Pruning Made Easy: A Gardener's Visual Guide to When and How to Prune Everything, from Flowers to Trees
224
Pruning Made Easy: A Gardener's Visual Guide to When and How to Prune Everything, from Flowers to Trees
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781603422161 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Storey Publishing, LLC |
| Publication date: | 10/17/2016 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 224 |
| File size: | 27 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
The late Lewis Hill, a beloved and best-selling Storey author, grew more than 20,000 trees on his farm in Greensboro, Vermont. He was also a member of the National Christmas Tree Association and the New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas Tree Association.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Reasons to Prune
IN THIS CHAPTER
* Pruning with a Purpose
* Pruning When Planting or Transplanting
* Pruning to Train
* Pruning to Control Size
* Pruning for Appearance
* Pruning for Health
* Pruning for Production
* Pruning for Rejuvenation
* Pruning to Create a Barrier
One fall day when I was working in the woods, I heard a noise high above me. A porcupine was sitting in the crotch of a large elm tree, skillfully cutting off large limbs and dropping them to the ground for easier nibbling. And in our back field last winter I came upon a flock of pine grosbeaks carefully nipping the buds off the Scotch pine trees.
Rabbits, mice, deer, elk, moose, and beavers also prune — just not in a way that you and I would consider a horticultural achievement. They're simply eating out at their favorite restaurants, but in doing so they fit into the forest's scheme of life quite well.
Nature's Pruning
Long before man ever thought of smithing his spear into a pruning hook, Nature was at work pruning, and she still is. High winds, snow, and ice storms help to keep trees healthy by snapping off old and weak branches. Occasionally an old tree loses an entire limb or top, then grows an abundance of new branches, thus getting a new lease on life. In forests, spreading tops and crowding shade the lower limbs of tall trees, causing them to die and fall off. Blights, hurricanes, floods, and fires set by lightning frequently thin out old trees and allow new ones to take their place.
Nature has even set up a system whereby fruit trees prune themselves by thinning their crops. We've all seen the hundreds of little apples or peaches that fall from trees in early summer if the fruit set is unusually heavy. A tree drops extras when it lacks the resources to develop them to full maturity.
From the beginning of recorded time, our early ancestors observed Nature's pruning methods and tried to improve on them. They developed the art so successfully that long before the great cities of Babylon, Jerusalem, or Athens had a stone in place, pruning was an accepted practice. It is mentioned frequently in the Bible and other ancient literature. As a matter of fact, pruning was so well developed back then that it has changed amazingly little since. Although no one is likely to use a pruning hook now, we still prune for the same reasons and in much the same way.
Why Should We Intervene?
In spite of the long history of pruning, however, some people still question the wisdom of it. Should we interfere with the natural scheme of things? How can we improve on Nature? A walk in the woods shows that trees grow to magnificent beauty all by themselves.
The answer to these questions, I feel, is that we don't live in the wilderness anymore. We aren't able to spend all our days foraging for food. Instead we're more likely to live on tiny lots where our trees and shrubs must provide beauty, protection, food, and companionship, yet still not crowd us off our claim. We can no longer abandon our berry patch or orchard when it gets overgrown and cross the ridge to look for another homesteading plot. We can't move on just because the spruces we planted as a windbreak have begun to shut out the sun and view.
In other words, Nature is too leisurely and wasteful for our modern way of life. Although its function is to provide a healthy balance of plant and animal life, the reality is that humans upset the balance long ago. These days we can't let our trees grow to full size, die, and rot peacefully for decades on the ground. We must, instead, give our plantings careful attention so that we can get the best possible use from them. We have to fertilize, prune, and protect them, and sometimes, when they have outlived their usefulness, remove them before they become a hazard. When we do these jobs we are not interfering but rather working closely with Nature.
I've met many gardeners who don't feel completely comfortable about pruning and never take off quite enough wood, because they are nervous about hurting the plant. They know that plants look nicer and that fruit trees bear much better when they have been pruned, but they fear that each cut may be painful to the tree and that the whole idea is a bit sinful. The thought of keeping a tree sheared to a runty 4 feet when it might otherwise grow to 80 feet makes them feel guilty and uneasy. The fact is that pruning, when properly done, strengthens rather than weakens the tree.
Pruning with a Purpose
Some plants can be pruned in a variety of ways, depending on your needs. If you are raising a crab apple primarily for jellies and juice, for instance, prune as carefully as you would any other fruit tree. On the other hand, a crab apple grown for the beauty of its flowers and fruit may need minimal pruning. Many varieties, such as the popular 'Dolgo', grow into beautiful specimens with almost no training. Crab apples can also be pruned into dense hedges that are almost impenetrable to animals and people by shearing them tightly several times during the summer, when they are growing, just as you would an evergreen hedge. They can even be grown as miniature trees in tubs or as espaliers against walls or fences.
To Create a Holiday Shrub
Suppose you want to grow a little blue spruce near the front steps of your one-story house and plan to put lights on it at Christmas. Shear it close every summer to keep it in a neat, tight, 6-foot size almost forever.
To Create a Barrier
To grow a dense barrier of blue spruce between you and your noisy neighbors, prune the trees quite differently, lopping off the tops and allowing the side branches to grow thick.
To Assure a Plentiful Harvest
You'll get a better harvest if you prune your crab apple annually. While it's still dormant (in late winter or early spring), thin the branches to let in sunlight.
To Create a Beautiful Shape
Prune sparingly, removing only damaged or weak wood and branches that are crossing or rubbing others. Many varieties become beautiful specimens with very little intervention from you.
To Create a Hedge or Screen
Shear tightly several times during the summer, when the plants are growing lustily and will rebound quickly from such treatment.
To Train an Espalier
This special technique is not as difficult as you may think, but it does require diligence. For best results, start while the crab apple is still quite young.
Pruning When Planting or Transplanting
When you purchase a dormant bare-root tree or bush — or dig and move one yourself — there is a chance that the roots will be damaged. In general, the small, "feeder" hair roots are completely lost, and there are not enough large roots left to support all the branches. As a plant leafs out, therefore, the diminished root system may be unable to meet the increasingly heavy demands of the top for nourishment.
The traditional method of remedying this undesirable situation is to cut back the top directly after planting. This helps delay early new growth until the plant has developed enough of a root system to support it. With plenty of water and perhaps a little protection from dehydrating breezes, the youngster should survive and develop roots enough to support the growth that will start after a few weeks. (Note: This type of pruning does not apply to potted or balled-and-burlapped trees. Those root systems tend to be in better shape.)
Pruning to Train
In their maturity, most plants reap the benefits of some early training — just as do animals and humans — so don't neglect them in their formative years. Getting your newly planted tree off to a good start is one of the most important reasons for pruning. It's better to snip off undesirable branches when they are small than to saw them off later. You'll do a good job of training if you keep in mind the future use of the tree.
* A white pine that is to be kept dwarfed and bushy should have its sides and top sheared each year starting in its infancy. If instead you prefer that the pine grow into a large shade tree, gradually snip off the lower limbs as the tree matures, thereby forcing its growth upward.
* Fruit trees should be pruned sparingly for their first few years, so that their bearing won't be delayed. However, you should still prune a young tree to correct any bad crotches, to rectify any tendency the tree might have to grow lopsided, and to keep it from growing branches too close to the ground.
* Most low-growing flowering shrubs can and should be pruned when they are quite small. Snip back any skinny, tall-growing limbs; this encourages bushiness.
* Encourage young shade trees to grow tall and straight by correcting crotches and gradually removing lower limbs.
Pruning to Control Size
If you're a gardener who works with a limited amount of land, you'd probably prefer to grow as many small plants as possible on your lot, rather than only one or two large specimens. By pruning, you can enjoy a wider variety than would be possible if you let the plants develop as they would in their natural state. Even large trees can be kept small by severe pruning. A standard-size apple tree that might naturally reach 35 feet high and 30 feet in spread can be kept to a fraction of that size. And with very little trouble, hemlock or arborvitae trees that might otherwise grow to 80 feet tall can be sheared into a hedge 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide.
Pruning is sometimes necessary for large trees and bushes that have begun to crowd power lines, driveways, sidewalks, or buildings. By snipping back the offending branches, you can keep the plants useful, yet under control, for many years.
Pruning for Appearance
Sometimes we're too close to our plants to see them objectively. One way to view them more clearly is to analyze your property with a fresh eye when you return home from a trip, or to compare old and new photos of your land. Even careful gardeners who take great pride in their homes sometimes let their plantings get away from them. Often the problem can be traced back to a yard's original landscaping. It's unfortunate that many landscapers like their work to look finished the day they put it in. To accomplish this they often use far more plants than necessary, which means that after a few years everything is too crowded. When this occurs, the extra plants should be removed, not just cut back.
Pruning for appearance involves much more than just controlling plant size. It also means keeping evergreens and flowering shrubs well proportioned, removing sucker growth from the bottoms of the trees, and taking off limbs or blooms that detract from a plant's appearance. The entire area should be taken into consideration when you're deciding how to prune. Just as each tree and shrub should be chosen carefully and planted in the right spot, it should also be pruned so that it relates well to the rest of the planting, the house, other buildings, walks, and walls. A well-cared-for landscape provides an attractive background for a house, just as a proper setting enhances a fine jewel. Trees and shrubs should never be so showy that they detract from the house or hide it. And, when possible, plantings should look nice viewed from either inside or outside the house.
Some common landscape mistakes include:
1. Improper placement of shrubs
2. Uunpruned spreading evergreens that crowd paths
3. Doorway plantings that have grown too large
4. Foundation plants that crowd each other
5. Foundation plantings that hide windows
6. Shade tree in front of and too close to house; and
7. Flowering shrub that hides rather than frames the house.
Pruning for Health
Sometimes cuts are made as preventative medicine or to eliminate a disease. Even young trees and bushes occasionally have problems that pruning can solve, and aging trees — like aging people — often have numerous ones.
In spite of strict quarantine and inspections, some plants are already infected with diseases or insects when you buy them. Others, if they are newly dug, are in a weakened condition, or have just changed locales, may easily acquire them, because plants that are foreign to an area often do not have a built-in resistance to local troubles. Cultivated plants are usually subject to more diseases and insect infestations than are wild, native specimens.
Your plantings will be healthier if you prune out all
1. Diseased growth
2. Branches too close to ground
3. Dead branches
4. Crossing branches
5. Water sprouts
6. Suckers.
Pruning for Production
People frequently choose to prune their plants so that they will produce larger or more attractive crops. A florist growing cut flowers for the market prunes differently from someone working in a front-yard perennial border. A fruit grower prunes his apple trees differently from someone growing a decorative apple tree in the backyard for sentimental reasons. A berry grower wants his bushes to look nice, but his main concern is that the plants produce large crops of attractive fruit each year for as many years as possible. A forester prunes all the lower limbs off his timber trees so that the first sawlog will be completely free of knots and make fine lumber.
Commercial growers seldom have time to putter around their plants, and to a home gardener they sometimes seem careless and rather ruthless about their pruning. Actually, they are sensible. They have learned how to prune for the greatest yield from their plants, and the vast amount of pruning they have to do makes them very efficient. Amateur gardeners can learn much from commercial pruning techniques.
Pruning for Rejuvenation
Pruning often restores vitality to a shrub or tree that is beginning to show symptoms of age but is not quite ready to retire. Although you may be tempted to chop back every elderly planting to stimulate new growth, this doesn't always work. Some trees and shrubs seem to enjoy being rejuvenated by severe pruning, and some do not. It is usually a risky procedure on old shade trees. And broadleaf evergreens and conifers are unlikely to benefit greatly from severe dehorning (beheading) measures. Unless a tree is young and vigorous, a drastic slashing may prove fatal.
But there are many kinds of plants that respond well. Many roses, even old ones, do their best only if you cut them back nearly to the ground each spring. And clematis, potentilla, hydrangea, lilac, and honeysuckle all seem to benefit from occasional drastic pruning. A young, forked tree can often be shaped into a strong, straight specimen by cutting off one of the forks and staking the other. In time, the crook in the stem should straighten.
Most berry-producing shrubs, on the other hand, such as cotoneaster and viburnum, need little or no pruning. Older trees and bushes prefer rejuvenation by light and frequent pruning. In general, regular pruning that begins early in a plant's life is not only less of a shock, but also always looks better than a full-scale attack with shears and saw. For instance, orchardists prefer to renew the bearing wood on their fruit trees gradually by removing part of the older branches annually. This is also the best way to prune bush fruits such as blueberries, currants, and gooseberries. The bearing is uninterrupted, re-growth is moderate, and the bush or tree suffers no serious setbacks.
Pruning to Create a Barrier
Tall shrubs and trees are often planted for shade, windbreaks, and sound barriers. If you live in an exposed area, a strategically placed planting of a few trees may help you save on your heating or air-conditioning bills, or provide protection for a swimming pool, picnic spot, play area, or terrace. A tight-growing windbreak can also shield from cold winds plantings of roses, berries, or fruit trees that may not be completely hardy in your area. A hedge allows the soil in a vegetable or flower garden to warm up more quickly in the spring by shielding it from the wind. Evergreen hedges stop snow from drifting onto roads and paths, help to block out annoying traffic noises and fumes, and hide undesirable vistas. And in crowded neighborhoods, a hedge can provide privacy.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Pruning Made Easy"
by .
Copyright © 1997 Lewis Hill.
Excerpted by permission of Storey Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
1 Reasons to Prune2 Tools and Equipment
3 Pruning Methods
4 Ornamental Trees and Shrubs
5 Shade Trees
6 Pruning Evergreens
7 Pruning Hedges
8 Artistic Pruning
9 Pruning Fruit Trees
10 Pruning Small Fruits
11 Nut Trees
12 Vines and Ground Covers
13 Garden Plants and Houseplants
14 Bonsai
Index