8;8 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Pruning Trees and Shrubs 



THE pruning of trees and shrubs is 

 a work that demands keen observa- 

 tion on the part of the gardener, 

 for the success or failure of many kinds 

 depends largely upon the manner in which 

 pruning is performed. Large-growing trees 

 may be ruined through inattention to 

 pruning during their young days, whilst 

 careless pruning may cause as much or 

 more harm than not pruning at all. Some 

 flowering shrubs can only be depended upon 

 to give good results after regular pruning, 

 and even then the pruning must be done at a 

 certain period of the year, otherwise it is 

 valueless. On the other hand, regular prun- 

 ing in the case of some shrubs would do 

 harm rather than good. Evergreens, as a 

 rule, are better pruned during spring than at 

 any other time, and kinds which would suffer 

 severely if pruned in winter respond in a 

 satisfactory manner if the work is carried 

 out in April. In all cases the object in view 

 is the suppression of certain parts of the tree 

 or shrub, so that its whole energy may be 

 centred upon the perfection of those parts 

 desired by the cultivator. Thus, in some 

 instances the production of good flowering 

 wood is required, in other cases ornamental 

 foliage is the end in view ; or it may be that 

 the grower wishes a plant to assume some 

 peculiarity of form, such as is usual in topiary 

 work, and everything else is sacrificed to 

 gain that end. Trees, again, which are grown 

 for ornamental purposes are treated in a 

 different manner from those grown for 

 timber,, for in the latter case the branch 

 system is restricted to the greatest possible 

 extent, in order that all the energy shall be 

 devoted to the production of timber, whereas 

 an ornamental tree must be built up with a 

 good trunk and branch system. Neither 

 is pruning confined to the branches of trees, 

 for it is often necessary to prune roots also. 

 This is essential when trees have to be 

 transplanted and when trees and shrubs 

 are growing too vigorously to flower satis- 

 factorily. Then there is the pruning of 

 flower buds, or, as it is usually termed, thin- 

 ning of flower buds, or disbudding. This 



and the thinning of fruits are only forms of 

 pruning, although not usually considered 

 in that light. 



Pruning Large Trees. If trees are 

 carefully attended to from their youth, the 

 pruning needed after the first few years is 

 slight, but if little attention is given during 

 the first twenty years of a tree's life, a 

 considerable amount of work is necessary 

 during the next ten or fifteen years. Trees 

 planted close together naturally grow up- 

 wards in order to obtain all possible light, 

 and the side branches are suppressed ; but 

 trees which have abundance of room usually 

 develop horizontally rather than vertically, 

 therefore steps must be taken to remedy 

 this defect until the necessary height of trunk 

 has been formed. By strict attention to 

 pruning whilst the trees are in the nursery 

 this horizontal development may be guarded 

 against to a certain extent. The correct 

 method to adopt is carefully to check all 

 side branches, so that a strong central stem 

 with a good leader is formed. The removal 

 of side branches causes an increase in height, 

 but if too many side branches are removed 

 at once the trunk becomes weak and unable 

 to support its own weight, owing to the loss 

 of too great an amount of .leaf surface, 

 therefore the branches must be shortened 

 and removed by degrees as -the trunk de- 

 velops in strength. Branches from different 

 parts of the trunk, rather than from one 

 region, should be removed, so that too great 

 an area of bark is not exposed in any one 

 place at the same time. By following this 

 method for a few years, well-developed young 

 trees are obtained. 



Pruning Neglected Trees. Trees that 

 have been neglected for twenty or thirty 

 years are usually very rough, with no clear 

 leader, or perhaps with several leaders, and 

 will have to be severely dealt with. Summer 

 and autumn is the best time to take such 

 trees in hand. In the first place, a leader 

 must be formed. If the natural one is 

 available, so much the better, but if no good 

 leader can be found, then a branch near the 

 centre must be secured into position to form 



