Don’t look now, but it’s getting to be pruning time. Yes, in
between putting up your holiday decorations and shopping for
presents, you also need to bring out your pruners and get cutting.
Everything from roses, fruit trees and grape vines to other
deciduous plants and trees that lose their leaves, now through
January is the time to prune.
Don’t look now, but it’s getting to be pruning time. Yes, in between putting up your holiday decorations and shopping for presents, you also need to bring out your pruners and get cutting. Everything from roses, fruit trees and grape vines to other deciduous plants and trees that lose their leaves, now through January is the time to prune.
Correct pruning will not only result in a better looking tree/shrub, but you’ll usually get more fruit or flowers, too. One of the most scary things beginning gardeners have to tackle is pruning. Beginners often are afraid to prune, thinking they are going to make a wrong cut and ruin the specimen. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Pruning will help the specimen by not only preventing your garden from becoming a jungle, but also resulting in a healthier plant that stimulates growth.
Of course, there are some hints about pruning. The key with pruning trees or large shrubs is to reduce the plant’s structure from the outside. The technical term is “crown reduction.” Basically, you want to go to the end of the branches and cut back – working from the tips in, not from the trunk out. The wrong way is to work along the branches from the trunk outward. This produces what are called “lion’s tails,” or branches with no foliage except at the tips.
Pruning can be pretty simple if you remember that the primary purpose of it is to cut back in order to allow sunlight and air through the plant you’re trimming. This means cutting out criss-crossing branches primarily through the middle of your tree-trimming project. If you’re pruning roses, you not only need to cut criss-crossing branches, but also prune back all branches.
I prune most of my roses down to about 2 feet from the ground. The exception are climbing roses and tree roses, which aren’t cut back as harsh.
Always use common sense when pruning. Beware of limbs that might fall over power lines, into children’s play areas, on top of you, your house – or worse – your neighbor’s house or fence.
I still laugh recalling how I climbed into my tree with a chainsaw, and then the ladder I was using fell down. I was stuck in the tree until my wife came home to rescue me.
Be aware, too, that it can take years for trees to recover from a bad pruning job. The most common instance of bad pruning is when a tree stands on or hangs over a property line and “grudge” pruning develops.
I’ve had questions in the past as to whether it’s legal to prune back all of a neighbor’s overhanging tree branches. To answer simply, the answer is yes.
However, be aware that should that tree fall over because it is now one-sided and weakened, you are also liable for damages. Turning Robert Frost’s line on its head, one can only say, “Good neighbors make good branches.”
Good luck, and be careful out there.
