The Art Of Pruning

By Phil Caxton

One of the most essential features in horticulture is pruning. Pruning means trimming and cutting of trees and plants at regular intervals to allow the plant for its prolific growth and at the same time make it look more aesthetic. Pruning is both an art a well as a skill which needs to be mastered well. Pruning is an art, because it cannot be done just any way you like. The plant may suffer in pruning instead, and hence it should be done at the right places only. Pruning is a skill because it has to be done precisely as well as correctly so that after cutting the tissues should heal properly too.

Regular pruning to remove damaged or diseased parts:

Removing any branches damaged due to weather or disease can be done by pruning. Crowns of trees need to be pruned at regular intervals to allow enough sunlight to circulate around all the parts of the tree. Some trees need not grow to very great heights and they have to be pruned to reduce unwanted height. Size of the tree should not be reduced greatly and pruning should be done just to remove the unwanted parts. Branches themselves sometimes obstruct other branches and hence such branches should be pruned.

Formative years of the plant best for pruning:

It is during the formative years of the plant that pruning should begin. If this is done then there are lesser chances of the plant getting diseased. It is always a better idea to seek services of an expert especially you have a huge collection of trees and plants in your garden. Experts provide guidance on which branches have to be cut and which ones have to be left where they are. The stem or the trunk of the tree should be protected and not cut as it is the main structural strength of the tree.

Regular pruning helps in increasing the quality of fruits and flowers, besides enhancing the structural strength of the plants. To remove diseased and dead branches, shrubs also need pruning. To maintain the shape of shrubs, they too have to be pruned regularly. Knowing when to prune is very important. Flowering shrubs also should be pruned once their blooming is over.

Some of the tools used for pruning are a sharp pair of secateurs which should be disinfected after use. Nowadays there are some innovative and new tools like lopper, portable buck saws, pole pruner, folding pruner, and rope saw which enable better pruning.

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