pruning during drought

[FBerkel]

Anyone have advice regarding pruning drought stricken trees?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I usualy recomend minimum work on a tree with any stress, especialy if prolonged.

 

[Stumper]

I don't think that dead wooding ever hurts. Whether removing some of the leafy canopy during drought increases or decreases stress is probably open to debate but I have never seen demonstrable adverse effects from PROPER pruning.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

How about watering them?

 

[Stumper]

Mike, I always recommend watering during a drought.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

There is still so much debate on what is proper pruning. If you go in there and remove 25% of the canopy on a stressed tree is it proper?

A drought stressed tree is aready shedding leaves and roots, so we go in there and take out more.

I'm not saying do nothing, just less then one would do in normal conditions.

I recomend watering with a "Ross Root Feeder" so that the water penetrates deep. Turn it on and let it run for a while then move it. I've brought back a few paper birch, on southern exposures, with moderate borer problems this way. Soil temp is one of the biggest problems in suseptablity. Northern exposure seem to stand up the best.

 

[FBerkel]

Watering is not much of an option around here this year, as most municipalities have severe restrictions. E.G., my town allows 10 minutes per area twice a week--hardly enough to help any mid to large sized trees.

The reason I posted the question is I wonder if reducing total leaf volume isn't possibly a good thing: less transpiration=less uptake=greater water conservation. The trees themselves seem to be following that course this year, by putting out smaller leaves. But I think there's possibly a flaw in the logic, and that JPS is right: stress may be the bigger concern.

Have been adding to mulched areas in my yard, recommending clients to do the same. (Although very few ever seem to take mulch recommendations seriously--maybe 1 in 20 follows through and orders chips.)

 

[Stumper]

JPS, Definitions of 'proper" pruning do indeed vary. "Proper" in my reference is defined somewhat by the current published guidelines but more by experience. In the case of stressed trees very little removal of healthy branches seems proper. After all these years many pruning decisions are made on some subliminal level. "Right" is almost instinctive.-Not that trees don't still surprise me-usually by surviving when I hold out very little hope to the owner. My point was that if the tree isn't thoroughly butchered I expect survival/good health to follow pruning even in drought conditions.
Fberkel, I hear you re. watering restrictions. I had a cancellation today due to a complete ban on watering in a nearby town.-The owners decided to hold off on removing dead branches and see if the trees survive at all. Can't blame their reasoning.

 

[FBerkel]

It's been dry for a month, then we get an inch of super ball sized hail last night, tore up the catalpa leaves.

We've been generally conservative this year, making smaller cuts, fewer cuts: Better safe than sorry.

 

[FBerkel]

Never met them, but see their truck broken down all around town. Kind of a rasta-man outfit, right? (Dreadlocks in the feed wheels has to hurt!)