Pruning and pruning dominate among the needs in demand in our company. However, most of the time customers confuse the two terms. Yet there is a distinction.
First of all, from the point of view of their original meaning, these words already differed at the beginning of their use in history. To prune meant to purify or cleanse, while to prune meant to fix. We can detect an initial distinguishing feature between the two words that has followed us to the present day: To prune is more radical or intense, and to prune seems a calmer, more reflective gesture. But it is precisely the aim, but also the approach, that allow us to grasp what differentiates these two tree-cutting techniques.
Grasping the difference between pruning and pruning Pruning is an arboricultural method dedicated to plant well-being. Undoubtedly, it is a matter of satisfying the demands of the clientele, except that the achievement of the goal must be carried out without harming the constitution and development of the trees. Trade-offs are therefore made to find a way to meet the human needs expressed while ensuring the healthy development of the tree.
The work is then part of a long term project. The worker has time ahead of him to achieve the desired result. This was done early, often years in advance. An overall plan is prepared. It is made up of steps, and at each step the cuts to be made are thoughtful and meticulous.
In the case of pruning, there is little room for prevarication. The aim is peremptory. The problem to be solved is important and must be solved as soon as possible. The work can be staggered over time or be done a little ahead of time, it is not impossible. However, it will then be indebted to the size of the work. We will not talk about a real maintenance plan intimately linked to tree development. On the contrary, the importance of the objective is seen as allowing to harm the tree if it comes to that.
The usual example given to illustrate this technique is when Hydro-Quebec's pruning crews quickly pruned trees and the result was not at all elegant. It is rather categorical. The radical nature of the operation in this case can be explained by the need to preserve the integrity of the power grid. The most common reasons for pruning are security or infrastructural protection.
Tree pruning
Pruning is a technique that is more precisely limited to removing branches from the head or side of trees. The goal is compelling and the cut is most often drastic. The tree feels a real aggression. The attack can therefore harm its development or even lead to the death of the plant. However, for safety reasons, to avoid injuring people, to protect buildings from possible damage, due to the growth of a good part of the branches of a tree of appreciable proportions, or to satisfy a human need considered vital, then the action is necessary, however damaging it may be. Examples of possible goals are to free a splendid view that a row of overly high crowns inadvertently hides, to avoid an imminent breakage to a structure that a huge branch threatens, and each time, even if the health of a tree is compromised. Because the objective is worth more than the well-being of the plant.
Tree trimming
From a pruning point of view, it is therefore a matter of devising a long-term plan to achieve the desired results, but without compromising plant welfare. Pruning is meticulous. He thinks about the consequences of his actions on the development of the tree. His actions are therefore more attentive. None is left to chance. Weak, broken branches, affected by disease, growing in the wrong direction, intertwined with others, hop, hop, removed the problematic section. The tree must grow in the best possible conditions. As the technique involves thinking about the effects, not only immediate but also long-term, it has an undeniable preventive character. Moreover, when used wisely, it can prevent future pruning or even avoid felling.
Among the various objectives for which pruning is applied, we can find a desire to make trees more beautiful, to ensure their impeccable maintenance, to give them a different angle of growth. For example, to move a tree's shade to create a beautiful oasis of relaxation under the boughs. Or, on the contrary, to obtain a clearance so that the sunlight can reach the desired place... But at every moment, a long-term vision and a concern for the well-being of the trees is recommended.