Pruning Your Trees

When I was much, much younger, my mother would round me up and say, “Let’s go outside, I want to show you something.” It wasn’t a suggestion and if I resisted, she would then say, “This won’t take long, and you will come right back to what you were doing.” This, of course, was another little, tiny fabrication, which parents are permitted to use in the name of “this is good for you.” I actually liked it, because I got lots of conversation, it did not involve taking medicine, and I was outside where I usually wanted to be. You will not be surprised to hear I use this exact method with my boys today.

I don’t think there is a more rewarding or impactful task in the garden than pruning trees. When we have removed all the excess branches from a tree it seems lighter and free of all the clutter it was bearing. The downward growing branches were heavy and burdensome on the tree and all the clutter in the middle was in the way of all the light. So, when these branches have been removed, the tree looks like it might raise its branches in the air and shout for joy. If I left it with that, would you understand what to do?

                    There is a definite difference between pruning deciduous trees and evergreens. Evergreens are much easier as we only need to trim those low branches and get them off the ground. The first year you do this, it will be hard because you will be on your knees and wearing a long-sleeve shirt to keep the tines from scratching your arms. Many homeowners leave these lower branches alone. Some would say it looks more natural if they are left, but I think if you take on just one of your evergreens and give it some breathing room underneath, you will be rewarded with a much fresher look to your yard. Then, the other evergreens will be begging for attention too.

                  If you have big Ponderosa Pines, Colorado Green/Blue Spruces, big Maples, Pear Trees, or similar call Arborscape or Bartlett Tree Experts to come by and make recommendations and provide an estimate. If you get a $1,500 estimate to prune your two large Maples in the front yard, ask the company, “What would you say is the value of this 40-year-old maple? The pruning cost will be a small price to pay for not replacing the maple or loosing half the tree when a late spring snow proves too heavy for the leafed-out branches.

                  To take on the smaller ornamental trees, go get the proper tools and put your Michelangelo glasses on. You will need a pole pruner, with a saw and pull cord, a lopper, and a hand pruner to help cut the big stuff into smaller pieces for disposal. Which brand to purchase?  Find good looking tools as you will be using them often. Corona and Stihl make the best-looking tools and they won’t break at the worst moment (the job is only halfway done).

                  When Michelangelo walked into his local wine bar, the server asked him, “how did you create David?  Big Mike replied, “It was simple. I just removed everything that was not David.” It is plausible, given Michelangelo’s well-known works, his answer was accepted, even though not fully understood. What he is describing is the concept of “addition through subtraction,” which is the process of “removing the unnecessary elements to reveal the final form.” You may also know this as, “less is more.” Ah, I can feel you wanting to go search the internet for the right way to do it. I warn you; if you do an internet search, it will lead you to greater confusion and instead of just getting to work, the TV remote will suddenly find your hand and another day will have passed by.

                  What I have gleaned by watching and listening to others talk about pruning is “anything growing up and out stays and the rest gets chopped.” My mother would say, “stand back and walk around the tree and let your eye find what you think needs to be helped and what is not helping.” This is how my mother’s conversation would start and her words would follow, asking me what I thought, having me point out which one I thought should be removed, and where I would cut, and why I thought it was a good place? She created a game for me to play, there were no wrong answers, and I was involved in the outcome. At first, I was worried a neighbor would walk by and wonder why we were talking to our trees, but that didn’t last long when she placed the saw on a branch and asked if this was a good place to cut. We began slowly by cutting the ones chosen, as close to the trunk as possible. She started with the downward growing branches, which would naturally allow us to get underneath the tree. Any branches touching the ground also get whacked back to the trunk. Please don’t leave incomplete branches on the tree like it doesn’t matter. Make clean cuts up to the trunk or the nearest big branch you want to keep.

                  Pruning is a journey, not to be completed, and checking a box. We will always find something we missed or maybe shouldn’t have cut, but the tree will grow back. Only a little rule to remember here is don’t cut more than 20% of the branches out at one time and for a bonus, no one will come by to check your work, but try to follow this rule. Make it fun, like an art project, and if it isn’t your thing, find the artist in your home and ask, “Let’s go outside, I want to show you something.” If this fails, call The Happy Gardener at 720-248-8050.