Tree Pruning and Training for Healthier Trees

Tree pruning conifers during the dormant season will minimize sap and resin flow, but they can be pruned at any time. Tree pruning the trees that have showy flowers also needs to be done while dormant to help you see the structure, maximize wound closure, reduce disease and to eliminate any excessive flow of sap.

Flowering shrubs also need dormant pruning for the same reasons above however, many may also need pruning at other times. Timber that blossom in early spring, the dogwood and red-bud for instance, have to be pruned immediately after they flower. Many flowering trees can be susceptible to fire blight, a bacterial disease, which can spread by pruning. These trees, such as crab apple, pear, varieties of hawthorn, mountain ash, pyracantha, and flowering quince have to be pruned during the dormant season. The ones that flower during summer or fall also needs to be pruned during dormancy. Dead branches, alternatively, can be removed at any time.

Fruit trees will not develop to the proper form or shape without any pruning or training. Properly pruned and trained fruit trees will yield a higher quality fruit earlier and their live span will undoubtedly be longer. The objective to pruning and training is to develop a strong tree framework that will be able to support a large crop of fruit. If fruit trees are not trained in the proper way the angle of the branches will undoubtedly be much too upright and can cause breakage with much crop. This will result in a decrease in the productivity of the tree and shorten its life. Another facet of annual pruning and training would be to remove all diseased, broken, and dead limbs.

tree service Citrus Heights CA will open up the tree's canopy and invite penetration of maximum light. The majority of fruit on a deciduous tree is formed the previous year as flower buds. The penetration of light is most significant in the development of buds together with the optimal fruit set, flavor and quality. Even if a mature fruit tree keeps growing quite well in full sun, a dense canopy will prevent enough sunlight to reach 18 inches in the tree. Opening up the canopy of the tree permits proper movement of air to allow speed in drying to minimize infection and invite penetration of pesticides. A perfectly shaped fruit tree could be a beautiful asset to a garden or landscaping.

During the past pruning is definitely the technique in forming and structuring fruit trees. Tree training is really a more desirable and effective way to improve the structure and form. Pruning is merely removing portions of a tree that correct the structure; training is a newer application where in fact the direction of the growth to a desired form and shape is determined. Training a fruit tree is important for proper development. It is always better to train the direction of the growth than to prune to correct it. Pruning is usually done in the winter while training and pruning is performed in summer and pruning in dormancy. The objective of training would be to correct the growth of a tree in addition to to minimize cutting.

Trees respond differently to summer pruning and dormant pruning. In the fall the power of the tree is stored in the root and trunk system to aid the top section. If removal of a big portion of the tree is done during dormancy, the tree's energy is not changed. In the spring, the tree will react by producing many upright, energetic shoots called water sprouts; these will shade the tree and prevent good development. Heavy pruning during dormancy causes the same problem.

Dormant tree pruning should be done late in the season to avoid winter injury. Apple and pecan trees need pruning before peach tree pruning, plum-tree pruning and cherry tree pruning. A practice is to prune early blooming trees last and the later blooming trees first. It is best to prune the older trees first as the younger ones are prone to winter injury with early pruning. Summer pruning reduces most of the tree's energy that may bring about tree growth reduction. Pruning will start as soon as the buds start growing, but usually it begins after the growth of vegetation is several inches long. In most cases summer pruning is only to remove vigorous and upright growth and only the cuts that will do some thinning. Summer pruning has to be completed before the end of July in order to lower any problems of winter injury.