Pruning trees is a new challengue that I have faced here. At the beggining, it was hard to know when a tree needed to be pruned or not. I’m not saying that now I know how to do it like an expert, but I’m certanly getting more comfortable at doing it.
Most of what I’ve learned is through imitation. When I saw others pruning, they tried to explain why that specific branch needs to be cut and not any other, but this explanations were not very clear to me when I haven’t done this before. So these are the ideas that I got after some weeks of pruning the garden.
First of all, and the easiest to realise, if it bothers us humans. If the branches are getting in the way, if they’re too close to the roof of the house, if they’re creating too much shadow… This meant also to start paying attention to this things that for some reason I thought they couldn’t be changed, but they can.
Then, we have to make sure every plant, tree or bush, has enough space to grow. So if two trees are touching each other, or geting too close, maybe it’s a good idea to cut them and shape them so they don’t touch eachtoher anymore. By the way, the desired shape or a tree is a cup shape for the branches, like creating a bowl. We also want to create balance, so if there are a lot of branches growing in the same place and in the same direction, that’s a reason to cut them and leave one or two.
Another thing to pay attention to, is how healthy the branches and leaves look. Last summer there was a huge hail that destroyed a lot of the garden. Some trees have survived, and are now growing new branches. So it’s time to prune the damaged ones, the old ones also, and leave the new ones. How to tell the difference? Well, the new ones are a lighter colour and more flexible, while the older ones are darker and if you twist them they break easiy.
An important detail, the cuts must be clean, so try to find the sharpest tools you can, and it also has to be as close to the blossom as possible. This shapes the tree in the desired way.
So if for you it’s also time for pruning, my very last tip is to start little by little, checking from far how is it going and, if you have doubts, asking someone else. Good luck!