Proustia 



239 ) 



Pruning 



Bulbs. Tender bulbs and other deciduous herbs 

 and roots may be protected in winter by a layer of 

 coal ashes or leaf mould not much decayed. 



PROUSTIA. 



Greenhouse climbers, allied to Mutisia (ord. 

 Composite). Propagation, by seeds when obtain- 

 able ; and by cuttings of side shoots getting firm at 

 the base, in sand, placed in heat and covered with 

 a bell-glass. Soil, fibrous loam and one-third peat, 

 with Kind and good drainage. Pyrifolia, 10', white, 

 is the only introduction. 



PRUMNOPITYS. 



Handsome hardy or greenhouse trees (ord. Conif- 

 er;e), allied to the Podocarpuses, from which they 

 differ by the absence of the fleshy " receptacle " at 

 the base of the fruit. Spieata is hardy in the 

 south-west of England and Ireland only. Propa- 

 gation, by cuttings of the young shoots, removed 

 when almost ripe and struck under a bell-glass 

 in a frame or warm house. Soil, good loam. 



Principal Species : 



Sims, !()' to oO', hdy., 

 Ivs. dark grn. above, 

 li^hfcr beneath (.v///**. 

 Podoearpus andina and 

 StachycarpuB amliua). 

 Plum Fir. 



spieata, 80', Ivs. grn. 

 above, glaucous be- 

 neath (syn. Podoearpus 

 spieata). Black Pine. 



taxifolia, Yew-leaved, 



PRUNELLA (*yn. BRUNELLA). 



A .small genus of useful and pretty border or 

 rockery herbs (ord. Labiata?), with flowers arranged 

 in whorled spikes. Propagation, by seeds sown in 

 spring or early summer, under glass or in the open 

 air; also by division in spring, or after flowering. 

 Any good loamy soil. 



Principal Species and Varieties : 



gramlinoni, 6" to 12", 



sum., pur. 

 allia, 0" to 12", sum., 



\vh. 

 rubra, G" to 12", sum., 



red (*//. webbiana). 

 liys-npit'olia, 0" to 12", 



Aug., pur. 



vulgaris, 6" to 12", Jy., 

 pur. All-heal. 



alba, 6" to 12", Jy., 

 wh. 



laciniata, 6" to 12", 

 Jy., pur. 



rubra, 0" to 12", Jy., 

 red. 



PRUNING. 



Object of Pruning. In the early stages of fruit 

 trees to be trained on walls, fences, espaliers, or 

 buildings, pruning is so effected as to secure the 

 requisite number of shoots to lay the foundation of 

 the tree, and in succeeding years to ensure that 

 the lateral shoots will be at regular distances 

 apart. The most favourably situated shoots must 

 be selected, to be tied in to wires or nailed to 

 \v.-ill> as the case may be, and the rest must bn 

 shortened to one or two buds at the base to form 

 spurs. Standard and half-standard trees, and 

 bushes, are pruned in the early stages to get about 

 three, six, and twelve branches respectively in one. 

 two, and three years, with the object of laying the 

 foundation of a well-balanced head or bush.' In after 

 years spur pruned trees upon walls are pruned to 

 remove the superfluous wood of each year's growth, 

 to keep the spurs as close to the wall as possible 

 in order to reap the benefit of sun heat in matur- 

 ing tlie fruit crop, and also to remove unnecessary 

 spurs to prevent crowding, the object being to 

 allow air and sunlight to play their part in ripen- 

 ing the wood, and to favour the development of 



1'ra/fincip/ifi Hits (fee Amorpliojihallus). 



the largest sized fruits. To obtain the latter object, 

 the thinning of the fruits must also be practised. 

 After the head or main branches of standards have 

 been secured, pruning will consist in removing 

 dead wood, weak and useless shoots, and those that 

 cross one another, and in so regulating the head 

 that air and light can play freely upon all parts of 

 the tree. Trees that are properly thinned in this 

 way are less subject to fungoid and insect attacks. 

 Root Pruning. Fruit trees in their early stages, 

 especially in rich soil, are liable to make growth of 

 so vigorous and gross a nature that they remain 

 unfruitful, and do not mature the wood properly 

 before the fall of the leaf. In the case of young 

 trees, this may be checked by lifting and replant- 

 ing the trees in autumn. In after years the 



Photo : Cassell & Company, Limited. 



Piiuxvs AviUM (see p. 241). 



repeated removal of superfluous wood results in a 

 multiplicity of shoots, like Willow stools, where 

 spurs should be. This is a sure sign that the root 

 system is in excess, and out of proportion to the 

 head it has to support. The roots should be un- 

 covered and shortened back to within 3' or 5' of 

 the trunk, according to the size of the tree. The 

 tap root should also be removed, or shortened 

 severely. In the case of very large trees only half 

 the roots should be pruned in any one year, the 

 other half being reserved till the next. Root prun- 

 ing reduces the vegetative vigour of the trees, and 

 induces fruitfulness, and when once this condition 

 has been attained root pruning ceases to be a 

 necessity in well-regulated trees. (For details of 

 pruning fruit trees, see APPLE, and other 

 fruits.) 



