Show forester outlines winter care of trees utah farmers should now make arrangements to prune ornamental s shade bade trees and trees in their shel ter belts woodlots wood lots and windbreaks says J whitney floyd extension forester at the utah state agricultural college the dormant period from now until early spring permits the removal of limbs and thinning of branches without serious injury to the trees mr floyd explained pruning should consist of removing dead and diseased branches thinning live branches to permit better circulation of sunlight and air through and under the tree crown balancing the crown with the root system removing in branches for the pre 1 bention of chafing and possible future decay and the removal of 1 branch stubs I 1 branches should be removed i with a sharp saw or li heavy avy nippers by cutting close to the limb or trunk of the tree if a saw is used an undercut should be made first so that when the uppercut is made the weight of the branch will not tear or disfigure the bark and damage the tree damage can also be avoided by cutting most of the branches off and then removing the stub the final cut on the tree should be smooth and preferably oval shaped to allow a more natural flow of sap which will induce rapid healing the forester pointed out sears scars or wounds larger athani than two inches in diameter should bel be coated with some preservative 1 material khizh will tend to retard decay or disease until the wounds can heal young transplants need pruning to insure better survival this may be accomplished by cutting back the lateral branches ca care re should be taken not to cut the leader or central stem if a tall naturally shaped tree is desired mr floyd concluded two farmers bulletins of the U S dept of agriculture tree surgery and planting and care of street trees may be obtained free of charge from your county agricultural agent or by writing direct to the extension service at the college |