WELL, HERE WE go — now that the severe cold weather set in and then, just like that, it’s gone, means you need to prune, baby, prune!
Always remember that confidence is your main asset. Never forget to first see the finished product in your mind. Always prune for a specific reason with each individual cut.
Keep in mind you are either heading or thinning, and all too often you should be doing the latter rather than the former.
So with these tenants and techniques, we are off to attack your large trees.
The weather gods must be reading this column, because nothing could have been better for this type of pruning than the recent cold snap. The unseasonable temperatures have abated and the sun is still low in the winter sky.
Now is the perfect time to prune trees and edible fruit.
Your best tools are very sharp loppers, pruners and your curved orchard saw. A good strong ladder is also essential for safety’s sake.
The ongoing pruning you perform on your trees can be the difference between a beautiful shade fruit-bearing plant or one on a road to death or structural damage.
As always with pruning, use thinning cuts to eradicate dead, diseased, crossover or rubbing branches.
On trees, also remove suckers, water sprouts and those limbs with weak, narrow, cracked crotches. These are the elementary concerns and should be performed first and as an ongoing strategy.
Next, determine the overall goal or purpose of this tree. Will it be used for shade or a screen, requiring a thick, lush growth? Will it be for filtered light or to frame a view, requiring thinning?
If your trees are to be walked under a lot, you should consider “limbing up” the tree. Remove those branches again with a deep undercut first, then cut down to that collar cut. The great trick with large branches is to make an undercut a few feet off the trunk, then cut through, removing the vast majority of weight and bulk first.
Then move to the final undercut and prune as close to the trunk as possible. Removing the bulk of the limb first allows you to easily make the precision cut free from the tremendous stress of that huge branch.
In all cases, limb up slowly over a few years because branches removed here will never grow back. Also, by removing them in successive years, you actually contribute to the girth and taper of the trunk.
Next, you need to pay attention to the scaffold branches — limbs growing directly from the trunk. Thin some of these, if needed, to eventually space them so they are not too crowded.
Branches that have narrow crotch angles should be cut away in favor of ones with wider angles because they will be stronger.
Always remove branches that are growing toward your roof or windows, or ones that are out of place in the natural silhouette of the tree.
As you move up the tree to the “central leader” (growing tip), be very careful.
First, be careful not to remove it — that’s the future growth and height. But definitely thin out any branches that compete directly against it. If you want this tree to be a screen, you should retain lower branches. You will want a full tree here, so perform a few thinning cuts to set a strong inner structure. Then use heading cuts to promote good lateral, secondary scaffolds. This is also a yearly winter job.
As far as your as fruit trees are concerned, we have a few modifications. One system common for apples, peaches and pears is the “open center system.”
There is no central leader here. It is removed, and several strong branches are pruned to form a bowl-shaped scaffold. That allows light to fully penetrate the center of the tree, producing better-colored fruit.
Another system is the “modified leader system.” That involves pruning out a strong central leader, framed by several strong lateral branches. That creates a very sturdy open framework that produces more fruit.
Never ever allow several leaders to develop. Fruit trees will try to produce forked tops, and that will be a recipe for future disaster. Cut away those competing leaders just above a good strong lateral node or branch.
Remember on the fruit trees, small branches and the short stubby growth, called spurs, are where the fruit is born and should be left alone as much as possible.
That is far from the definitive course on pruning, but enough to get you started and asking good questions.
Prune, baby, prune! And stay well all.
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
