pruning cut

Last Sunday was 60 degrees and sunny, but the soil was waterlogged from 2 inches of rain the previous day.  I decided to prune the shrubs beside the paved driveway.

Branches on trees and shrubs may grow in random directions and pruning young plants removes wayward growth while they are still small, reducing the size of the cut that would be necessary on mature plants. 

I took out the tools -- two loppers, a hand pruner and a pole pruner. 

I walked to a spicebush to take a close look.

With no leaves, deciduous trees and shrubs are easiest to prune in winter when you can see the plant's structure.  On this spicebush, there were no dead or diseased branches to remove.  However, there were several that were deranged. 

Twigs and branches crossed others in a haphazard way,

even from the ground.

I cut out the branches going every which way and opened up the spicebush to encourage more air flow to the center, reducing the chance for disease. 

After removing a quarter of the branches, I stopped pruning so the spicebush could easily recover.

Over time, a skilled pruner shapes a plant into its optimum form.  When you see a striking graceful tree like a Japanese maple in a public garden, chances are good that someone with experience has helped form its shape.

I turned to the other spicebush along the driveway.  It was more deranged than the first, with large branches that crossed through the center of the shrub to the opposite side.

I got my loppers and made my first cut, then I trimmed up the smaller branches with my bypass hand pruners.  I felt a burning along my pinkie finger and brought it to my face.

I had pruned off the side of my finger. There was a lot of blood. I walked to the kitchen and held my finger under water. The sight of that open wound made me swoon and I lay on the floor of the kitchen.  After I recovered, I covered the pruning cut with a Band-aid.

It has been 9 days and the wound has still not scabbed over.

We learn from our mistakes. Some are more bloody than others.