The First Cut is the Deepest Presented by Susan Henson Horticulturist and Certified Arborist For the City of Grand Prairie

Prune with a Purpose Prune at the Correct Time Use the Right Tool Make the Proper Cut Prevent Oak Wilt

Reasons for Pruning To train the plant To maintain plant health To improve the quality of flowers, fruit, foliage or stems To restrict growth Safety

Plan Your Approach to Pruning Remove all dead, broken, diseased or problem limbs Make any additional training cuts as needed You must understand the natural growth habit of the tree to avoid destroying its natural shape Make cuts to eliminate weak or narrow crotches and double leaders

When to Prune Do not prune when it is convenient Less damage occurs when pruning is done during late winter before new growths begins Limit the amount of pruning in late summer Prune storm damage, vandalism and dead or diseased wood as soon as possible to avoid additional problems

Pruning Equipment Use the correct tools Keep sharp and in good operating condition When pruning diseased plants disinfect all shears and saw blades between each cut to prevent spreading disease At the end of the day oil the pruning equipment to avoid rusting

Proper Use of Tools Pruning shears – for cutting 1/2 inch in diameter Hand shears come in two types Anvil Action Scissor Action Lopping shears have long handles that are operated by two hands Loppers can cut 1 to 2 inch limbs depending on quality

Pole Pruners usually have a hooked blade above and cutting blade beneath like lopping shears The cutter is on a pole and is operated by pulling on a rope or there are currently power poles on the market Pole Pruners can be dangerous – Use caution and wear eye protection Gas powered and electrical chain saws come in a variety of sizes and should only be used by professionals up in trees

Wound Dressing All cuts over 1 inch used to be painted Research show that wound dressings are purely cosmetic Pruning paint in fact slows down the healing process One exception – Oak trees in areas in areas less than 2 miles from an infestation should be dressed to prevent spread by the bark beetle through the fresh cut

Making Cuts Correctly Make all cuts clean and smooth with good sharp pruning equipment Avoid tearing the bark with removing large branches – use the jump cut on branches over and inch and a half Make cuts flush to the collar not the trunk Never top a tree

Broken branch

Big cuts can result in decay and cracks.

Low and big cuts can be avoided with early pruning.

Structural Pruning Strategies: 1.Develop or maintain a dominant leader 2.Identify lowest branch in the permanent canopy 3. Prevent branches below the permanent canopy from growing too large 4. Space main branches along dominant trunk 5.Keep all branches less than ½ the trunk diameter 6.Suppress growth on branches with included bark Trees require about 25 years of training to develop strong structure. Objective: Prune to promote strong structure

Wood orientation at union Peel the bark from the union Note how trunk wood grows out onto the base of the branch (dotted line is edge of trunk wood)