Tree Pruning Flashcards
Why do we prune trees
Understanding how to properly prune a tree can help you have a more sustainable and functional tree that can provide you benefits in the landscape
Poor pruning practices can shorten a trees life and increase the likelihood of structural failure.
What are some pruning methods and systems
Natural- Maintaining a natural form.
Topiary- pruned into a specific shape on shrubs, vines and trees.
Espalier- a system for training trees/plants to grow along a wall or fence.
Bonsai- a pruning style that maintains a tree a small size, container trees.
Fruit / flower production- pruning to encourage flower and fruit production.
Pollard- used to maintain a tree a certain size by removing young shoots yearly back to scaffold branches.
When to prune
Plant growth is maximized if pruning is done before bud swell (winter, early spring);
Growth is minimized by pruning in late spring, summer.
Depends on the species.
Depends on the type of pruning, what’s the goal?
Weather/ weather damage
What time of year? ( sun scald )
Flowering/ fruiting cycle
Will pruning attract insects
Wildlife/birds
dont prune except crown clean
What are some reasons for pruning
Removing dead branches
Crowded or crossing branches ( future structural issues )
Eliminate hazards, safety pruning
Reduce wind resistance
Increase light penetration
Corrective or preventive
What are some reason arborists get called for pruning
Crown cleaning ( dead cleaning )
Crown Thinning ( lacing )
Crown Reduction ( reducing size of crown )
Safety pruning
Crown Raising ( lifting skirt )
Vista pruning ( view enhancement )
Preservation prune ( pruning focused on persevering an old tree with issues )
What is a crown clean
DDD- Dead or dying, diseased, damaged branches. Cleans out bigger dead material. Can cause further decay issues if dead is not removed. Safety, appearance, health, also removes rubbing, broken, structurally unsound, and out of place branches and cleans out some watersprouts. Most recommended option for older trees
What is Crown thinning
Proper thinning is done on relatively smaller branches in leafy area towards the end of the branches. Branches and small twigs can be killed off by the tree if leaves are not getting enough sunlight ( pine trees ).
What is Lion Tailing
Cutting all growth to the ends of
Tips. Causes heavy end weight which can cause
limb failure.
should be left on
tree that has been overpruned to help rebuild
energy reserves of the tree
What is Crown Reduction
This is NOT topping. It’s reducing the size of tree in a proper way. To reduce size of overall crown. Should not be done for health, unless you have to. The tree will try to replace foliage quickie afterwards. It controls size of tree. Can multiple flower/fruit production
Can be done as a young tree to train it to keep it smaller for small yards. Training can structure tree for future prunings
Reducing crown without removing interior growth ( especially pines
What is a safety prune
Safety pruning is pruning a tree to make it safer. This requires the arborist to assess a tree to determine what might need to done.
Large dead wood, over extended branches, heavy branches, broken branches, diseased wood, heavy dense canopy, leggy growth, branches growing over house/structures,
Things to consider: try to achieve the pruning goal and not over prune the tree. Safety pruning is most common before and after weather events.
The “ I have to prune this” category:
Neighbors, solar, view, clearances, construction/painting, things you have to do, but don’t want to.
Why is it bad to prune live branches on a tree
Pruning live branches reduces a tree’s capacity to photosynthesize and manufacture carbohydrates. Pruning also creates wounds the tree must expend energy to close and defend. Pruning does not necessarily improve tree health, in some cases, it can have adverse effects or lead to death
How do trees protect themselves
Trees use thick bark, thorns, leaf hairs, thick hairs, thick cuticles, to defend from attacks. Some trees have certain cellular materials that may resist decay or may indigestible by insects. Another defence mechanism is the production of chemicals that resist insect feeding, pathogen infection, decay.
What is CODIT
Alex Shigo : Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees
unique process to trees that give it the ability compartmentalize or wall off, decay and damage. CODIT is the process by which trees can limit the spread of decay. After a tree has been wounded, reactions are triggered internally that cause the tree to form new tissue and chemical boundaries around the affected area.
What are the walls of Codit and what do they do
Wall 1 resists longitudinal spread of decay organisms by plugging xylem vessels or by blocking pits in tracheids.
Wall 2 attempts to resists inward spread by developing dense latewood cells and by depositing specialized chemicals in these walls.
all 3 inhibits lateral spread around the stem by activating the ray cells to resist decay. These three walls form the reaction zone.
Wall 4 is the next layer of wood to form after injury, and protects against the outward spread of decay. This is the barrier zone.
What is the Branch Attachment
branch forms at the base of a branch, where it joins the trunk.
Branches that grow at a rapid rate and become larger than about ½ the trunk diameter often do not have visible collars.
What is included bark
Fast growing branches frequently grow upright, forming a narrow angle in relation to the trunk and often causing bark to become pinched or included in the crotch
most common on upright branches growing at a narrow angle in relation to the trunk, on some species it occasionally develops in the crotch of branches growing at a wide angle.
What is Codominant Stems
Forked branches of nearly the same diameter, arising from a common union and lacking a branch collar; may have included bark.
What is the Branch Aspect Ratio
The size of a branch relative to the trunk or parent branch, known as the branch aspect ratio, is extremely important because of its effect on how the branch and trunk are held together. Branch aspect ratio is determined by calculating the ratio of the diameter of the branch to the diameter of the trunk
What is the Branch Union
the point where a branch originates from the trunk or another branch.
axillary wood, is formed central to the connection between the trunk and the branch
twisted and intermingled wood grain, which serves to strengthen the connection
What is the Branch Bark Ridge
It is the raised strip of bark at the top of a branch union, where the growth and expansion of the trunk or stem and adjoining branch push the bark into the ridge.
What is the branch protection zone
The axillary wood and chemical deposits in cells form a cone- shaped area within the branch union
inhibit the spread of organisms and decay from a branch into the trunk
What is the Branch Collar
the swollen area where a branch joins the trunk or another branch that is created by overlapping vascular tissue from both the branch and the trunk
What are flush cuts
pruning cut made on the trunk side of the branch bark ridge or through the branch collar. Flus cuts open the trunk tissue to decay by removing the wood in which the branch defense zone forms
What do flush cuts cause
Flush cuts cause future cracks years later, discoloration in wood and most cases, decay.
What is woundwood
Woundwood will form in a nearly circular fashion following a correctly executed final pruning cut. Cutting into the collar creates an oval woundwood pattern. (doughnuts)
What is the three cut method
Branches that are too large to be supported by hand should be removed using the three cut method to avoid tearing or splitting the bark and damaging the branch protection zone.
What do you sterilize pruning tools with
Lysol, Ethanol or 70% Isopropyl alcohol from drug store to disinfect your tools.
Another way is by using, one part bleach and 9 parts of water. Working time is about 2 hours.
