Proper pruning can enhance a tree's health and beauty. But tangled branches that don't look like the neat illustrations in books can be daunting. So where do you begin?
First, be sure it's a job you can handle. A
small ornamental tree 12 to 25 feet tall—such as a flowering cherry, magnolia, crab apple, or Japanese maple—is one you can tackle yourself. (Bigger trees that require chain-saw and ladder work are best left to a pro.) Then be sure you understand a few key principles.
"Pruning stimulates growth," says Bill Pollock, co-owner of Arbor Services of Connecticut. "The goal is to encourage the tree to grow strong, healthy branches headed in the right direction." So Pollack makes health-promoting cuts first, removing competing, misdirected, and weak branches. Then he prunes to enhance the tree's natural form.
The best time for the kind of remedial pruning an established, long-neglected tree (like the one in this story) needs is early spring or winter, when active growth has not yet begun. Bare branches allow you to stand back and really see what needs to be removed.
Check out
How to Prune a Tree for full step-by-step instructions.
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