FINAL: Pruning Flashcards
What are three functions of the stem or trunk?
1) To support branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits
2) To distribute water and minerals from roots
3) To carry food to the rest of the plant
What are two main functions of roots?
1) Anchor the plant
2) Absorb water and necessary mineral nutrients
Why is it good to prune roses before the plants bloom?
Encourages new growth = more roses
Why would it be bad to prune forsythia in the winter?
It would prune away flowering wood
How old is the wood that apples grow on?
Several years old
How does it (pinching) effect the plant?
Diverts plants strength to areas one wants to develop
When does the plant stop growing in the yearly cycle, except for thickening of branches and sweeting of fruit?
Winter
What are two types of buds and how do their cross-sections differ?
1) Vegetative
2) Fruit
Fruit buds are shorter and fatter
What is a node?
Where leaf or lateral bud joins stem or branch
What is an internode?
The part of the branch between the nodes
How can you change the direction of growth of a branch?
Place bud on the stem points the direction of new branch
Where do flower buds normally appear on fruit trees?
Spurs
What do the annual bud scar rings show?
Where a years growth stopped
What are adventitious buds?
They only go into action in response to an emergency
When should a cut not be made?
W/O a good reason + clear understanding of results
When should you prune spring flowering shrubs such as Forsythia?
During or After flowering
At what two times can you prune summer or fall flowering shrubs?
Early spring, after frost possibility or after flowering
When pruning a deciduous shrub on a three-year cycle,
a) What is the goal?
b) a What type of wood should you prune to the ground after blooming?
c) What type of wood is more susceptible to insects or disease?
Older
d) Looking at the pictures, what 6 types of wood should also be pruned?
1) long shoots that spoil the shrubs shape
2) branches or laterals that lie on the ground
3) broken, diseased, dead or crisscrossing branches
When pruning broad-leaf evergreen shrubs,
a) Do they grow faster or slower than deciduous shrubs?
Slower
b) What three types of branches should be pruned?
Broken, dead; or diseased branches
c) What should be done if the plant is encroaching on its neighbors or covering a window?
Shape it back
