“He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home”

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, dramatist and novelist, (1749-1832)

Trees on your property can be beautiful. Overgrown trees, however, can be ugly and even dangerous. If you suspect that the trees on your property are in need of pruning, now may be the right time. Here are a few pointers before you go crazy with the pruners:

• Pruning encourages growth and lets light and air into mature trees. The best time to prune is in late winter and early to mid-spring, says Matthew Whiting, a horticulturist with Washington State University. To slow down a fast-growing tree, however, start pruning in June or July.
  
  
• When pruning, make thinning cuts, which removes a branch at the base of the junction (or “V”) where it originates. Don’t just remove the tip, as “that only begets more pruning,” says Whiting.
  
  
• Know what kind of tree you’re dealing with. Some trees have a compact, upright growth, while others are weeping. You can’t change one type of tree into another by pruning.
  
  
• "Apple, pear and stone (peaches, plums) fruit trees vary in how frequently they can be pruned", says Lee Reich, author of The Pruning Book. Peach trees, he notes, need new growth and are stimulated by pruning to fruit well, while apple trees can fruit on older growth.

Source: USA Weekend

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