Safety Health Aesthetics

 Keep stress on a tree minimal  Right tree, right spot  Proper planting  Substantial water  Mulch appropriately  Train and prune as needed

 Training  Topiary  Espaliers  Bending/Spreading  Bonsai  Shearing  Pruning

 Force the plant to grow in a specific manner ◦ Wires ◦ Trellises ◦ Poles

 Art: shapes of animals or other objects  Wire frame used  Montreal Gardens Montreal Gardens

 Plants growing on a flat plane

 Speed up the flower process  Apples at 45° to 90° can flower sooner

 Prune both roots and shoots

 Branched-head Standard ◦ Single, clear trunk that divides to form open crown ◦ Decurrent – a rounded or spreading tree crown

 Central-leader Standard ◦ A single strong trunk persisting all the way through the crown ◦ Excurrent – pyramidal shape

 Bush ◦ Rounded head on short trunk

 Multistemmed ◦ Resembling large shrubs with several distinct branches (or trunks)

 Fastigate ◦ Narrow, columnar in form with upswept branches

 Weeping Standard ◦ Often formed by top-grafting a weeping cultivar onto a stock plant with a clear stem

1. Remove broken, diseased, dying or dead branches 2. Select a leader and remove competing leaders Select the lowest permanent branch 3. Select scaffold branches and cut back or remove competing branches 4. Select temporary branches below the lowest permanent branch

 Central leader ◦ The primary terminal shoot or trunk of a tree

 Multiple leaders ◦ The competing shoots or trunks for dominance

 Lowest permanent branch ◦ Typically  14ft over roads  9 ft over sidewalks  Whatever the homeowner wants

 Scaffold Branches ◦ Spaced minimum of 12” apart ◦ Radiate around the tree ◦ Best 1/3 size of trunk ◦ No more than 2 at any point

 Branch Unions ◦ “V-shaped” vs. “U-shaped” ◦ V-shaped  Included bark – much weaker ◦ U-shaped  Stronger

V U Included Bark

 Temporary branches

Family A’s Tree - Not Pruned When Young At Planting3-4 Yrs.5-7 Yrs.15 Years later Family B’s Tree - Pruned When Young

 Dead, diseased, and infested branches  Improve tree structure, enhance vigor, or maintain safety  Corrective pruning

 Cleaning: ◦ The removal of dead, dying, diseased, crowded, weakly attached, and low-vigor branches from the crown of a tree.

 Thinning: ◦ Selective removal of branches to increase light penetration and air movement through the crown. ◦ Opens the foliage of a tree, reduces weight on heavy limbs, and helps retain the tree's natural shape.

 Raising: ◦ Removes the lower branches from a tree in order to provide clearance for buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, and vistas.

 Reduction: ◦ Reduces the size of a tree, often for clearance for utility lines. ◦ Pruning back the leaders and branch terminals to lateral branches that are large enough to assume the terminal roles (at least 1/3 the diameter of the cut stem). ◦ Compared to topping, this helps maintain the form and structural integrity of the tree.

 Storm damage

 Dead, dying and diseased

 Crossing branches

 Double leaders

 Watersprouts

 Suckers

 Narrow unions

 Dead, dying, or considered irreparably hazardous  Causing an obstruction or causing harm to other trees and cannot be correct through pruning  To be replaced by a more suitable specimen  Removed to allow for construction

 Inspect all tress on site  Beware of soil compaction  Install fencing around critical root zone

 Portion of tree’s root system that must NOT be violated.  Critical Root Radius (Protected Root Zone)  DBH – Diameter of tree at breast height ◦ Diameter of tree at 4.5’ above ground  CRR (ft) = DBH x ” DBH x 1.5 = 15’

 Adding soil ◦ Add 2” of soil on no more than 45% of a tree’s root system per year

 Reserved for rare, historic, or specimen trees  Used to add structural support to tree

 Involves installing flexible cables or rigid rods to reduce the chances of failure of defective unions. ◦ cables are installed high in the tree, at least 2/3 the distance from the defect to the crown ◦ rods are installed much lower, just above and/or below the defect ◦ cables are always stronger than rods because of their greater leverage ◦ cables can be used alone, but bracing is always supplemented with cables

 There are three major uses of cabling and bracing: ◦ prevention: to reduce the chance of failure on a healthy tree with structural weakness  Example: a specimen bur oak in good condition but having large limbs with "V-crotches" ◦ restoration: to prolong the existence of a damaged tree  Example: a large sugar maple that lost one of its leaders in a storm, leaving the others suddenly exposed and vulnerable to further damage ◦ mitigation: to reduce the hazard potential of a tree  Example: a picturesque multi-stemmed hickory that towers over a picnic shelter

 Be sure to ask yourself some questions first: ◦ Is this a reasonable way to treat this tree, or am I just trying to preserve a tree that is actually at the end of its useful life? ◦ How do I justify this expenditure on a single tree? Do I have more pressing needs in my forest? ◦ Is the tree basically healthy? Is there enough sound wood to anchor the cable? ◦ Do I understand that cabling is no guarantee that failure will not happen? ◦ Am I prepared to have the cable inspected annually, then replaced after 7-10 years?

 Historic, rare, specimen trees  Trees in open areas where people/animals might seek shelter  Protection systems do not attract lightening but dissipate any charge

 Water Stress + Deep Planting = Decline  Const. Damage + Oak Wilt = Tree Death  Chlorosis + Birch Borer = Die Back

 Keep stress on a tree minimal  Right tree, right spot  Proper planting  Substantial water  Mulch appropriately  Train and prune as needed