I am usually in the habit of writing my own material but in preparing to teach a pruning class to a local garden club i came across this pruning objective sheet by Dr.Gilman. I have seen Dr.Gilman and Read many of his papers over my career. Thank you to our clients for reading and Dr. Gilman for his work!! I will post this in segments to be read over the course of a few days or weeks as i am able to post..
There are three main consequenses to Not conducting a regular pruning program. The consequences are,1) the development of low aggressive limbs,2) the formation of co-dominant stems,3 the development of defects such as included bark and dead branches. Low limbs allowed to grow for some time can become too large. They often over-extend or may droop under their own weight and may have to be removed later leaving a large pruning wound. Removal of large branches and those more than about half the trunk diameter are more likely to initiate decay than the removal of smaller branches. Formation of co-dominant stems and included bark can lead to increased risk of failure. Pruning can help treat or avoid some of these problems!!
It is important to establish objectives before pruning begins. There will be seven main objective outline in the next blog post. Come back next week to check them out!!