Taking care of small trees and shrubs by pruning is pretty simple if you follow a few time-tested rules and take advantage of new tools that cut quickly and cleanly. If only all home improvement projects were as straightforward.
1. Get information
Pruning doesn’t have any of the complexity of home maintenance jobs such as replacing leaking pipes or asphalting the driveway. Almost the only way to go wrong is to cut a tree or shrub at the wrong time of year (though healthy plants usually survive even that). When to prune? Consult a nursery or a knowledgeable neighbour.
2. Look before you cut
First, stand at a distance and judge the plant’s shape, size and general condition. Develop a strategy. Generally, it’s best to work from the bottom of a plant upward, which allows the higher branches you trim away to fall to the ground rather than get caught up in lower branches.
Next, get in close, looking for diseased limbs – obvious candidates for pruning – and for limbs that rub against each other, which will damage one or both.
3. Choose your tools
It all depends on the thickness of the limbs you plan to cut. Sharper blades and stronger hands can help a tool cut a bigger branch, but when in doubt, go for the burlier tool.
Small branches, measuring from 5-15 cm, can be removed with bypass pruners. Unlike anvil pruners, these cut without crushing the limb. Midsize branches, with diameters starting at about 15 mm, are a bit tougher. Use a bypass lopper. (Loppers, which are two-handed tools, are effective for branches up to 25 mm.)
Larger branches demand either a pruning saw or a bow saw. A pruning saw cuts on the pull stroke. It may be mounted on a pole to cut high branches, or it may have a handle like a conventional saw. Its shape and its pull-stroke design make it ideal for getting into tight spots. However, it is limited to branches about 50 mm in diameter.
A bow saw cuts on the push stroke, and its large size allows it to handle bigger branches. However, the frame limits its ability to get into tight spots.
4. Start cutting
It’s simple, really. Remove small branches with one snip, but take off larger branches by making sequential cuts. Clean your blades with rubbing alcohol after cutting diseased limbs, or you could spread the malady to your next patient.
When snipping off a small branch on a shrub, cut to just beyond a bud. To reshape or drastically cut back a shrub, prune back to the branch collar using bypass pruners or loppers.
To remove a larger branch in stages, start from the tip. Make a first cut on the bottom of the branch and finish cutting from the top. This prevents a severed branch from tearing off a strip of bark as it falls. Saw to just outside the branch collar, a raised ridge of bark at the base of the branch that contains cells that help close the cut surface. Never leave a stub or stump of a branch.
THREE COMMON PRUNING TASKS
- Shape evergreens in summer using shears.
- Remove shoots at the base of a tree with pruners.
- Remove a branch in stages to avoid injuring the tree. Saw just outside the branch collar to ensure the cut will heal.
THREE TOOLS TO DEAL WITH BIG BRANCHES
Use a bow saw for cutting large limbs or cutting up material after it has been removed. Shear off branches or cut fallen branches into shorter lengths with a lopper. Get into tight spots with a curved pruning saw.
MODERN PRUNERS ARE SMALL CUTTING MACHINES
Many modern pruners are cleverly designed to make efficient use of the force you apply. The bypass is used to cut live growth. It has a rotating lower handle connected to a gear-drive mechanism. The anvil pruner is used to cut dead wood. Its blade closes against the anvil surface on the lower jaw. The Florian pictured uses a ratchet design to slice through tough growth in stages.
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