| Pruning Workshops: |
| Written by John Campanini, Technical Director |
To Subordinate or Not To..... Two pruning workshops held this past fall attracted a total of 26 tree stewards. The first was held on Saturday, October 15 at the RI Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Exeter, RI. The second session took place at the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary at 399 Fruit Hill Avenue in North Providence, RI. Both work sessions focused on training plants for good structure and health. I must say that I was extremely impressed with the quality of the work done by 'citizen pruners' at each work site. Those at RIVC were nothing short of brilliant in the way they meticulously eliminated co-dominate and white pine weevil damaged leaders from white pines near the cemetery's main entrance.
They even tackled the far more daunting problem of eliminating the poorly spaced and poorly tapered branches found within the crowns of white pine and arborvitae. This is the second time that many of these plants have been trained. When you compare them to those that have not yet been pruned, you can't believe your eyes! The pruned plants look so much healthier as many of the structural defects that once plagued them are now gone.
At the FMM, the fine pruning work continued. The citizen pruners at this venue, many returnees from the earlier session I may add, used their talents to thin the crowns of several Hinoki cypresses and a group of Japanese maples across from the Peace Barn. They also learned how to prune a grape-vine so it will produce the spur shoots that will bear next years' fruit. They, later, pruned the entire 200 linear feet of vines that grow near the FMM courtyard. The beauty of both workshops was not necessarily the work the groups did, but the way they accomplished it. They showed me that they really understood the principles of proper pruning. They used both subordination and removal cuts, and executed both of them to perfection. It pleased me to no end to see all of this happening right before my own eyes. We will hold these free pruning sessions again in the fall of 2012 for tree stewards. I hope more of you come to them. They are a great way to improve your pruning knowledge and skills. We want to thank all of those that attended the pruning workshops this fall ! We appreciate all the work you did in the name of healthier plants. The citizen pruners who participated in these workshops are: Doris Alberg, Jack Barry, Betty Blycker, Heidi Carla, Joan Crowley, Donna Cuddigan, John DeMaria, David Flanders, Karen Flynn,Linda Getgen, Bleu Grualva, Sr Rosemarie Higgins, Sr Yvette Hubert, Marie Kojian, Joseph Langworthy, Stewart Martin, Carol Meuser, Dennis Migneault, Jeff Migneault, Harold Monroe, Patricia Moore, Laruen Pitkin, Julian Plowright, Margie Ruzanski, Andy Sabo, Stephen Teixeira, Wendy Vergason * Names in bold came to both workshops.
Become a Rhode Island Tree Steward and learn about: Tree biology, Tree identification, Tree planting & pruning, Tree health, Urban forestry, Soils, and the untold benefits of trees. Tree Stewardship combines learning about and caring for trees, as well as understanding how people and trees can best grow together. Classes are offered in the spring and fall. Call the office at 401-764-5885 to find out more information and how to register. |
