Home Tree Quality Planting Pruning Cue Cards Select Trees Membership Contact

Structural pruning sugar maple over three years

Why prune | Tree structure | Pruning cuts | Prune at planting | Structural pruning | Sub-standard pruning | Is pruning needed
Raising the crown | Thinning the crown | Reducing the crown | Pruning home page

Before pruning After the first pruning
Prior to pruning, several low branches were clustered together in the lower crown. This can eventually choke off the leader leading to death of the leader and trunk decay. Two large stems half way up the crown are competing with the leader. Many other smaller branches are growing upright. Stems and branches growing upright were suppressed by reducing them back to smaller lateral branches in the first pruning. Some branches, especially in the lower crown, were removed.

Stems and branches removed in the first pruning
One year after the first pruning

Many stems and branches were removed from the tree during the first pruning. Removed stems ranged from one to three inches in diameter. All photos courtesy Shawn Kister.
  Notice how much growth occurred in the leader by suppressing competing stems in the first year following pruning. The leader dominates the structure more than it did prior to pruning. Click here to see the tree next year.

Structural pruning home | Next | Back
Copyright © 2011-2016  Urban Tree Foundation  All rights reserved.
This site funded by a grant from
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Urban and Community Forestry Program
CAL FIRE www.fire.ca.gov
Report problems with this web site to
webmaster@urbantree.org

[  Home  |  Tree Quality  |  Planting  |  Pruning  ]
[  Cue Cards  |  Tree Lists  |  Membership  |  Contact  ]