is not as critical (for health) as some might think: it certainly falls in the list much lower than making proper pruning cuts. However, a quick tip to remember is that you prune flowering trees after flowering if the flowers come first before the leaves, e.g. magnolias. You prune flowering trees while they are dormant if they flower after leafout, e.g. crabapples.

The second aspect has to do with the tree's stage of life. Planting the tree at your home is a stage of life. Don't prune then, wait until transplant shock has been overcome. There is always transplant shock no matter how careful you are, no matter how the tree is grown. This shock can be greatly reduced with careful handling but that's another column. Give the tree a full season to settle in, don't be impatient, you have a lifetime together to sort things out.

Unless you, Gentle Reader, take a pruning course offered up by a qualified instructor or nursery person, I strongly recommend that you bring in a professional to get the tree started properly. A hundred or so dollars in the first few years will save thousands down the road. The commercial maxim of "pay me now or pay me later" applies but not in the manner you might think. Pay me now for a good tree or pay me later to remove a poorly cared for tree and to start all over again.

Here's what you can do ... because I know you have to do something. You can prune out dead, dying, broken or diseased branches whenever you see them. Crossing and rubbing limbs, water sprouts (branches that grow straight up from a limb, usually at a recent pruning site. A trick, if you get them young enough just roll your thumb over them, this usually results in no future sprouts) co-dominant leaders (two branches

side by each competing for top dog, only take away one of them), interfering branches (those heading for trouble), and some low branches, especially the ones that tickle your noggin while mowing the lawn.

Mind you, younger trees should have a large, mulched area under the canopy that keeps you, your mower and your string trimmer far away.

This is a great time for dormant pruning, GR, and with the snow pack being non-existent for most of us Quintonians, you'll have a much easier time of getting to the trees. Do it up "proper": proper pruning cuts, proper pruning tools, proper safety precautions. And remember, nobody sells tree glue so be sure you want to make that cut.

Sox notes: fat and happy, misses soft dirt in which to stick his snoot. He has taken to joining the family in the evening and carrying on long conversations with us. Quite witty, actually.

Canada Blooms Bus Trip Note: Tweed & District Horticultural Society is running a bus to Blooms on Friday, March 16. $50 advance tickets. Contact Linda at 613-478-6850.