All the trees in our gardens are precious, they are a source of wonderful aromas and excellent fruits, cool shade, and aesthetic pleasure. Money, time and effort are invested in each. An important part of such efforts is regular pruning. This is a powerful tool that is necessary for both ornamental and fruit plants.
There is nothing complicated or dangerous about pruning trees. For a specialist, arbor care is a standard, formalized process, that obeys very simple rules and regulations.
Why is arbor care necessary?
Pruning is an indispensable part of the basic care of trees, necessary for the normal development of plants. Pruning is equally important for ornamental species and for fruit trees. Here are just some of the goals that arbor care allows you to achieve:
– Increases the resistance of the tree to hurricanes, pests, and diseases;
– Shoots and leaves get uniform access to air and light, and this makes them stronger and healthier;
– A beautiful crown is formed, at the request of the customer; the plant can be given an aesthetic silhouette;
– Plants reveal their full potential.
Types of arbor care in Fresno
– Sanitary pruning;
– Formative pruning;
– Rejuvenating pruning;
– Urgent or emergency pruning.
Let’s take a closer look at each type of arbor care.
Sanitary pruning
During preventive pruning broken, withered, or diseased branches are removed, as well as weak, thin, infertile shoots, and branches that interfere with the normal development of the crown. For deciduous plants, pruning is always carried out after winter, ideally at the very beginning of March.
Formative pruning
While speaking about arbor care in Fresco it’s necessary to point out that pruning is divided into two types. The first one is intended for fruit trees and is aimed at maximizing the yield and prolonging the life of the tree. The second one is addressed to ornamental plants and is aimed at increasing their aesthetic value. The formation of plants is optimally carried out in early spring. However, it is possible to postpone the formation until late autumn.
Rejuvenating pruning
This is a special type of pruning, most often radical, associated with the removal of a significant part of the branches. It helps to prolong the life of the plant. Such pruning is applied to abandoned, old, badly damaged trees. If the plant looks weakened, grows slowly, if it has elongated branches, sparse foliage, twisted branches and it blooms poorly – this means that rejuvenating pruning will benefit it. Trees older than 18 years are usually rejuvenated, for fruit species – older than 15 years or with loss of yield.
Emergency pruning
Sometimes pruning has to be carried out unplanned to save the tree. Severe damage by pests or diseases, destructive hurricanes, and other situations require work to be carried out immediately, without waiting for the usual pruning season.
Dates and calendar of arbor care in Fresno
The optimal pruning time is late autumn or early spring, that is, before and after the end of the growing season.
Dry, clear, cool enough days are especially good for arbor care.
Here is an approximate calendar for different types of arbor care:
- The end of winter, before the first swollen buds: removal of diseased, damaged, broken, unnecessary branches. Crown formation.
- Summer: only emergency pruning, as well as the removal of unnecessary young shoots.
- Autumn: rejuvenating and shaping pruning. The main thing is not to start too early.
How to reduce the potential risks of arbor care
When carrying out arbor care, you should always keep in mind that a plant is a living organism that can suffer from improper or too strong pruning. Therefore, it is better to apply a gentle regime and not cut more than ⅓ from all branches of the plant in one year. If you see that the plant is overgrown, then stretch the forming pruning for several years. After arbor care, all sections of branches that exceed 3 cm in diameter must be processed. They are lubricated with a 5% solution of copper sulfate or a 2% solution of potassium permanganate. This will destroy dangerous bacteria. You can disinfect the slices with medical alcohol. Sections treated in this way will not be a source of diseases.
Summary
- Arbor care is necessary for fruit plants for good development and abundant fruiting, and decorative varieties – for giving a beautiful shape.
- Arbor care is a serious operation for plants, therefore it must be carried out strictly according to certain rules.
- Plants subjected to strong rejuvenating or shaping pruning require particularly intensive and delicate care.
- Visit our Services Page for more information about landscape maintenance and tree care.
