by the BRCA Tree Team
Did you know that trees should be pruned in winter when they are not putting their energy into growing? Now is the time to consider pruning your trees.
Newly planted trees should not be pruned until their second or third year unless you are only removing dead or broken branches. Pruning dead, diseased, or damaged branches of mature trees can also be done any time of year, but pruning to control growth or to shape the tree is best done on a mild day in winter. This includes removing suckers (branches growing up from the base of the tree), branches that cross each other (that will eventually cause damage), and branches that are close to your home or crossing into your neighbour’s yard, as well as pruning to give the tree a better overall shape and structure.
Deciduous trees are best pruned from February to April, inclusive. There is a City of Calgary ban on pruning elms in the spring and summer to avoid spreading elm diseases. Elms can be pruned only from October 1 to March 31. Different types of evergreen trees have different pruning periods: spruce and fir should be pruned January through March. Pines are the exception – they are best shaped in June and July when they get their new growth “candles”.
The City of Calgary has lots of resources on how to prune your trees! You can check the website at calgary.ca/property-owners/tree-care where you can click the link for Backyard Tree Pruning Tips to see a YouTube video that shows you what tools you need and how to prune, or you can scroll down to Fall and Winter Tree Care, for text instructions. These are the references used for this article, as well as the International Society of Arboriculture’s site treesaregood.org/treeowner which also has detailed information on pruning as well as other tree care topics.
The City trees on our boulevards, medians, and parks are pruned by the City’s Urban Forestry team, so if you think one of these trees needs pruning, please send them a 311 report by app or phone.
BRCA Tree Team Book Club update
We recently read Tracking Giants: Big Trees, Tiny Triumphs and Misadventures in the Forest, by Amanda Lewis, about the author’s attempt to find the largest tree of each species in BC. Her quest gradually evolved, and she learned to appreciate the complexity of the forests she visited. It was interesting to discover that BC has a large registry of these “Champion Trees”, so we looked to see if Alberta has one as well. It does, but the registry isn’t a list of the champions and there are only 39 trees on the registry, only one of which is nearby.
We are eager to explore a book with a plot again after the last two non-fiction books, so our next read will be Greenwood by Michael Christie, an award winning multi-generational novel that follows a family that built its wealth on logging. Then we’re back to non-fiction with Suzanne Simard’s Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. This book was referenced in our three previous books, so it seems to be a must-read for those interested in learning more about the interconnections within forests.
Our book club is very flexible, and we meet whenever we have all finished the book. We will aim for late January/early February for Greenwood, and March for Finding the Mother Tree. If you are interested in discussing these books, please contact us at [email protected].
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