Do you have “visions of pruning” when you see a tree or a shrub? Do you think about how you would prune it to shape it up a little better, noting which limbs you would remove?
I can’t be the only one who sees a tree or shrub, especially in the winter time, and thinks about how I would prune it?
When I walk by, drive by or stop at a light and see a tree or shrub that needs pruning, in my mind I’m mentally noting which branches to remove, how to shape it up a bit. Aren’t you?
Let’s call it “Pruner’s Visions”. I see trees. I see shrubs. I even see perennials and I think about how I would prune them. I can’t be the only one, can I?
No! You’re NOT the only one! I do this also and it drives my husband crazy, because he won’t prune ANYTHING. I have to prune things when he’s at work. LOL.
I don’t really look at trees that way. I just enjoy their shape against the sky. Would you like to come see my tress and tell me how they should be pruned? (I got my peas planted Monday.)
Kathy, the older sister
No, you are not the only one. I stay on top of my smaller shrubs and trees, but there’s one old apple tree that was here when we moved in, that so desperately needs pruning that I hardly know where to begin. Times like this I really miss my dad. He arrived for a visit at my former home and within a few days all my fruit trees had gone from unmanageable thickets to beautifully formed open specimens.
I am flummoxed whenever I look at a tree or bush to prune. I looked through many a pruning book and they make it look easy at least the diagrams so look easy. Looking at a bare tree to prune is a nightmare for me. I am plagued by the ‘what ifs’ syndrome. What if I cut this branch and ruin the look of the tree? I know to cut off water sprouts and crossing branches but have ruined enough trees to be very hesitant to prune. I either prune very conservatively or just hack away in frustration. It’s quite a different thing to look at a bare tree and try to imagine how it will look with all the leaves. I’ve thought of marking the branches with ribbons before the leaves fell and would even bend branches away from the tree to see how it would look if I pruned that branch but I still remain clueless and have failed in this important gardening skill.