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2torial
#0900:
Learn2
Prune Bushes and Small
Trees
(Continued)
 Rescue
Nip-One-One
It's time to get down and dirty. Your
first course of action is to rescue dead bits and
broken branches. You can do this anytime of year.
At least do this, if nothing else for your
plants!
You'll need to make a clean cut, meaning a
smooth flush cut. This locks up the cells on the
surface and helps protect the interior of the
wood.
When making a cut, the blade should be on top of
the branch and not under it. Think of the top blade
as being a knife which prevents the bark from
tearing and gets you close to the trunk of the
tree. The bottom part acts as the cutting board and
the branch is like a carrot in between the two.
Here's a list of all the bits that should be
removed from your plant:
Broken branches
Get rid of anything that is broken and has a
jagged edge and/or ripped tissue. When the delicate
tissue inside the plant is exposed, it's a
festering ground for disease spores and insects.
Make clean cuts at the healthy part of the branch
at a bud or node.
Dead Things
Get rid of anything dead, even if it's small.
Nature has a way of tidying up after itself and
rotting plant attracts insects. The dead debris
takes up light and air and blocks out potential new
growth that is just waiting for the chance to
spring to life.
When cutting out dead branches, cut to a live
part of the branch following the buds or nodes.
Dead or alive?
If you can't tell if it's dead or alive, make a
little scratch on the branch with your thumbnail.
If it's green, it's alive. If it isn't green, that
part is dead. Follow the branch down toward the
trunk, and keep trying until you strike green.
Cut at the next bud or node or side branch. If
the whole branch is dead all the way to the inside
of the main branch, make a thinning cut (this is
explained later because it's pretty advanced) and
check the rest of the plant.
Sick Things:
Sick plants also need some care. You'll know
your plant is sick if it has:
- Spots--any type, rusty, fuzzy, orange.
- Blackness.
- Dead leaves.
- Tightly knit cob-web-looking patches on the
leaves or the wood of the plant.
- Spiders moving in and making their home
there.
If the whole plant shows these signs, yank it up
and chuck it out.
But if it's just one section of the plant that's
sick, you need to treat that area before it
spreads. The best way to do it is to cut it
off.
Always cut into a healthy part of the branch a
few inches from the visibly deceased sections. Look
at the wood after you cut it to make sure it's all
one color and that there's no black rot in it. If
there is, make another cut, and keep checking to
make sure it's gone.
Remember if the branch you are cutting is long,
it is best to cut it in half or even thirds so
there is not as much weight from the branch.
Branches that rub: the
non-conformists
There's always one branch who grows sideways,
crosses over other branches and ends up rubbing
against other branches. When two branches run
against each other, they'll rub the bark raw, and
expose the delicate tissue inside, inviting disease
and rot. These need to be cut.
Non--conformist branches include the
suckers--sprouts that grow directly from the root
system or right out of the base of the trunk.
Water shoots, that grow mostly on trees and grow
straight up out of the trunk or a lateral branch,
or branch that sneak in between the main lead and a
side shoot or trunk and lateral branch causing a
narrow crotch. Think of them as folks who always
cut in line.
These types of branches steal energy from the
rest of the plant. They all require thinning cuts,
which is the next step.
 Step
4
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