time of year – Xtremehorticulture

Can I Prune My Shoestring Acacia Now?

Leave a Comment / pruning, pruning trees, shoulder, time of year, where to make pruning cuts / xtremehorticulture

Q. I planted a shoestring last Spring, and it is doing well. It has five lower limbs off of the main trunk and one of them is all most as long as the tree is tall. I was wondering if I can cut them off this Fall? They are so low they will be removed eventually any way. If I remove them will it help the main trunk to grow faster? Will it hurt the tree to cut them off now? A. There are several things you can do about this. You will not hurt the tree to remove a few limbs (particularly lower ones) now. When I went to school and studied arboriculture, my professor would say two things I will never forget; the best time to prune is when the pruners are sharp AND if you know how to prune, you can prune using only your thumbnail. I have always strived in learning how to prune, what he meant by that. As time passed, I slowly learned. In the desert we have to be a bit more careful in pruning because our environment is so harsh but the principles he taught me are still valid. Remove tree limbs very close to the trunk, making the cut with a sharp, clean and preferably sterilized pruning shears. Make the cut leaving a tiny bump (called the shoulder) intact on the trunk. Don’t cut flush to the tree trunk. The shoulder of a limb attached to the trunk and where to make the cut in relation to the shoulder. Let me explain better where to cut. If you look at the limb, where it attaches to the trunk, you will see that it flare (become wider) at its base, at a point where it attaches to the trunk. Cut with the smallest cut possible but as close to this flair as you can. Do not leave a stub. Leaving this flair intact on the tree trunk is NOT leaving a stub.This type of cut, not cutting into the flair, will heal much faster than if you cut or remove the flair. You do not need pruning paint. If limbs are too long, yes, go ahead and cut them back now. Not a problem. You just do not want to make major cuts that change the basic structure of the tree now which opens it up to sunlight that might damage the limbs and trunk through sunburn. The fewer side branches or limbs you have (within reason), the faster the tree will grow in height. So remove smaller, weaker limbs or branches at the trunk. You can do that now as well.

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When to Transplant Fruit Trees?

Q. With this unusually mild LV winter, when is the best time to transplant dwarf grapefruit trees? A. By transplant I take it to mean you are moving a grapefruit from one location to another location. Planting or transplanting can be done now. You will have more success if the tree has not been in the ground more than three years. You will have even more success if the tree has been watered by drip irrigation in a fairly small basin or area next to the tree. You will have even more success if the tree was root pruned last fall around mid to late September. Roots of M111 on 12 yo Anna apple. We remove fruit trees from the orchard as we learn about them and then move on to those varieties we have not explored. Root systems can get large quickly and make it no longer feasible to relocate older fruit trees to new areas after about three years in the ground Root pruning just means you went around the entire tree with a shovel and severed the roots in the approximate location where you are planning to dig and transport it. Given all that, prepare your hole for planting first before you move the tree. Dig deep enough to accommodate the root ball but not much deeper. It is more important to dig it wide than it is to dig it deep. Get your soil amended and add some phosphorus to the soil. Move your tree as quickly as possible to its new location and try to orient it in a similar orientation, north to south, as it was in the old location. Backfill around the tree. During planting, run a hose in the hole at the same time you backfill to remove air pockets. Drive a stake next to the tree and into the bottom of the hole into solid ground. This stake will immobilize the roots if tied to the tree tightly. I usually use rebar pounded into the soil next to the tree after it has been planted. I wrap the tree and rebar together with green nursery tape to immobilize roots. This leaves the top to move in the wind. The trees should be planted the same depth as it was when it was removed from the soil. No deeper and no shallower. If you have rabbits, protect it with one inch chicken wire after planting. Mulch the soil around the tree with wood mulch keeping the mulch away from the trunk a foot. After one season of growth, remove the stake.