I have been trying to get a feel for “apple pruning” videos on the internet. Watching a number of these was a painful experience for me. So very different from my gentle style.
When Dr. Shigo's New Tree Biology hit the shelves in 1986, it was a major event. ( For Arborists ) This book instantly changed the practices of the tree service people who read it. This book leaves behind the rough, uninformed world where trees need to be hit hard and controlled. Dr. Shigo's strongest concept, which runs through his entire work, is that of the whole tree, the living tree, the balanced tree.
Unfortunately, some people working in trees have not read that book, and are still using trees as a proving ground. Thing is, a tree can’t fight back. These videos never return to the scene of the crime to look at the tree a couple years later. Stressed. Full of shoots trying to replace leaf mass that never should have been removed in the first place. Life span reduced.
It is much healthier for you as a person to connect, to care, to be kind. Is not a tree a living thing also? Pruning is as full of uninformed opinion as any human venture. Shouldn't we try some exercise before surgery?
