pruning

Trees are a great asset to our landscape. But how we treat them can mean the difference between life and death. It starts with Right Plant, Right Place. Then its how we care for them.

Safety around large trees is important. Cutting heavy branches seems to make sense. But in the long run, the trees become even more hazardous to people and property when trees are topped.

The Ohio Tree Care Conference, sponsored by the Ohio International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) was held in Cleveland, Ohio on February 8-10, 2022. At the conference, I saw a presentation on trimming trees and power lines by Joe Jimmo from Pennline Tree Service. I got to thinking how many homeowners try to trim trees close to power lines.

During the recent snowstorm that hit Northeastern Ohio, some trees and property owners suffered serious damage. But not all.

Deciduous trees and shrubs can produce a dependable flower show, but the flower buds that create the flowers need to be kept in consideration to prevent damage. Pruning at the wrong times can be a major reason for the reduction in flowers. In addition, early blooming plants like Saucer and Star Magnolias can be burned by a heavy frost.

With apologies to William Blake and his 1794 publication of the deep-meaning “The Sick Rose” poem, it occurred to me that I was indeed deliberately trying to weaken the pictured rose (multiflora) by mowing in my back lot and continually chopping off the terminal shoot of this rose. In my case, I see this mowing as a metaphor for typically improper topping that I will negatively highlight in my pruning talk at the Cultivate 2016 program a week hence. For trees, top not, you clod-loppers: it releases adjacent buds resulting in hormonal imbalance and tufted, weak growth.

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