August 24, 1912 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



653 



c 



PRUNING ORNAMENTAL 



TREES. 



There is probably no subject connected 

 w'th horticulture which is so imperfectly 

 understood, or so much abused^ as the 



pruning of ornamental trees, and few 

 young gardeners receive any systemati 

 trainnig in this branch of their profession^ 

 yet the proper development of many trees 

 is only possible when strict attention is paid 

 to prun.ng and general cultivation. 



Undoubtedly trees would be better with- 

 out pruning if they assumed their best 

 proportions by natural means, but in the 

 same way that a deformed child must be 

 surgically treated if it is to develop into 

 a good specimen of humanity, so must a 

 deformed tree be pruned in order to allow 

 it to develop in the best possible manner. 

 Too often the nursery pruning of trees is 

 neglected, and this leads to more pruning 

 being necessary in after life than would 

 be the case were pruning attended to dur- 

 ing the early years. Some nurserym.en, 

 however, turn out really well-grown trees, 

 and the pruning of such examples amounts 

 to very little. 



ecessity of Pruning:. 



Pruning is condemned in some quarters 

 on account of the severe measures adopted 

 with street trees. This ought not to be, 

 for the proper pruning of trees is a very 

 different matter from the method employed 

 in our streets. Street trees are certainly 

 cut in such a fashion as to make them look 

 very ugly^ but it would be difficult to sug- 

 gest a better plan. A municipal gardener 

 is handicapped in many ways. He is 

 limited to a few kinds of trees for street 

 planting, and those are usually large- 

 growing ones. They must be trimmed 

 ■ high enough to be clear of traffic, and 

 their heads must not be large enough to 

 shut out the light from a<ljoining houses 

 or prevent the roadw^ay drying in wet 

 weather, therefore, as soon as the 

 heads are really attractive they have to 

 be cut hard back. A fault which might 

 he remedied is that of planting too closely 

 in streets. Trees are sometimes placed 

 twelve to fifteen feet apart, and these, 

 if not cropped hard, soon form a sort of 

 hedge along each side of a road, whereas 

 had they been placed fifty or sixty feet 

 apart they might have been allowed to 

 grow much larger, and would not have 

 required the severe pruning which is neces- 

 sary in the other case. 



Again, it is a great mistake to plant 

 trees in comparatively narrow streets 

 where the traffic is heavy, for there is no 

 room for them. The trunks are easily 

 damaged, and the heads frequently cropped 

 until the effect is painful. In such cases 

 it would certainly be better to be with- 

 out trees at all. 



The pruning of park and garden trees, 

 however, is another matter, and there is 

 no excuse for its being neglected or per- 

 formed in an improper manner. 



Pruning Young; Trees- 



As previously stated the nursery is the 

 place where pruning must be strictly at- 

 tended to if a good foundation for the 

 future tree is to be laid. The object dur- 

 ing this time must be the production of 

 a tree with a strong trunk and rather nar- 

 row head of branches, which is capable of 

 supporting its weight without the aid of 

 a stake when planted permanently. To 

 obtain such a tree it is necessarv to exer- 

 cise great care in the early pruninsr. 

 J^uoulfi this be left alone too large a num- 

 ber of leaders will be formed, and the 



central one will suffer accordingly. Side 

 Ixaiiclies may also develop unotily, and 

 rol) the leader. On the other hand, it 

 side branches are dealt with xorv .severelv 



* • 



the trunk will giow rapi<lly in height, 

 and soon become too weak to support it- 

 self. The CO r r e ct a\- a y t o p r oc eed is to 

 keep the leader clear, and retain as many 

 side branches as possible, the latter being 

 shortened occasionally. If this shorten- 

 ing process is persisted in a considerable 

 leaf area will be nuiintained to help in 

 building up the trunk, and the branches 

 will not increase very rapidly in thickness. 

 As the trunk becomes strong enough to 

 support itself a branch or two may ])e 

 removed now and then. Tlicst^ must not be 

 taken from the bottom oiilv hut latber 

 thinned out from those close together. Ky 

 continuing this treatment for three or four 

 years good trees are formed which will give 

 little trouble when planted in permanent 

 places. The subsequent pruning of such 

 trees usually means keeping the leaders 

 clear of side growths, thinning the 

 branches occasionally, and removirig the 

 lower branches gradually as they advance 

 in height. 



Young ornamental trees which have l>een 

 left unattended for several years are often 

 wide-headed J with no distinct leading 

 shoot, and such trees require rather severe 

 treatment for a number of years to 

 get them into the right condition for form- 

 ing well-grown specimens. The tendency 

 is for an isolated tree to develop in width 

 more rapidly than in height, therefore the 

 side branches have to be checked in order 

 to give additional strength to the trunk. 

 This m ght be done by simply taking the 

 ends off all the branches, but a tree treated 

 in such a manner would present a stiff 

 and unnatural appearance, therefore 

 it is a better plan to cut a few strong 

 branches clean away where they can be 

 well spare^l, and shorten the remaining ones 

 back to side branches. The holes made by 

 the removal of whole branches help a tree 

 to retain something of its natural charac- 

 ter, whilst by cutting the remaining 

 branches back to side shoots it is relieved 

 of stiffness. 



How to Prune. 



If no distinct leading shoot exists, the 



branch nearest the oentre of the tree 

 should be selected for the leader, and be 

 secured in an upright position by mean;i 

 of a stake fastenecl to the trunk. Should 

 the branch 'be too strong for this, it might 

 be wired up to a stake driven into the 

 ground a few feet from the trunk. The 

 same method 'is often successful w^hen 

 adopted for straightening a leaning tree. 

 Branches which are likely to interfere with 

 the development of the new leader must 

 either be remov^ed or shortened. New 

 leaders may be formecl fairly easily from 

 side branches of broad-leaved trees, but 

 less easily on conifers, and it is usiudly 

 better to remove a damaged leader from 

 a conifer, shorten the side branches round 

 about, and try for a new upright leader 

 from a dormant stem bud. When branches 

 have to be tied or wired up care should be 

 taken to place a stout piece of rubber or 

 felt between the wire and the bark, and 

 all such places should be examined an- 

 nually in order to ascertain whether the 

 ties are becoming too tight and are likely 

 to cut into the bark. 



The method of removing a branch from 

 a tree has a considerable bearing on the 

 healing of the wound, therefore care 

 should be taken to make the cuts in such 

 a wav that they will heal most rapidlv. 

 In all cases when branches are cut out 

 the wound should ~be cut quite parallel 



with the I)ark of the trunk. Some people 

 ai*e \ erv fot»d of i»i<> an in-ch or two 



oi the liottom of tli*' luarich, or oi cut- 

 ting it off at right angles with the trunk, 

 but iioth ways a re f)ad, toi* w(jnnds so 

 made, although small in ((niipari^oji with 

 wounds made parallel with tlic ifark, fail 

 to heal |)roj)rily. whereas in the method 

 reconuneiulcd a complete healing may be 

 looked for in a coniparatix el^* short t!me. 

 In all cases it is <lcsiral)Ie tiiat the liuigh 

 e<lges of a wound should he ]>ared smcoth 

 with a sharp knitc. and the whole wound 

 painted over witli <-oal tar as soon as pos- 

 sible after being made. If such a pro- 

 tective covering is not given, fungus vS])ores 

 are likely to obtain a foot ng, an<l dtn-ay 

 niay sj)read into the tree. W lu^n hianches 

 are shortened care shouhl ln^ taken to 

 shorten them to a side branch, ajul in no 

 case should they be reduced so as to look 

 like long bare sticks. 



Removal cf Dead Wood. 



Another ijuportant matter in regard to 

 the pruning and upkeep of trees is the 

 regular cutting out of dead and dying 

 wood, and the removal of branches injured 

 by wind, for the neglect of these seemingly 

 trivial matters often results in permanent 

 injury, and sometimes early death. 



The time for pruning may be given as 

 any period between the time when the 

 young leaves are fully expanded and 

 Christmas. There is a great deal to be 

 said for performing the work in summer, 

 for whilst the leaves are on the trees the 

 operator is better able to judge of the 

 amount of priming actually necessary than 

 when the branches are leafless. 



In conclusion, one woidd urge that 

 proper attent'on should be paid to young 

 trees in order that severe pruning in after 

 life will not be required ; that the work 

 be done in a careful and thoughtful 

 manner, with due regard to the present 

 appearance and future welfare of the trees, 

 and that everything should be done to assist 

 the heahng of the wounds. 



Kew. AV. Dalltmoke. 



FLOWERING PLANTS AS 



STANDARDS. 



A notable feature of the present day is 

 the number of greenhouse decorative 

 flowering plants that are now grown as 

 standaras. Fuchsias have always been so 

 treated, as the drooping nature of their 

 blossoms enables them to be seen to great 

 advantage when they occupy a more or 

 less elevated position. Concerning abu- 

 tilons, too, much the same may be said, 

 while in addition to these one frequently 

 meets with standards of heliotrope, Salvia 

 splendens, jwlargoniums of zonal and ivy- 

 leaved sections, lantanas, shrubby veronicas, 

 and others. Apart from the fact 

 that the flowers are brought nearer 

 the eye on standards, these tall plants, 

 when employed for grouping purposes, 

 serve to break up any flatness or formality. 



From their comparative novelty, as well 

 as for other features, standards often at- 

 tract a good deal of attention, and one is 

 frequently asked how they are obtained. 

 It is, in most cases at least, a very simple 

 matter, all that is necessary being to strike 

 good vigorous cuttings, and grow them 

 freely, taking care that the growing point 

 is not injured in any way. To prevent 

 any mishap the plants should each be se- 

 cured to an upright stick. ;.iul all Ni(h» 

 shoots removed till the required height is 

 attaine<:l, when they may be al]owe<l to 

 branch out. Where these standards are 

 used out of doors care must be taken that 

 they are securely fastened. S. W. 



