It’s tree trimming season, but take care

By Bev Johnson | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, March 29, 2008

Bunkey was pretty sure it was time to prune his trees, but he wasn't sure exactly what to cut off. He went to the source, his master gardener next door neighbor, George. This is what George told him.

“Before you cut any branch, determine where the branch collar is.”

“What the heck is a branch collar, George?”

“It's that swelling where the branch of the tree joins the trunk,” George told Bunkey.

“You need to cut your branch off a couple of inches past that swelling. That insures a smaller cut and one that will heal more quickly.

“Now, cut off any damaged, broken branches. Then, cut off any branches that grow straight up from another branch or from the bottom of the tree.

“Next, determine if any branches are crossing another branch. Cut one of the crossing branches off. Now, step back and take a good look at your tree. Have you cut off one-fourth or less of the bulk of the tree? If not, you can prune a little more to bring the tree into a nice shape.

Never take more than one-fourth of a tree or shrub in a year. The exception to this is if you need to renew a shrub by cutting it to the ground.

Now is the perfect time to prune fruit trees and most of your lawn trees. The exceptions are maple and birch as they are pouring out sap from every crack and crevice this time of year. Wait with those until they are fully leafed out.

If you need to prune an oak, hop to it. Mid-April is the deadline for oak pruning until next fall.

If you must prune an oak at another time, Bob Wright, our tree guru, says, "have an open can of latex paint on the ladder with you and slap a coat of it on the cut immediately."

The reason for this is the bug that causes oak wilt can smell that fresh sap from one half mile away.

No other tree should have any covering on a fresh cut. It only slows healing. Trees don't need bandaging.

If your daffs or tulips are sticking their noses out and it is still cold, simply throw some snow, straw or those branches you cut off your Christmas tree to save the needle mess, over them until the weather warms up.

Even if the tips of the leaves freeze, you will still get

flowers.

If the flower buds freeze however, you may not. Since tulips tend to be annuals here in the frozen north, it would be a shame not to have them bloom this spring.

Remember Garden Day is April 5 at the Underwood School. Join your friends for a fun day

Bev Johnson is a master gardener for West Otter Tail County.