PRUNING 259 



(a) By pinching the terminal buds during the growth 

 period, as is often practiced upon tardy-bearing fruit 

 trees or upon seedling fruit trees of which it is desirable 

 soon to learn the quality of the fruit. To be successful, 

 it must be performed rather early in the growing season, 

 and before the time for the formation of flower-buds. 

 The blossoms do not usually appear until the season fol- 

 lowing the pinching. 



With plants that flower at the terminal growing points 

 of the principal branches, such as the spireas, hydran- 

 geas, rhododendrons and the like, pinching to promote 

 flowering is not advisable, since it tends to reduce the 

 size of the flower clusters. 



(b) By cutting back ihe new growth. Woody plants 

 that flower on stems more than one year old, such as the 

 apple, pear, currant, etc., when grown on rich or well- 

 cultivated ground, or that have been too severely pruned, 

 often tend to produce an excess of new wood with a very 

 feeble development of flower-buds. In such cases, it is 

 advisable to equalize the growth by a moderate cutting 

 back of all the young shoots. This must, however, be 

 done with judgment. If the cutting back is too severe, 

 it will stimulate more wood growth rather than the 

 development of flower-buds. 



(c) By root pruning. This checks growth by reduc- 

 ing the number of root-tips, and thus cuts off a part of 

 the water supply. It is applicable to the same cases as 

 pinching, and is accomplished by cutting off the ex- 

 tremities of the roots by inserting the spade in a circle 

 about the plant, or in the case of trees of considerable 

 size, by digging a trench sufficiently deep to sever the 

 lateral roots. The severity of the root pruning advis- 

 able will depend upon the vigor of the growth it is de- 

 sired to check. 



