Tree pruning, again!

Good day, gardeners. As we all know, hurricane season is upon us again. As I write this, there are three yellow patches on the map in the Atlantic ocean.

As a gardener, the most important thing that I can do in the garden to prepare for hurricane season, is to prune trees.

Yes, I have written about this before and I will write about it again. But I must be honest, we are not very good about pruning trees. Some people choose to top their trees, cutting the tops off, this is not good practice.

When trees are topped, it only serves to make them weaker in the long run. The first thing that ought to be looked at when pruning a tree is the dead or damaged wood.

There will always be dead or damaged wood, especially if the tree has not been pruned correctly in the past. next, I always look for branches that are pointing inward, growing inwards, pointing away from the outside of the tree to the interior of the tree canopy. Best practices recommend that the branches of a tree lead upwards or outwards.

Any branches that are not growing vertically upwards or between 45 and 90° outwards, ought to be removed entirely.

In theory, the only branch that should be growing perfectly vertically is the centre leader, if there is one. Low-hanging branches that may get in the way when mowing the lawn, for example, ought to be removed.

One particular mistake that I often notice is poor technique when cutting larger branches. Large branches are to be cut in three steps. The mistake typically is that the branch is cut using one cut on the top of the branch.

What happens when this is done, is that the weight of the branch will separate at the cut and the bottom of the branch gets torn and damaged.

The first cut should always be on the underside, cutting no more than 1/3 of the way into the branch, several inches up the branch from where the second and third cut will be. The second cut will be on the top side of the branch a few inches toward the trunk from the first cut.

This cut is the one that goes all the way through, and separates the branch to be removed from the portion of the tree that is staying.

The third cut will be at the collar of the branch, the collar is the swollen bit between the branch itself and the trunk, this portion when cut correctly will heal over to avoid any further rot or damage. This method of cutting large branches helps to avoid the tearing on the underside of the branch, and reduces damage to the tree, which intern increases the health of the tree in the long run, as there is less wood to rot.

When a branch is incorrectly cut, and a piece of branch is left to rot, that rot can continue into the trunk of the tree, and eventually kill out the heart of the tree which leads to nothing but a shell, and a very weak tree which will become a liability to structures, foot traffic, or vehicles for example. Using the correct methods to prune a medium or large tree the first time around, will lead to a strong tree that can last for a generation after generation.

Let us remember that most trees will outlive you, me, our children, their children, and our progeny for generations to come. To plant a tree is to leave a legacy to the people that follow us.

To plant a tree is to give back to the Earth that sustains our lives. To plant a tree is a gift to all people. I beg of you, reason sure to use proper and correct pruning practices to lessen damage to trees in high winds,, and to ensure a strong tree to continue to grow and thrive.

One thing I must point out is do not put a volcano of mulch around a tree trunk. There ought to always be a little bit of root flare showing on any tree, especially and particularly on fruit trees that have been grafted. The root flare is the top of the roots where they begin to grow outward from the trunk, it is always best to leave a little bit of that exposed.

Do not put soil or mulch around the trunk of a tree to cover the trunk. To do so only encourages entry points for disease, pests and rot.

That’s all I have to say today regarding pruning of trees, there is

(Pexels_Anna Shvets)

a lot more that I could see about the same but I’m out of space for now. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and please, if you are in doubt about your pruning skills or if a tree is too large for you to handle, call a professional. As always, I wish you happy gardening.