Albizia
Jacaranda
Rosewood
Branch pruning: Branch pruning, although
much less severe than coppicing or pollarding
also seriously alters the tree architecture as
whole branches are being removed. Branch
pruning can be considered for the following
reasons; 1) Branches are dead, sickly or
diseased. 2) They are crossing over or pushing
against another branch. 3) They are growing
inward or are otherwise competing with another
branch for the same space. These 3 are
together called “thinning the canopy”. 4) The
need to raise the canopy, to free up the space
under the tree or to open up the canopy itself to
let more light and air pass.
Removing whole branches need to be done
with care, as unthoughtful cutting can put
yourself or the tree in harm’s way.
To keep it simple, use always the 3 step
approach, see final image below.
Be careful to do the third cut no sooner than
after the branch has fallen away from the tree!
done by trimming back to lateral branches that
are large enough to take over the terminal roles.
This technique can be the easiest and also the
most difficult of all pruning techniques. If the
tree is still small, and all parts can be reached
with ease, trimming is done quickly. However
if the tree is medium to large sized and not all
parts can be reached without the help of ladders
or even climbing gear, it can be an arduous
task. This is one of the reasons that less
experienced persons might resort to pollarding/
branch pruning, as a desperate means to get
the tree within manageable proportions again.
Trimming is also a common practice on hedges
or smaller shrubs to create shape, the more
elaborate forms of the latter are called topiary.
I will discuss in the next article various
examples of trees (Citrus trees, Peach/
Apricot and several ornamentals) and the
recommended pruning practices (technique and
timing) for them.
Trimming: This is the least severe of all the
different pruning techniques. If correctly applied
it reduces the canopy size without altering the
architecture of the tree. Trimming usually does
not remove more than 30% of the total volume
of the tree. Trimming back in trees is properly
33