As we have seen in other posts, pruning It is a practice that we should not stop doing at any time in the life of our tree. From the beginning of its days, we must start practicing training pruning, while once it is developed we must prune it to keep its branches and crown in optimal conditions.
In addition to these two ways of pruning, there is the third way, although less used and less recommended, called exceptional pruning.
This type of pruning it is quite severe and has a basic objective, which is to reduce the volume of the tree canopy.
In this type of pruning there are two types:
- The plywood: which is used to cut the branches of the tree in its entirety, leaving only a third of its length.
- Topping: it is much wilder than the plywood and it consists of cutting all the branches flush with the trunk.
Unfortunately this form of pruning is currently practiced as a form of maintenance pruning, especially in private parks and gardens. And although many specialists do not advise it, it continues to be practiced more and more.
The reasons why we do not advise this type of pruning are the following:
- Any type of pruning that is carried out is an aggression for the living being, but if we also cut all the branches the trauma will be much greater.
- Heavy-gauge cuts mean greater trauma, where the plant will take longer to heal and heal. When the branches are short and thin, they heal more easily and quickly.
- There are some species that do not support this type of extreme pruning, so we must first make sure that the plant that we can in this way does support it and that we will not cause any damage.