Pruning Deadwood and The Right Time

Sometime around June or July, the Rose Lady across the street busted me pruning the ornamental cherry tree out front.

"Tsk, tsk", she murmured. "You shouldn't being doing that at this time of year. It will bleed out."

"But this branch is driving me nuts! It's not in the right place."

I knew she was right, but rationalized it would be okay - until a few days later when I found a pile of goo in the flower bed under the tree, and couldn't figure out what it was...then I looked up, and saw sap flowing from the fresh cut.

I made a silent pact to never again prune at the wrong time, and pondered how there really is a good time - and a bad time.

Like when I over-sowed the wildflower seeds because none sprouted the year before, and then spent countless hours thinning an overgrown mass of seedlings because what I didn't realize is: the seeds didn't thrive the first time because I sowed in late Spring. California wildflowers need to lay dormant throughout a cold winter. The low sprout rate had nothing to do with viability or water or sun - and everything to do with timing.

Everything Worth Knowing About Business I Learned In the Garden
It's not an accident that "pruning deadwood" is a euphemism for letting go of employees that drag a company down. Many companies strategically use periodic layoffs to purge new hires that don't fit in, get rid of long term employees that can't cut it, and dump managers that block change and growth. Just as most plants need regular pruning to stay healthy, companies need to cut the deadwood.

But in the garden, there's a lot more to pruning than just removing the deadwood. My first priority is reducing the risk of breakage when the winter storms come. I thin the crown and lace the branches so the wind and rain can pass freely - instead of getting caught like a sail.

I shape plants to be part of the overall landscape, to create a tapestry instead of a patchwork quilt, with a plant plunked here and another over there. I take my time, sometimes multiple passes with days in between, watching how the plant responds, lest the cuts go to deep.

I take labels with a grain of salt, and spend a lot of time researching, reading what others have to say, and taking pictures of gardens I like.

I know some plants are in the wrong spot, and need to get moved to flourish. Others will never perform and need to come out. Then there's the thugs that try to take over the world, stealing resources and crowding everyone else out - those I jump on swiftly before they spread.

The Right Time
Fall is the time to prune the trees and large shrubs, when the plants are sleepy and the sap runs slow. The branches are clean of leaves and spiders, and the birds are done nesting.

Fortunately, it was only one branch, and the tree survived.

Sometimes, the right thing to do is nothing at all.