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The Philosophy Of Pruning

The Philosophy Of Pruning image
Parent Issue
Day
23
Month
June
Year
1871
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The following suggestions about pruning, we clip from the N. Y. Obserrer. There is a beautiful law regulating the fiow of sap in all trees and vines, which will enable the pruner to train them into any desired form. It is of great importance that every person who attempts to train a fruit tree of any sort, or an ornamental tree, a grape vine or rose bush, should huve a correct understanding of the manner in which nature will respond to the pruner's efforts in giving a certain form to a tree top, to a vine or bushes of any sort. Trees and vines are things of life. They can be induced to assume almost any desired forni, simply by pinching off the terminal buds in certain places, and permitting such buds to grow in other parts of the tree or vine. If, for exaniple, we desire to have any tree grow tall having a small and dense top, it is necessary to continue to pinch the terminal buds of the side branches during the growing season. This pincliing of the buds on the side of a tree top tends to check the extensión of the branches in a lateral direction and to promote the upward growth of the central stem of the erect branches. On the contrary, if it is desired that a tree top should grow broad and low, by pincliing the terminal buds of all the erect shoots the upward growth will be chöcked, and naton will direct the moro abundant flow of sap into the sido branches : and thus the lateral growth will far excoed the upward developmrmt. This law is always as true as tho needie to the poles of the earth. We frequontly see strango cxemplifications of the aeverfailing correctness of this law in the peculiar development of apple trees, when pruned by persons who are entirely ignorant of the law that regulates the flow of sap. All the small branches and twigs are cut off the center of the tree tops, and the sap is di reetod to the extremities of long arms, having on the end of each one a small bush. The fault in ■uch pruning is, most of the sap must flow through long bare limbs - in many stanoes twelve to sixteen feet, whilo the tree cop is hollow. There is nothing gained by praning a tree top so as to forra very long and bare limbs, having a sniall bush at the end. The entire top should be well filled with bearing twigs, instead of being all hollow like a tent, with a sort of network of branches at the outside of the top. There is nothing gained - but a loss sustained - by training a grape vine with bare stern ten, tweniy, thirty, or more feet in length. The nearer the fruit buds are to the root, the more productive a yine or tree will be. The productiveness of bearing grape vines is ofteu iujurod seriously during the former part of the growing season by allowing ever shoot to grow ad lüitum, long and dender, or aot to grow at all. When the fruit-bearing branches have grown oightfeen to twenty inchcs in length on young viiu s, the terminal buds should be pinched off, for the purpose of checking a long and dender growth, and to induce a stocky, strong and healthful developinent. Young grave vines require attention every week during the growing season, to prevent long, feeble and slender growth. As soon as a branch or twig has grown to desired length, pinch the terminal bud, and continue to pinch it as often as the bud starts. This will produce stronger and more healthful branches, and larger and fairer fruit.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus