Landscape
Pruning
• Why we prune
• How to prune
• When we prune
Why we prune
• Health of tree
• Maintain size and
shape
• Aesthetics
• Promote
flowering and
fruiting
Increase
Property
Values!
Pruning – Step by Step
1. Assess
2. Remove dead, diseased and broken branches
3. Remove crossing branches
4. Remove suckers and watersprouts
5. Reduce size if needed
6. Thin as needed
7. Final shaping cuts for aesthetic purposes
Step 1 -
Assess
Blocking walkways
Open up to let sun
and expose interest
Blocking Views branching structur
Assess
Thin!
Step 2 - Remove Deadwood
Step 2 - Remove Disease
Diseased
Black Knot fungus
on cherry branch
Scratch test
Healthy
Fire Blight on
Apple or Pear
Resources
• http://plantpath.osu.edu/
• http://ohioline.osu.edu/
• Botanical Garden
• Garden Centers
Sanitation
10% 90%
Some plant diseases can be spread with pruners
Step 3 - Eliminate crossing branches
Rubbing wears
away protective
bark
Which one goes?
What’s the
ultimate goal?
Step 4 –
Remove
Watersprouts
and Suckers
Grafts
Watersprouts on stressed cherry tree in Lakewood Park
Step 5 –
Reduction cuts
B
A
C
Reduction cuts on Buckeye at Holden Arbor
Don’t take off more than a third of the cano
Yews – Open
them up so
sunlight can
penetrate
Hedges
Good Shape Not as Good
Good shape so sunlight can hit all parts of the shrub
Stimulating Lateral Growth
by removing the central stem
Redirecting growth
Prune back to an outwardly facing branch or bud
Which way do we
want it to grow?
Redirecting growth based on where
we make our cuts
Types of Branching
Most other large trees
Maples, Buckeyes, Ash, Dogwood, Catalpa
Cutting branches that are opposite
Red Twig
Dogwood
Small
Space
Options
Espaliered Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Where’s
the Sun?
Where’s the Sun?
Exposure to sunlight will affect growth
Step 6 – Thin as needed
Japanese Maple too flat and congested
After a couple years of pruning
Removing up to a third of old wood
• Lilac
• Forsythia
• Viburnum
• Rose of Sharon
• Burning Bush
• Weigela
• Mahonia
• Mock Orange
Rejuvination Pruning
Red Twig Dogwoods, Spirea, Potentilla, smokebush
and shrubby willows can be cut to the ground!
Get them off to a good start!
arborday.org
How
long
should
my tree
live?
• 4,000-year-old+
Bristlecone Pine
• But urban trees average
only about 10 years
because of poor
conditions and abuse
Develop strong branch angles
on shade trees early
Strong Weak
Competing
Leaders
Snip them off
while they are
small
Red Maple needs a
cable because a
weak crotch angle
was allowed to
develop
Branches equally distributed
around trunk
Replacing
a Broken
Central
Leader
Bending
More
Bending
Even More
Bending!
Peter Cook’s living artwork
• Cut willow twigs
used in a winter
display
• Willow
twigs root
easily
• The new
willow is
then fun
to bend
and
prune
into
various
shapes
Pruning Conifers
Pinch
back new
growth
to
maintain
size
But difficult to reduce
Prune for
Aesthetics
Making Pruning Cuts
Where is
the Branch
Collar?
Where is the Branch Collar?
Making Heavier Cuts
Oops!
Making Heavier Cuts
Old cuts
sealing
over
Avoid Stub Cuts
Avoid Stub Cuts
This part
will die
Avoid Stub Cuts
Where is the
branch collar?
Avoid
Topping
Results
Exception
Caution!
Finding the right tree company
• City list of
Registered Tree
Contractors
Bypass Proper
Pruners Tools
Anvil
Pruners
More Tools
Prune to encourage flowering & fruiting
Prune to maximize fruiting
Prune to Promote Flowering
Grapes
When to Prune?
Flower Bud Set
Hydrangeas
What’s my
shrub?
• Apps
• Keys
LeafSnap for IPhone
Like that Garden for Android
Virginia Tech Tree ID Key online
Plants that bloom
on old wood
Prior to
July 1
• Lilac pruned
too late in
the season
Forsythia flower buds survived the cold winter under the cover of
A zone 6 plant should be able to survive cold winters down to -10 degrees
Plants that bloom
on new growth
Generally after
July 1
Summer pruning can increase
chances of disease
• Oak Wilt (coat
wound with
latex paint to
deter the
beetle)
• Fire Blight on
Apples, Pears
and Hawthorns
• Stem Cankers
on Honey
Locusts
Final Thoughts
• Plant at the right depth
Final Thoughts
• Mulch the ground not
the tree trunks
Results!
Final Thoughts
Roots should emerge straight out
from around the trunk
• Beauty
• Cleaner
healthier
people w
live long
• Less
stormwa
runoff in
Lake Erie
• Shaded
house sa
up to 30
on summ
energy
costs
• Higher
property
values
Promoting a
greener,
healthier and
more vibrant
community
KEEP Lakewood
BEAUTIFUL
Lakewood Forestry Division
Cleveland Botanical (216) 529-6810
Garden/Holden Arboretum Onelakewood.com
[email protected] [email protected]
