On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 02:36:09 GMT, "JanTGH" wrote:

I have some small young trees, oaks, elm, pear, and a crepe myrtle. When
should they be pruned and by how much and where?

Thanks!


As animaux said, oaks should be pruned in the winter or (as she didn't
say) the hottest part of summer. This is to reduce the risk of having
an insect deposit spores of oak wilt on the fresh wounds. If you are
not familiar with oak wilt, go now to this site (and a google search
will turn up dozens more) and educate yourself:
http://plantpathology.tamu.edu/Texlab/oakwilt.html
Other trees are also better off if pruned at these times (because they
are dormant/semi-dormant) but as long as you don't go crazy they can
tolerate it most anytime.

General rules of training young trees:
Make sure you are making proper collar cuts, not leaving stubs at the
ends. (http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/pruning_young.asp)

Never remove more than 1/3 of the green branches at one time.

Start by taking out broken, diseased or damaged (missing bark, etc.)
branches. Then look at the overall form and remove any that don't fit
this form (like whips on the crape myrtle that shoot straight up
across the lateral branches).

If two or more branches are competing to become the dominant leader,
choose the best one and cut the other(s) back to a side shoot. The
shoot should be at least 1/3 as big in diameter as the piece you
remove.

If two branches are rubbing, remove one of them.

1/2 of the post-pruning branches should originate from the bottom 2/3
of the tree (though obviously the low branches will come off
eventually on the bigger trees). The longer you leave the low
branches, the more the trunk will taper toward the base, giving more
strength and stability. If you have low branches you want out of your
way, consider reducing them from the ends (still cutting back to a
side branch at least 1/3 the size of its parent branch) and removing
the rest in a year or two.


Try to eliminate tight 'V' shaped crotches by removing one side or the
other (on some nursery trees this is virtually impossible--if you have
such a case, reduce some now and plan to remove them later if
possible).

Good Luck,

Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist

For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/.
For consumer info about tree care, visit http://www.treesaregood.com/