Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-02-07
PRUN NG TRlET TREES.

ecrden.
PRUN NG TRtET TREES,
TIE mu'iht,g of our shade and street
trees, vul,alk STYLED ,hc 'uee butch
en- win sOCn Dc gcttng iu his work
and n few Practical suggestions may
| uot DEE gmiss 60 the Ownet OF shade
! trees Tho after ls often imposed
upon hy professional tree primers be
ggues he does not know how the work
should Dee dore The following, writ
/ ten by Prof William Saunders, u, !.
/ horuCultuuFt is taken from the Year,
book OF the dapartmont OF agriculture
! offers timely hints On tine training and
! pruning of shade trees
! The ideal street tree Is one having
| straight Wtll-dehned central stem
throughout its entire length with Side
| branches regularly disposed around IL
| ANA subordinate 90 ID. Trees grown
| In this shape win Withstand fierce
storms ana sudden bursts Of wind
without injury Not many deciduous
trees naturally assume this form, but
hy timely pruning when young they can
DE greatly helped to approach 1t. This
training process should commence while
ihc tree Is young and growth easily
controlled No later than the t0nd
year after planting a careful inspection
should be made after the leaves fall,
and II more than one shoot seems de-
welcoming ~ leaders, select the finest and
remove the tops from the others. also
Gus the points of any side branches that
appear To- REQUIRE checking. so as 10
maintain symmetry in the tree. Prac-
ticallythc training process should COM
nence IN the nursery, where the growth
NJ a leading shoot should be maintained
and IN side branches Kept back hy
pinching their points These should
not Ne removed entirely as they tend
TO strengthen the main stem, and can
he removed later The tree should re.
main under nursery culture until Il has
reached q height of 8 20 10 feet and
go tNnspantng an the side shoots
hould he removed hy cutting them
close TO the main stem to q height OF
at least feet No further prunlng
WiIl be necessary az this time
The removal OF all lower branches ls
rendered necessary iu order that thcf
may not interfere with The proper use
1 The sidewalks AMI streets, but sucb
removal has a tendency 10 weaken The
main body OF the tree aud diminish its
powers Of resistance against the sweep
ing blasts 20 which street fees are Of
tauumes subjected This trimming up
fruW below viii require attention for "a
number OF Years. because az the lowe
branches extend they viii droop az ihe
ends ana become an Interference. The
points Ot these dropping branches may
Do removed for a time, hut this will af-
ford only temporary relief and ulu-
uataly the whole branch viii have TO be
r.moged by cutting 1t off close TO the
main s,em hut this should not be don
urul o. becomes absolutely necessary
Tile best method Of pruning large
trees IN cities is sometimes difficult
question 20 decide As a rule. the worst
treatment they can receive is to cut OF
heir tops. heading down" as IL Is
termed; when this involves the removal
Of heavy branches, so as TO leave a
mere skeleton Of stumps II not only
destroys the beauty OF the tree but In.
duces decay especially with trees that
DO not speedily send out growth imme-
diately below the cut Heading down
Is Objectionable In so far as Il causes
low, dense growth, not desirable
even as shade, and Increases The hN
bilily oi destruction from windsturms.
When trees become thickly branched
and crowded as TO space they are not
improved by cutting the ends Of the
shoot, which merely aggrayates the
evil They should. rather be iudci0us-
~ thnned by the complete removal OF
some OF the branches. skilful oper-
ator win remove one-third or more Of
the branches Of a thickly set tree. so
,nat the ordinary observer will not per-
ceiye that any pruning has been done,
the tree looking as natural in lis raml-
hcations as Il 1t had not been disturb
ed, and this should be the aim IN all
pruning operations as applied to street
trees.
There are some trees that respond
more satisfactorily than others after
severe cutting back. OF these, the two
species OF Platapus (buttonwood) p.
credentials aud r. orientalis, may be
specially mentioned. They are well fit
ted for wide strets or eveuues Their
branches are Incorporating and far
reaching, and they should not be set
within 25 feet Of a building, even at
that distance the horizontal branches
may, after a growth az ten or twelve
VI iAlNAE NNNi0 NNfNlllt NbINNAlNNNUlA
large, but they can then be pruned back
with great advantage.
This pruning is performed by cutting
back the lower branches 20 within, say
eight feet Of the main stem. gradually
shortening this distance as the opera
ton psoceods upward until Il termn.
ates ut point az top Trees treated
ia this way win start young growths at /
every cut regularly and evenly over the
entire system. and after the growth
OF one year win present a mass OF fine
foliage bringing ont fully the pryamd-
al shane, which win Increase iu beauty
for many years without further atten.
ton as 90 pruning The best time for
this work IS Immediately after the trees
become deciluous. Perhaps no other
trees win endure this Kind OF cutting
back so well as these buttonwoods.