Pruning Tip's

  This is a great time of the year to prune your trees and shrubs. There is less disease and insects, if any, to get into the freshly pruned area and create havoc! When I wanted to learn "How To Prune" a tree or shrub correctly I turned to the experts. I am not ashamed to say that we just fired up the chain saw and went to cutting up things on the farm. The experts I turned to was The Arbor day Foundation, they know a thing or 2 about trees, lol! Here is what they had to say!

1. Begin visual inspection at the top of the tree and work downward.
2.  
3.  Use The ⅓ and ¼ Rules of Pruning
   1. Never remove more than ¼ of a tree’s crown in a season
   2. Ideally, main side branches should be at least ⅓ smaller than the diameter of the trunk.
   3. For most deciduous (broadleaf) trees, don’t prune up from the bottom any more than ⅓ of the tree’s total height.
   4. Where possible, try to encourage side branches that form angles that are ⅓ off vertical that form “10 o’clock” or “2 o’clock” angles with the trunk.
4. For most species, the tree should have a single trunk. Identify the best leader and later branches before you begin pruning and remove defective parts before pruning for form.
5. Don’t worry about protecting pruning cuts. For aesthetics, you may feel better painting large wounds but it doesn’t prevent or reduce decay.
6. Keep tools sharp. One-hand pruning shears with curved blades work best on young trees.
7. For high branches use a pole pruner. A major job on a big tree should be done by a professional arborist.
8. For larger branches, cut outside the branch bark and ridge collar (swollen area). Do not leave a protruding stub. If the limb is too small to have formed a collar cut close.
   
9. When simply shortening a small branch, make the cut at a lateral bud or another lateral branch. Favor a bud that will produce a branch that will grow in desired direction (usually outward). The cut should be sharp and clean and made at a slight angle about ¼ inch beyond the bud.
   

   Correct Pruning Cut	Too Close	Too Long	Too Slanted

  Thats the Basics! Sometimes its okay to admit you you don't know everything or didn't learn everything growing up and had to find out on your own but that's what make use stronger! If you want to learn more on, "Pruning away the Bad, stuff", read this!

"[People] are not naturally inclined to look at themselves honestly, to perform a self-evaluation under the bright and perfect light of God’s Word. They know instinctively that their pride, self-will and love of sin will be exposed under the Lord’s righteous standards." ~ John MacArthur