Mediterranean Gardens
Roald Goorman
The art of pruning trees: Tree pruning is
as the headline says an art, a craft, a skill, that
has to be learned. One needs to understand the
physiology and the phenology of each tree (and
believe me, there are many types of trees!) in
order to apply proper pruning practices. There
is actually an official specialisation on tree care;
arboriculturist, in some countries it is taken up
to university level to obtain a degree as one.
Fortunately we need not to go so far as to have
a university degree before tackling our trees,
however some basic understanding of your tree
before the actual pruning starts is definitely a
must. If I discuss all different pruning styles and
practices, I could write two bibles full of text, so
even in the basics I shall select further still to
prevent information overload! For the sake of
simplicity let’s assume that there are 5 pruning
styles, I will discuss these in further detail below
and give some examples in images.
Pruning techniques, left to right, from most
severe to lightest removal of tree biomass.
Coppicing/Pollarding: This practice in which
all branches are removed , by just leaving the
main trunk or several main branches is called
pollarding or topping, coppicing is the same but
removes practically all aboveground biomass.
This practice is seen much in the Netherlands
and rural UK. In the Netherlands both coppicing
and pollarding is done with Willows and Elms,
an old tradition to be able to harvest the new
shoots in consecutive years, these shoots
were used to build fences. In the UK hawthorn
hedges were coppiced to create natural fences
for livestock. Nowadays in both countries
practices are maintained mostly for aesthetic/
historic purposes, as well as preserving
niches for certain animals that have become
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dependent on them (like hedgehogs!).
In Spain pollarding has been done for
centuries with mulberry trees, to keep them a
manageable size, otherwise they can become
enormous. Mulberry trees withstand this
practice very well and produce new growth
quickly. Unfortunately, due to improper training
of garden/park maintenance personnel quite a
few other trees undergo the same treatment,
with horrible results as a consequence.
Examples are Rosewood trees (Tipuana
tipu), Jacaranda trees and Silk trees (Albizia).
All three species perform best when left
undisturbed or receiving a light prune (removing
max 20% of the canopy), allowing them to
produce their attractive architecture. If their
mature size outgrows your garden, simply
do not consider them. Select smaller species
instead as the aesthetical result of keeping
them in check would not please you anyway.
A big downside on this pruning method is that it
is very labour intensive, once done, it will need
to be done every year, as new shoots are much
weaker than any normally formed branch ever
would be (so called water shoots), and if left to
grow large will cause a serious risk by falling
over in high winds, causing damage or injury to
buildings or people.