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A Late Fall Garden Chore: Pruning

Posted on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 · Leave a Comment 



Fall is here, and winter is not far behind. I’ve seen some snow and scraped frost from my windshield. The sun is slow to get above the hills in the morning and quick to disappear in the afternoon. The sky is often gray and gloomy. These things take their toll on the spirits of gardeners like me. As an antidote, I plant bulbs and prune. Both lift my spirits. I’ve finished planting bulbs, but I’m still pruning.
 
 
First, what should you prune now, and what should wait until spring or summer to prune? Anything that blooms in spring or early summer has already formed the buds that will flower next year. Lilacs, forsythia, crabapples, magnolias, rhododendrons, viburnums and many more are ready to bloom when the weather and length of day dictate blooming.
 
 
Many gardeners refuse to prune spring blooming woody plants now. It’s true that if you prune then now you lose blossoms – but that does not stop me. Trees and shrubs get messy fast. Ignore them for a few years and they are as untidy as an unmade bed.
 
 
In my opinion, it’s better to lose a few blossoms than put off a job that needs to be done. When the lilacs are blooming I am planting veggies and flowers and fixing the mess moles made of my lawn. I have no time to prune them then.
 
 
On the other hand, I do not prune evergreens now. Pines, hemlocks and spruce I prune right after they finish their new growth in July. If you remove it each year, you can keep evergreens roughly the same size, if you wish.
 
 
I like to be sure that the lowest branches of a tree are high enough off the ground so that mowing is easy. That said, I have a huge Merrill magnolia that blooms with a thousand huge white blossom each year in late April. It has two low branches that make it difficult to mow there, and I have been considering removing them for at least 5 years.
 
 
Finally I have decided to remove those two low culprits, but I will wait until after blooming next spring. And who knows, I may change my mind before I get out the saw.
 
 
I like to prune when trees are bare of leaves because I can see the bones of the tree. I can see branches that reach through the middle of the tree to grab some sunshine on the other side. I can see branches rubbing up against other branches, or branches that have died and have not yet fallen. All those I will take out.
 
 
My late sister, Ruth Anne Mitchell, loved to prune. Her trademark move was to sit down under a tree or shrub and look up through the branches, preferably when they were bare of leaves. She claimed she could see the clutter in the middle of the tree that way, and decide what to take out. Me? I like to circle a tree or shrub several times, looking at it from every direction.
 
 
Where you cut a branch is very important. There is a swollen area at the base of each branch called the branch collar. The bark there is often wrinkled. Cut the branch just past the branch collar, leaving the collar on the tree.
 
 
Why is that important? The collar is where the tree naturally heals itself. If you leave a long stub past the collar, the tree will have to wait for the wood to rot back to the branch collar before healing, potentially leaving an open wound for years. Conversely, if you remove the branch collar and cut the branch flush to the tree, you leave a much bigger wound than if you do it properly.
 
 
A properly pruned tree gets sunshine on each one of its leaves every day. Pruning opens up the canopy to sunshine and allows breezes to dry the leaves of dew or rain. For trees like lilacs and apples that are susceptible to fungal diseases, it’s important that leaves dry out quickly before fungal hyphae (root-like structures) penetrate the leaves.
 
 
One last chore: if you planted a new tree this year, you may wish to protect the bark from rodents that chew the bark under the snow. Meadow voles living under the snow can girdle a tree and kill it. Surround the tree with metal mesh called “hardware cloth”. Get the kind with just quarter-inch spaces, not chicken wire. Surround the trunk from the ground to 24 inches.
 
 
Many gardeners avoid pruning the way children avoid the dentist. The way your dog views visiting the vet. But instead, think of pruning as going to a really, really good hair stylist. You are giving your tree or shrub a fancy haircut, not performing surgery – even though there are such things as “tree surgeons”.
 
 
Henry can be reached by e-mail at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or by mail at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.
 
 

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Pruning Fruit Trees

Posted on Monday, March 13, 2017 · Leave a Comment 



A well pruned apple tree in full bloom or loaded with fruit is a feast for the eyes. Now is a good time to work on your trees – though you can prune in any month without damaging your tree. Farmers of yesteryear pruned their fruit trees in March, probably because there was no planting and weeding to do. Most orchardists stop pruning when the flowers open in May because working in the tree then will knock off potential fruit.

 

Fruit spur

Before pruning a tree I walk around it a few times, looking at it carefully to determine its basic nature. What shape is it genetically programmed to be? Some trees want to grow lean and tall (particularly pears), others want to develop a thick, dense canopy, and a few seem to like an open, somewhat sparse canopy. Some send up many vertical water sprouts every year, others few. But you can sculpt your tree to be almost anything you want – within reason.

 

I do insist on a clear trunk up at least 3 or 4 feet from the ground, or even more. This allows me to get to the trunk of the tree to pick fruit, to prune or to mow beneath it. Ideally, low branches are cut off when a tree is small. But if not, start there this year.

 

Remove lower branches

Where you make your pruning cut is important for tree health. Don’t cut branches flush to the trunk or a bigger branch. Don’t cut into the swollen area at the base of a branch, an area called the “branch collar”. You can often see a distinct edge to the collar where the wrinkles in the bark in the branch collar stop and smooth bark of the branch begins. But don’t cut off branches too far from the trunk, either. That creates stubs that will die and slowly rot away – leaving an open wound where disease can enter.

 

Cutting a large branch requires 3 cuts to avoid tearing the bark of the trunk: first, go out the branch a foot or more, and make an undercut. Cut a third of the way through the branch from below. Then move your saw a little farther out the branch and cut down, from the top. Cut right through.

 

A heavy branch will probably start to drop when you are about half way through the second cut, and the bark will begin to rip. But the undercut will stop the rip, and allow the heavy branch to fall to the ground. Then you can make your third cut near the branch collar.

 

Remove lower branches

Remember this: it’s always better to take a few larger branches than 50 smaller ones. And it’s less work, too. Don’t nibble away at your tree like a deer. Be decisive. In any given year you can remove up to 20% to 25% of the (potential) leaves on a tree. Take all dead branches, too, they don’t count. If you rub a branch with your fingernail and you expose a green layer, the branch is alive.

 

Pruning saws have changed and improved over the years. The bow saw I used as a Boy Scout is outmoded. Tri-cut saws, even relatively small folding saws, are sharp and able to go through wood like termites on speed. Never use a dull or rusty saw. The same goes for your pruners and loppers. Bypass pruners (which work like scissors) are better than anvil-type pruners, which crush branches.

 

Your goal in pruning is to open up the tree, allowing sunshine to reach every leaf and to allow breezes to promote drying of leaves after a rain or heavy dew. Most fungal diseases thrive when leaves and fruit are constantly wet.

 

So what to remove? If 2 branches are touching, remove one. If one branch is directly over another, shading it, remove one or the other. Your choice. I look for fruit spurs when deciding which to remove. Fruit spurs are from an inch to 5 inches long and terminate in one or more fat buds. They will open up to multiple flowers and leaves.

 

I also remove the “dumb branches” – those that instead of reaching out and grabbing sunshine are headed back into the interior of the tree. Not sure why they do that, but they’ve got to go. Darwin would approve.

 

Not sure if you should remove a branch? Ask yourself what the branch will be like in 5 years, or 10. If it’s going to crash into another branch in a few years, take it out now. And after you’ve removed a big branch, never have second thoughts. In no time others will grow to fill the gap.

 

For me, pruning is not just about getting the most flowers or fruit from a tree, it’s about creating a beautiful form. In winter, especially, I enjoy looking at a well-pruned tree as sculpture. I prune professionally and love to restore old apple trees. And even though I’m 70 years old, I love to climb to the top of old apple trees, communing with Mother Nature and taking time to enjoy the beauty she has created. I hope I get to keep on climbing trees until the very end of my days.

 

Read my twice-weekly blog at https://dailyuv.com/gardeningguy. You may e-mail me at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or send mail to PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.

 

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