Friday, March 20, 2015

Learn from my mistakes, the pruning edition

A couple weeks back, on the plant lust blog, I wrote about how much I'm enjoying pruning, almost as much as planting. Shortly after that I was "talking" with a blog acquaintance about pruning trees, now keep in mind I'm not claiming to be a pruning expert, I'm not! I was however trying to explain the concept of a branch collar, and how pruning just a bit beyond that point allows the tree to heal itself. I figure a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

That cut, above, was done in early spring 2013, the tree is growing out around the cut. Below is a cut we did a few years earlier, the tree has (almost) completely callused over the cut.

Oh and I figure if this pruning talk is of no interest to you at least maybe you can appreciate the amazing moss and lichen growing on the tree? It's pretty fabulous.

These examples are all on our Styrax japonica, growing in the hellstrip, we inherited a pair.

This is where you learn from my (our) mistakes. Look at that healing (or not) cut.

Looks like we cut too far back, destroying the collar, doesn't it? This was a tricky branch, coming off another branch at an odd place to cut.

It looks like a callus is trying to form but having no success. Maybe this isn't a "learn from my mistakes," but really a "tell me about my mistakes?" What do you think went wrong?

Here's another good example.

And a new cut. Are we just trying to abuse these trees into death? No. While I wouldn't mind their demise that isn't the case. They just were dumb choices for street trees and we're paying the price for their having been planted. We're cutting as needed so pedestrians, and cars, can pass by unaccosted.

The wound is still dripping days after being cut, we should definitely have taken care of this earlier in the season (actual work done a couple weeks back).

With these last two cuts I think this tree can finally carry-on, blooming and growing, without impeding sidewalk traffic.

The other tree of the pair branches lower, but mostly in a pattern that keeps the branches away from the sidewalk and street. They are definitely not a matched pair.

One other pruning cut to share. This on the Fatsia japonica, talk about soft wood. It was quite seriously like cutting butter, with a warm knife.

It was an awkward place to cut, and it looks kind of like a knee joint now. I hope it heals okay. At least the mailman no longer has to be slapped in the face by leaves everyday.

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

24 comments:

  1. Most of my trees are big enough that pruning for access is not a concern, but I expect to be planting a smaller tree near the sidewalk this year so could come in handy. Can you repost this in a couple of years so I don't need to remember anything? ;)

    I wouldn't mind getting hit in the face with a branch from those trees -- would give me a nice close view of the moss and lichen! ;)

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    1. Sure thing! Who knows what those wacky trees might be up to in a couple of years.

      You're my ideal pedestrian. Usually when someone is smacked by the foliage (or more likely the flowers) of those trees they kick the gravel in the adjacent garden sending it everywhere.

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  2. I'm a horrible pruner so I'm glad you posted this reminder. I think that people getting hit in the face with foliage is a good thing - keeps em aware of their surroundings and scolds them for being more interested in their cell phones than the beauty going on around them. Your mailman will be grateful!

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    1. Since the mailman already has to deal with a small dog slamming against the glass door, and barking at the first sign of him halfway up the street, I figured not having to deal with encroaching foliage was the least I could do for him.

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  3. Sometimes one just has to cut and hope for the best. We're both on the gung ho side here and not expert at all but.....touch wood...so far so good. Perhaps your other cut got some sort of infection afterwards that prevented it from forming a callous? Anyway I think you both do a great job maintaining those trees.

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    1. That's an interesting idea (infection)...I wish it meant the tree was looking unhealthy and we could remove it...(and plant something better).

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  4. Excellent post! I love pruning, too. I would add a reminder to people that treating the wound with some kind of sealant has been totally debunked, and as you show, the tree recovers quite nicely on its own when the cut is made properly.

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    1. Oh yes! Thanks Amy, that's a great point. no painting of "tree-tar" allowed!

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  5. Pruning is an art - and not one I've mastered either. I can appreciate the difficulty you face with awkward angles and subjects you have to shoehorn into spaces someone else foolishly chose.

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    1. Oddly there's a pair of the same tree across the street that's never been touched and there as nice as can be. Not branching until way past the pedestrian/car height. We got the losers.

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  6. A timely post with lots of good advice. I am afraid I am a hacker and tend to go for ease of access above all else, which doesn't bode well for the poor old tree!

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    1. I don't believe that, not for a second!

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  7. I'm a long-time This Old House watcher. And I learned a trick from them that when cutting big limbs to prevent bark tear, which maybe (I'm no expert) happened to the wound you're concerned about? He suggests cutting a big limb using 3 cuts: an undercut, an overcut to remove the limb (both done further out than the final cut) and then a final cut leaving the collar in place. Hard to describe in words, so here's a link w/ a video: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20811824,00.html Maybe everybody knows this already? But it was new to me & very helpful.

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    1. I think that's a great bit of advice and could have been the issue, although I'm relatively certain it wasn't because my husband (who would have been behind the saw with a cut that big) is religious about making a couple of cuts to ease the weight of the branch.

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  8. What I´ve been told is that the nearer to the main trunk you cut, the better, and the callous will form faster. I think the option of some infection that Mark and Gaz suggest may be the case.

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    1. Perhaps I need to investigate this further, and keep an eye on the cut.

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  9. I was thinking I needed to take a couple of branches off my Snowbell, but I think I missed my moment. Seeing your tree bleed, made me think I shouldn't - and yours was cut two weeks ago! Oh well - here's to another year of being slapped in the face. Damn that internal procrastinator!

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    1. Ya I think you'd be better suited to wait. I've done small branches on these, especially when they're in bloom and it rains and the small branches become so heavy. But for a big one, I think we even waited to long. The liquid turned to a waxy substance eventually that just doesn't look good.

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  10. I find pruning shrubs to be even more challenging than pruning trees. They all seem to have different needs and different schedules. I'm getting better with the pruning, but it takes some planning and prep, and of course patience. You do seem to be an expert pruner!

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    1. Great point! Before the bloom, after the bloom, dormant, late fall, and on and on...

      And no! I am most definitely not an expert!!!

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  11. Good advice, I'll keep that in mind the next time I prune. I know there are some 'rules' but have been too lazy to really find out what they are exactly. That moss and lichen is crazy!

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    1. Isn't it? I walk by them every day and hardly notice it. This photo taking was a great opportunity to really appreciate the form and color.

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  12. I got distracted by the pruning focus by the incredible display of moss and lichens...even those are lush. And quite the lesson on pruning do's and dont's...but the lichens!

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  13. Making big cuts like the ones you show is always a bit scary to me. R is one to dive right in. You can imagine the negotiating that goes on around here. I have asked several experts about the best time to prune and the answer has always been "any time you feel like it". Still, it's a lot easier to see what needs cutting without all those pesky leaves in the way.

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