pruning

Pruning - more than a matter of taste by Catherine Kavassalis Jan. 2009

Versailles! with what regret thy bowers I sing,
Enchanting labours of a mighty king! ...
But ah! the axe impends, thy doom is signed.
(Les Jardins by Jacques Delille. 1782. The Gardens tr. Mrs. Montolieu 1805)

Between 1774-5, vast numbers of trees in the gardens of Versailles were felled. Why?
It was all about pruning.

The Felling of Trees at Versailles Hubert Robert 1775

People have been trimming and shaping plants for millennia. From the ancient Chinese practice of penjing (a predecessor of Japanese bonsai) to the amazing garden sculptures created for the Beijing Olympics, pruning techniques and traditions have evolved over time. Just as fashion changes, so to does taste in pruning.

In the 17^th century, the formal gardens of Louis IV were seen as physical representations of the King’s perfect control over his realm. The gardens epitomized what is today called the French Style. Topiary was abundant, with trees and shrubs sheered to precise shape. Plants were arranged in geometric patterns with formal groupings of neatly trimmed trees, termed bosquet, in careful alignment. This precision style gardening is well illustrated by Versailles’ Orangery, pictured below right. As you can imagine, this style of gardening is labour intensive.

In a lengthy poem about Europe’s gardens, the 18^th century poet, Jacques Delille bemoaned the loss of Kings’ trees, but also criticized the gardens as follows:

To an impoverished populous, the luxury of the gardens had become a wretched sight. A growing distaste for the excesses of royalty was coupled with a general philosophical shift away from constrictive cultural practices toward more natural processes. Louis VI prudently chose to refashion some of his gardens using the new freer English Style. Hence sites were cleared and planted to create undulating naturalistic landscapes. Picturesque ‘natural’ gardens was trendy with the European elite until the mid 1800s when a revival of architectural topiary found favour once again.

Though plants have long been pruned as a fashion statement, there are more pragmatic and important reasons to prune including: improving plant health, improving flowering or fruiting, making harvest easier, ensuring safety, etc. Coppicing, the practice of shearing trees and shrubs to the ground, and pollarding, the practice of shearing trees to a meter or two above the ground, were once standard forestry practices in medieval times. This was done not for visual appeal but to produce a continual supply of wood, wicker or winter fodder. Today, some find this quirky pruning style pleasing, but only a handful of species, (e.g. those with vigorous epicormic sprouts, like willows and catalpas), can be sheared in this manner. Over time, people have learned which plants can be pruned, how this pruning should be done and when it will be most successful.

Cutting techniques vary depending on the size of the branch. A simple angle cut above an outward facing bud is fine for branches with alternate leaves under 4 cm (1.5 inches), although a flat cut is better for shrubs with opposite buds (see image left and read more

about Pruning Ornamental Shrubs from Iowa State Extension).

For larger branches, a three step drop crotch cut is recommended. This cut is designed to remove the weight of the branch and thereby prevent bark tearing. Therefore, a cut is made about 5 cm (six inches) from the branch crotch. This cut should only go 1/3 through the branch generally on the bottom side (or direction of fall). Then the branch is cut from the top clean through a few centimeters further out. Finally, the stub can be removed by cutting just outside the branch collar and not flush to the main branch or trunk. It has been found that flush cuts do not heal as well. Although there are some specialized dressings for specific pathogens, sealing wounds is now not recommended and can prevent the natural healing process. (Read more about Tree Pruning from Clemson Extention).

Pruning can be done year round. However, winter is the ideal time to prune most deciduous trees and many shrubs. When they are dormant, you can easily see the framework, and insects and disease are less likely to be spread. Spring flowering varieties, like forsythia, are best pruned just after they have bloomed. Evergreens should be pruned just after they have set their new candles. Trees that bleed like maples, walnuts and birches are best shaped in summer. The best results are achieved if pruning is started when the plant is quite young and some thought is given to the desired final shape.

Proper Timing for Flowering Shrubs and Trees
Spring-flowering shrubs should be pruned immediately after blooming:		Shrubs that bloom in summer and fall, and shrubs grown primarily for their foliage, can be pruned in late winter/early spring, before growth starts:
Azalea Beautybush Bigleaf Hydrangea Bradford Pear Bridalwreath Spirea Clematis - Early Flowering clematis that bloom on the previous season's growth and large flowering hybrids that bloom twice in a season can also be cut back after their first flowering to manage size. Crabapple Deutzia Dogwood Doublefile Vibernum Flowering Almond Flowering Cherry Flowering Quince Forsythia Japanese Kerria	Japanese Pieris Lilac Mockorange Mountain Laurel Pyracantha Redbud Rhododendron Roses-Hybrid tea, old-fashioned and climbing roses should be pruned right before the leaf buds break. Saucer Magnolia Star Magnolia Shrub Honeysuckle Thunberg Spirea Vanhoutte Spirea Weigelia Winter Daphne Wisteria Witchhazel	Barberry Boxwood Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) Callicarpa (Beauty Berry) Clematis - Late Flowering clematis such as "Sweet Autumn Clematis" should be cut back to 12 to 24 inches from the ground in February or March. Large flowering hybrids can be lightly pruned at the same time. Clethra Coralberry Hibiscus Holly Hydrangea (fall blooming) Privet Spirea (late varieties) Summersweet Snowberry

We will be conducting a workshop in the spring. Contact me if you would like to participate.

May toads nestle in your flower beds and help you tend your beauties in the spring.

Resources and References:

· David Edward Cooper. 2006 Philosophy of Gardens. Oxford University Press (see Google Books for online excerpts)

· Giulia Pacini. Fall 2007. A Culture of Trees: The politics of pruning and felling in late eighteenth-century France. Eighteenth-Century Studies. Vol. 41, Iss. 1; pp 1-14

· Paula Rea Radisich. Summer, 1988. “The King Prunes His Garden.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 21, No. 4 pp. 454-471.

· The Gardens by Jacques Delille, tr. Isabelle de Montolieu 1805 Google Books

· Lee Reich. Feb. 22, 1998."Cuttings; Art in Progress: The Quirky Appeal of Pollarding." New York Times.

Proper Timing for Flowering Shrubs and Trees

Resources and References: