Ornamental Trees

This is an Excerpt from the Book called “How To Prune Trees Shrubs & Climbers”. Continue reading to learn more about Ornamental Trees, thanks to the author.

Ornamental trees are among the easiest of woody plants to prune. Generally there is very little, if anything, to do. The only time there is real work is when they overgrow their allotted space or if they need repair work after a storm or high wind has blown off or damaged branches. Most of the work, and that rarely involves more than a few minutes, is in the initial stages, when the tree is first planted. It is important to ensure that the tree starts off growing the way you want it to. 

Ornamental Tree

The final shape is, of course, important. Most trees adopt their own shape but they may need a bit of initial help. For example, some trees develop a single, straight trunk, while others have multiple ones. Amelancbier, and some others, can have either, and this is where the training becomes important. Small weeping trees may also need a bit of special attention to ensure that they remain small and weeping. But even taking this into account, little work will be required, especially in small gardens where only one or two trees are involved. 

Buying Young Trees ​

As a general principle it is important to buy trees from a reputable supplier. It might cost a bit more but the quality should be good and many suppliers guarantee that if the plant fails within a certain period they will replace it. 

What to look for 

Always examine the tree thoroughly. Reject any trees that are diseased or are covered with some pest. Never buy a plant that is damaged. If the plant is pot-bound, i.e., the roots go round and round in a tight mass inside the pot, again reject it. Bare-root plants should not be desiccated and the roots should not be damaged. 

Look for a plant that has a well-balanced structure and a healthy appearance. Avoid buying trees that have too much growth on them as these can be slow to establish. There is a balance between the amount of root and the amount of top growth it can support. In a nursery, trees have been intensively nurtured. Once planted out they have to fend for themselves to certain extent and too much top growth during the initial stages will cause problems. 

Most trees offered for sale will be one or more years old. The older, the more expensive, but they should be at least partially trained. Such a tree will not be too difficult to establish. A one-year-old is cheaper and easy to establish but takes longer to mature, but at least you can be in full control of its development and shape. 

Be careful how you get your tree home. Damage can easily occur if you have a tall sapling sticking out of your sunroof, or if it is carelessly handled. Keep the tree in a cool spot prior to planting and water it well to make sure it does not dry out.

Buying Tree
Buying Tree

Occasionally you may acquire a tree in a bare-rooted state. This is most likely to be as a gift from a friend as increasingly nursery-sold plants are in pots. Such trees should be put in the ground as soon as possible, even if it is only in a temporary position. 

It is, of course, possible to grow your own trees from seed, cuttings, grafts or even divisions in some cases. This will obviously take much longer than buying an established tree but there is a certain satisfaction in growing your own plants from scratch. Besides being cheaper, you also have the possibility of controlling the whole process to get what you really want. 

Feathered Trees 

Virtually any single-stemmed tree can be feathered. Some feathered trees have a clearly defined shape, whereas others tend to have a more wayward appearance, which is part of their charm. As an extreme example, oak trees, (Quereus) can have a very regular upright appearance or they can be allowed to grow with a twisted, irregular silhouette. Conifers are perhaps the most obvious example of feathered trees, with their almost pure cone-shapes.

Feathered Tree
Feathered Tree

Planting 

Plant the tree in well-prepared soil with its roots spread out and not wound round or crammed into the hole. Do not prune the roots unless they are damaged, in which case just remove the damaged parts. The tree should be supported by a short stake that is inserted before the tree is put into the ground. This ensures that you do not accidentally damage unseen roots when you hammer the stake into the soil. 

Formative Pruning 

The aim is to produce a healthy, well-shaped tree. First remove any dead branches or any that have been damaged during transportation or planting. This will help maintain the plant’s health. The next task (which is partly cosmetic and partly to do with health) is to remove branches that cross or rub against each other or grow at too sharp an angle to the trunk. This not only improves the tree’s appearance but also ensures that no wounds open up. Any other badly placed branches can also be removed, especially round the base of the plant. It is best in most trees (except conifers) to have a clean, visible length of trunk, even if it is only short. The tree should now be straight with well-spaced, healthy branches. 

Next year, repeat the above process. Be careful to remove any vigorous upright shoots that have developed, as these can compete with the leader, either to give the tree a split head or turn it into a multi-stemmed one. 

 Standard Trees 

Any tree that grows with a bare lower trunk is suitable for training into a standard. Training may even be unnecessary because some trees will develop this habit naturally. 

Training A Standard Tree 

These are essentially the same as feathered trees except that more of the lower branches are removed so that the lower part of the trunk can be clearly seen. Although the term “standard” usually refers to a tree with a clear trunk, it is also often used to refer to a tree that has grown to a natural shape and size rather than one that has been dwarfed in some way. 

Standard Tree
Standard Tree

The shape is perhaps not quite as “pure” as in the case of feathered tree. Feathered trees normally have only one central leader, whereas a standard may have one or it may divide at some point on the trunk and have several. The degree of natural division often depends on the situation in which the tree is being grown. For example, an oak tree growing among other trees will often grow tall and slender with just the one leader, but in isolation it will branch out and have a much more rounded shape. In the garden, the leader can be allowed to develop, giving a tall elegant tree, or it can be cut back to produce a branched-head standard, which has rounder shape. In many cases the tree will automatically try to replace this lost leader. In such a case, the gardener will need to be vigilant and prune each new leader out to maintain the desired shape. Conversely, developing a tree with a single leader requires training one main shoot, while others are restrained. 

Training A Weeping Standard 

Weeping trees are highly regarded as ornamental places in the garden. There are basically two types of weeping standard. One comprises trees such as the weeping willow, which have a natural weeping shape. The other type is artificially created. Ground-spreading plants are grafted on to a standard trunk some distance from the ground so that they spread into the air rather than across the soil, often, when bare, creating a shape like the ribs of an open umbrella. 

The natural weeping trees are essentially treated in the same way as standard trees. Pruning can be restricted to removing any dead, injured, weak or crossing wood. 

Ornamental Tree
Cherry ornamental Tree

The grafted weepers may need a bit more attention. Unlike the natural weeping trees, which need to put on upward growth in order to obtain their tree-like shape, the grafted varieties need to have any vertical shoots removed. At the same time, any growth on the trunk below the canopy should be removed. They also have a tendency to become somewhat tangled and congested, so remove crossing or weak growth. As all the growth is concentrated in the canopy while the trunk remains relatively thin, it is obviously important to make sure at this stage that the tree is well supported with a strong stake. 

Training A Single-Stemmed Standard  

Tall trees that have a single stem can look slim and elegant in the garden. It is essential that the central leader grows without being pruned or broken. If it does break, a new leader must be trained in its place if this is possible. 

Training A Branch-Headed Standard 

 Branch-headed standards are rounder and have a more solid appearance than single-stemmed standards. Here, the leader is removed, as are any branches that attempt to replace it, creating a good framework of branches. 

Multi-Stemmed Trees 

Some trees naturally from multiple trunks (although some gardeners would argue that tree with multiple trunks is a shrub). In many, if not most cases, trees with multiple stems can also develop as more conventional trees with a single trunk that divides some wants above the ground. Amdaucbier is a good example. The multiple stems may be natural or artificially produced, both in the wild and in the garden. Any feathered tree that is broken off, by accident or design, just above ground level will probably produce multiple stems. There are also trees, such as plum, that produce suckers, and these by their very nature produce more than one main stem.

Acer Palmatum
Ornamental Tree

Formative Pruning 

The initial pruning is relatively simple. If you have bought a young single-stemmed tree, you have to bite the bullet and throw most of it away! Cut through the main stem just above ground level, or at whatever height you want the division of the trunk to begin. Once new growth appears from the base, select the required number (three or more) of shoots and remove the others. This will form the basis of your tree, so select the strongest growing shoots, which will make a balanced tree. Continue to train these as you would a tree with a single stem, removing diseased, dead, weak or crossing growth. 

Not all trees will shoot from the base after such drastic action, but a surprising number will. However, you should be selective, as not all trees look best with multiple stems. 

Training A Multi-Stemmed Tree 

Multi-stemmed trees tend to look rather like overgrown shrubs. Indeed, they are often regarded by gardeners as shrubs rather than trees they can vary from having just two or three stems to what amounts to a thicket. 

Young Evergreens 

The initial training of an evergreen tree is not a great deal different to that of deciduous trees. 

Formative Pruning
Formative Pruning

Training Young Evergreens 

Conifers are generally deal with as if they were feathered trees. In other words, only dead, injured or diseased wood is removed, along with any badly placed shoots ort a competitive leader. Generally they are developed so that they are clothed with branches to the ground, but the bottom ones can be removed to leave a base trunk, as with standard trees. Many conifers naturally make a beautiful cone shape, or as in the case of some pines, their own distinct shape. Some are naturally weeping. 

Broadleaved evergreens such as hollies(Ilex) are also pruned in similar fashion although they can, in  many cases, be more drastically cut and turned into multi-stemmed trees, either dividing at ground-level; or at any height above it. They are more suitable for shaping than conifers, giving you the chance, for example, of creating a tree with a wide crown to cover an eyesore. Evergreens are generally much denser than deciduous trees and throw a deep shade as opposed to a dappled one. For even denser growth it is possible to shorten the side shoots to make them bush out.  

Training A Young Evergreen 

It is possible to train evergreen trees into a variety of different shapes in the same way as you would train deciduous trees. However, most conifers are trained as single-stemmed standards. 

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