Pruning Your Trees, Shrubs and Perennials
Pruning is an essential maintenance service that improves plant health, safety, structure and vigor while making your trees, shrubs and perennials look their best. The most common pruning goal is to control the overall size of a plant. This often involves removing a portion of the older growth to allow for newer, more vibrant growth. Other popular goals include reducing the number of suckers on interior limbs, eliminating crossing or rubbing branches and thinning to increase light penetration and air flow through the canopy.
Pruning can also help you create a variety of decorative looks. Examples include hedging, espaliers and topiaries, and pollards. In general, these techniques involve limiting the height and shape of tree-like plants and require patient long-term maintenance.
Proper pruning of plants can also enhance the appearance of your landscape, providing a clean, polished look for the whole landscape. Using the right tools and knowing when to prune is key to successful results.
Before you make a cut, spend some time in observation to get an idea of what the plant is doing and what you want it to do. This will guide the first cuts that you make and can prevent you from doing damage that you may not have planned for.
Training the Plant to Grow a Certain Way
Many plants have specific ornamental goals that they are being trained to achieve, and pruning is an important tool in their development. This is done to encourage flowering or fruit production, to open up the canopy for better light penetration or to create specialized forms such as hedges, espaliers and topiaries.
The process of pruning a plant starts with removing the dead or diseased portions of the plant, which makes for a healthier and more appealing looking plant. This is typically done during the winter months, but it can be done throughout the growing season.
After the diseased or dead portions of a plant are removed, the next step is to prune for shape and size. This usually involves removing branches that are hanging over pedestrians, parked cars or power lines and to maintain the desired height of a plant.
A common method of reducing density is to remove the terminal bud (the bud that grows out of the end of a branch or twig) from a branch. This is because this bud produces a hormone called auxin, which suppresses the growth of lateral buds or shoots on that side of the plant. When this terminal bud is removed by pruning, lateral buds and shoots can then begin to grow and take the place of the old branch. This is a highly effective method for opening up a dense canopy and increasing light penetration, but it must be carefully performed on the right plant species to avoid causing structural weakness. This is why it is important to work with a professional who understands how each type of pruning technique works for a particular tree or shrub species.
source https://experttreeremovalptyltd.wordpress.com/2025/02/02/pruning-your-trees-shrubs-and-perennials/
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