Pruning is a favorite pastime for many of the gardeners I’ve met. I love it too. In a way, like playing music, sports or just getting totally engaged in any activity you love, it focuses your attention and makes everything else disappear for a while.

That doesn’t mean it is easy. A recent session of light-duty fruit tree pruning left me with sore muscles and scratches on my hands. Large tree pruning — climbing with ropes, saddles and chainsaws — is athletic, dangerous work, which I gladly leave to younger professionals.  

 Pruning requires a combination of skills and knowledge: dexterity and fitness, a keen eye, and an understanding of the subject.  From what I’ve seen over the years, the subject is often better described as a victim!

I often cringe at the sound of a revving chainsaw. Just the other day, I was appalled at the site of a young buck with a chainsaw, randomly amputating limbs from a tree.  It appeared that his reason for making the pruning cuts where he did was because that’s where he could reach.

The position and timing of pruning wounds in relation to the anatomy and physiology of the plant can be critical. Wounds are potential sources of trouble, and plants have anatomical and physiological ways for dealing with wounds. Make no wound without a reason! A good pruner should be able to justify every cut. Pruning wounds should be carefully positioned with respect to the anatomy of the tree, and consideration to the time of year.

This is a good time of year for certain kinds of pruning. If you are about to tackle a pruning job, first take a little time to size up the situation. The tree isn’t the only thing that can get wounded. Pruning can be dangerous. So, first ask yourself frankly, “Is this job within my own capability to do safely?” If not, call a tree service!  

A tree with a mass of crowded branches may present a difficult puzzle, even to an experienced arborist. For our purposes, young trees are a good subject for practice.

 Let’s look at a scheme for pruning young trees, which home gardeners can apply to shade or fruit trees. The International Society of Arboriculture presents it in a video and article: Training Young Trees. I’ve adapted it with a little memory device for the five steps involved.  I call it the CLPST method. OK, it’s a little awkward, but you’ll see how it works if you bear with me for a couple of minutes. The initials of the acronym signify:

Clean: Prune for cleaning to remove dead, dying, broken and diseased branches.

Leader: Select and retain a stem that will be the main trunk or central leader (if  it fits the style or structure you are after)

Permanent: Select a branch to be the first, permanent low branch. In fruit trees, that might be a very low branch. In large shade trees, that branch may not appear until the tree grows larger for one or more years.

Scaffolds: The other permanent limbs. These should be well spaced vertically and radially, according to the ultimate size of the tree.      Again, these may not yet exist on the young tree. A very common mistake is to group the scaffold limbs too closely together, creating a “lollipop” tree that eventually breaks apart.

Temporary: Temporary branches should be retained on the lower trunk and between the scaffold branches. These generate food for the tree, help to build strength, and protect the trunk from sun injury and physical damage. They should be kept short and eventually be removed.

Regarding the position of pruning wounds, look closely at the tree for clues about its anatomy. Branches often show a natural swelling at the base, called the branch collar, where layers of tissue from the branch overlap with layers of tissue from the trunk or parent stem. There may also be a bark ridge in the crotch between the branch and the trunk. When removing the branch, don’t wound the collar or bark ridge.

In terms of timing, pruning for cleaning and light thinning can be done for most trees at almost anytime of the year. Of course there are exceptions, which we’ll discuss at another time. As for time in general, it’s one of the most interesting and pleasing things about trees to consider their long-term development. It takes patience, imagination and consistent care through the years to help a young tree to achieve good structure and reach its full potential.

Bill Pramuk is a registered consulting arborist. Visit his Web site www.billpramuk.com , e-mail questions to info@bill pramuk.com, or call him at 226-2884.