“Proper pruning is vital to health, beauty of tree - San Diego Union-Tribune” plus 1 more

Proper pruning is vital to health, beauty of tree - San Diego Union-Tribune

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 03:05 PM PST

plants & pests

By Vincent Lazaneo • special to the u-t,

Friday, December 24, 2010 at 3:07 p.m.

Landscape trees enhance a home's beauty and value, but an owner may become concerned when a tree grows too large. Some trees can reach a mature height of 60 feet or more, with branches that spread half or more of the height. Even trees of moderate size may grow too large for the area where they were planted.

The best way to control the height of a tree is through periodic and careful pruning before it gets too large. When a tree is much larger than desired, there are usually three options. Some people choose to do nothing and hope nothing bad will happen, at least while they own the property. This choice can save money or be very costly, depending on what occurs. Another option is to remove the tree and replace it with a more appropriate species. Most people want to keep a large tree and have it pruned to reduce its size.

There is a right way and a wrong way to make a large tree smaller. The wrong way is turning it into a large hatrack by topping the main leader or trunk and cutting large lateral branches back to short stubs. This relatively easy and cheap method of pruning is actually worse than completely removing a tree, but it is such a common practice that many people believe it is the proper thing to do. It is not. Arborists who prune trees this way have been successfully sued for malpractice, especially when the pruned tree later damages property or injures someone.

Some people assume that severely pruning the trunk and limbs of a large tree will make it safer. Stubbing the trunk or large branches actually increases the likelihood of limb failure in future years. Heading or stubbing stimulates a flush of new shoots just below the cut. They grow rapidly because the tree still has a large root system but are weakly attached since they develop from dormant buds just beneath the bark. In five to 10 years, when the shoots grow larger, they often break during a storm.

A better way to reduce the size of a large tree and retain its natural form and beauty is to cut the trunk back to a large lateral limb, which can assume the role of the main leader. The main limbs are also shortened by cutting them back to a large lateral branch. These thinning cuts preserve a tree's natural form, and only a portion of the tree's canopy is removed, which minimizes the growth of undesirable shoots from dormant buds. The result is a beautiful tree that is smaller and safer for years to come.

Q: How can I find a good arborist to prune my landscape trees?

A: Carefully choosing an arborist is time well spent. Trees take years to grow, but their beauty, health and safety can be destroyed in a day by an unqualified person. Selecting someone only based on a low bid, or not checking a person's qualifications, can prove to be a costly experience. One way to find a good arborist is to observe the type of pruning practices you like on job sites and find out which arborist or company did the work. You can also ask a few arborists for at least three references of previous work they have done similar to yours, then visit each site to see if you are satisfied. The names of some local arborists and companies that prune trees can be found in the telephone yellow pages and on the websites of some professional organizations:

•San Diego Professional Tree Care Association,

www.ptcasandiego.org or (619) 443-6202.

•International Society of Aboriculture,

www.isa-arbor.com

•Tree Care Industry of America,

www.tcia.org

It is a good practice to have more than one company look at your job even if you have to pay a small estimation fee. If you just want a consultation, ask a local company if they provide this service or check the online directory of The American Society of Consulting Arborists,

www.asca-consultants.org.

Before you hire an arborist, verify that they have insurance (general liability and workers' compensation for employees). It's best to call the insurance company to check. Also, verify that they have a state Contractor's License. Check the number online at

www.cslb.ca.gov or call (800) 321-2752. When you talk to an arborist, ask about their qualifications, including formal education, specialized training or certification and membership in professional organizations. Always get a written contract that includes the scope of work, procedures to be followed, duration of job and how payment will be made. Never pay more than 10 percent down or $1,000, whichever is less. Don't pay with cash, let payments get ahead of the work or make final payment until you are satisfied with the work. You can check the company's business rating through the Better Business Bureau, www.sandiego.bbb.org.

Observe work similar to yours that an arborist has done and don't hire someone who tops trees. Anyone can tell you they know how to prune a tree. Simply owning a chain saw and a pickup truck doesn't make someone an arborist. To earn the title, the person has to study and understand how trees grow, learn proper and safe pruning practices, have an eye for beauty and appreciate a tree's natural form. To be considered professional, an arborist also should follow industry standards and employ business practices that are legal and ethical.

Q: What is the best time to prune an ornamental tree?

A: As a general rule for maximum growth, deciduous trees are pruned in winter during their dormant period and evergreen trees are pruned in spring just before new growth begins. Also, consider the bloom season when trees grown for their flowers are pruned. Trees that flower in spring are usually pruned as soon as the flowers fade and new growth begins. Their flower buds form on growth produced the previous year, so pruning these trees in winter or just before bloom would remove many of the buds or flowers. Trees that bloom during summer or fall are usually pruned during the winter because their flowers form on growth produced during the same growing season.

Trees can be pruned anytime to remove dead, damaged, weak or diseased branches. Light pruning and the removal of unwanted growth when it is small can also be done anytime. If a tree develops two trunks or co-dominant leaders, one should be removed as early as possible to prevent structural weakness and future breakage.

Vincent Lazaneo is an urban horticulture adviser with the University of California Cooperative Extension. Send questions for "Plants & Pests" to homeandgarden@uniontrib.com

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In Kanazawa, Japan, Ancient Beauty Fuses With Modern Art - New York Times

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 03:19 PM PST

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Canopies of rope protect trees from heavy snowfall in Kenrokuen Garden, the principal attraction in Kanazawa, a history-rich city in the Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's western coast.

ON a sunny early November afternoon in the Japanese city of Kanazawa, the alchemy of autumn had already begun transforming the city's beloved Kenrokuen Garden from an oasis of leafy greens into a gold-tinged sanctuary. Workers were busy constructing yukitsuri — thick ropes tied to fragile tree branches, intended to brace them against heavy snowfalls — in dramatic pyramids that soar over the gnarled wood. And the transformation continues as the seasons progress.

"It's so beautiful, like a black-and-white calligraphy," Masaki Yokokawa, the owner of Guest House Pongyi, a small hostel that opened in 2009, said of the garden in winter. And when the icy chill eventually gives way to springtime, the awakening branches will bloom with feathery pink and white cherry blossoms.

With distinct, captivating looks for each season, the garden is the year-round star attraction in Kanazawa, a history-rich city in the Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's western coast.

The garden is "a national treasure," said Junko Morita, an English-speaking liaison who works at one of the city's tourist offices. "All Japanese know about it."

It is also part of the rich traditional side of the city, along with a feudal-era castle, well-preserved geisha districts and a dazzling "ninja" temple.

The historic sights now have contemporary company in the form of some decidedly modern attractions that have opened in the last few years. This fusion of the old and the new means that the city spans the centuries in just a few miles. And though, as Ms. Morita noted, Kanazawa has always been on the radar of the Japanese, an increasing number of foreigners are being pulled in by the city's eye-opening range of temptations.

The tourism office where Ms. Morita works, the city's second, opened last year as part of an extensive effort by the city to accommodate international visitors to Kanazawa. To that end, the city now boasts a comprehensive tourism Web site and straightforward, easy-to-navigate tourist bus routes. In May, a group called the Goodwill Guide Network began offering free English-language tours of the garden and the adjacent Kanazawa Castle.

In 2004, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art opened in a striking circular glass building designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, winners of the 2010 Pritzker Prize. Inside, pieces by Japanese artists like Noboru Tsubaki share space with works by James Turrell, Anish Kapoor and Jan Fabre. Outside, the periphery is also sprinkled with artworks, including "Colour activity house," a spiral-shaped, multihued glass installation by Olafur Eliasson that was unveiled this year.

Modern and ancient styles come together at Kanazawa's train station, which was revamped in 2005 to include a colossal glass-and-steel dome fronted by an equally large and impressive traditional wooden gate. The station will soon welcome the Shinkansen, Japan's bullet train, when an extension of the Hokuriku line is completed in 2014. With a direct, high-speed line from Tokyo, travel time between the cities will be cut from about four hours to two and a half. Though this change will most likely be a boon for business and tourism, some residents are wary.

"Some people say that if the Shinkansen comes, the tourists won't stay in Kanazawa, they will do daytrips," said Mr. Yokokawa, the guesthouse owner. But for now, "the people who come to Kanazawa want to know Japan more deeply" and visitors are duly rewarded with a glimpse of the real Japan.

Complementing all that glorious architecture is the still-flourishing tradition of Japanese handicrafts — lacquerware, pottery, kimono design and gold leaf (99 percent of Japanese gold leaf is produced in the city) — which earned the city a Unesco City of Crafts and Folk Art designation in 2009. With tree-lined canals, wood-paneled teahouses and temple-dotted hills, Kanazawa is reminiscent of another well-preserved, though markedly more touristy Japanese city, Kyoto.

"Kanazawa is called 'small Kyoto' because the ambience is similar," said Mr. Yokokawa, though the cities also share a history. Like Kyoto, "in World War II the Americans didn't bomb Kanazawa, so many of the city's old traditional things remain," said Sakumi Sakai, a retired Kanazawa resident who was in the middle of an English lesson with Ms. Morita at the tourist center.

But it's the garden that is the finest — and most enduring — attraction.

"This is one of the three most beautiful landscaped gardens in Japan," said Noboru Orito, a volunteer tour guide for the Goodwill Guide Network. It's an oft-uttered sentiment, as is the fact that the meticulously groomed garden incorporates the six characteristics — spaciousness, tranquillity, artifice, antiquity, aquatic elements and panoramic views — that collectively create the ideal, balanced Japanese garden. "Gardens with all six features are very rare," he added.

Health and Beauty

Friday, December 24, 2010