#tree training

@rhino-artis asked about a source on how to do the wire training... but there isn’t one. I was inspired by a youtube video on bonsai training, but that involves wrapping the wire around the branches of an established bonsai tree. It wouldn’t work well on a seedling.

Fortunately, my adaptation is pretty simple.

Get a stick. I used kebab skewers from the grocery store. Other reasonable choices include:

1. The disposable chopsticks that came with your Chinese take-out.

2. Wooden dowels from the hardware store.

3. Those sticks from gardening centers that people use to hold up tomato plants and shit.

4. A particularly straight stick that you found in your backyard.

Like, really, as long as it’s pretty strong and won’t warp much when it gets wet (as you will stick in dirt and water that dirt), it’s fine. The only question is whether or not it’s big enough for the shape you want to make, and like.... you’re the only one who knows that.

Get some wire. For example, the 18 gauge wire from a hardware store. A size or two up or down would probably be okay, too. Basically, you want something that’s thin enough you can easily shape it by hand, but strong enough that the weight/strength of the plant won’t warp it over time.

Wrap the wire around the stick at the height of the dirt. Like, some amount of the stick needs to go into the soil, or the shape won’t stay upright. An inch and a half or two inches is probably enough. Wrap the wire around the stick a few times, so it’s nice and snug and stays in place when you lightly pull on it.

Build your shape. Every time the wire would pass over the stick, wrap the wire around it a few more times, to keep things anchored. Other than that... Just whatever you want.

I suppose if you want a shape that runs off into the distance, you might need multiple sticks (and a similarly long pot). 

In general, so far... Works great!

But if you wanna do it yourself, keep track of which little bit of your tree is the growing bit.

On this guy, it’s going to be that tiny spike at the top--nice and easy to find. For some of them, it’s not nearly so obvious. This is important, because you do not want to tie that. I had to abandon the propeller shape because I ended up tying that down, and instead of growing along the wire where I put it.... It got twisted and confused and there’s a tight little knot I can’t straighten out.

Here is the little guy who used to be tied on the propeller shape. You can see how twisted he got--and that’s a twist that refuses to be re-tied straight. It just ain’t happening without breaking him, and I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’ve re-potted him, and I’ll wait to use that shape on a different tree.

Let the plant grow out an inch or so, then tie down that inch. For example:

Tie only the established stem bit, not the little growth spike.

You will also want to be careful about tying too close to the base of leaves, as the plant and string will both shift a bit over the course of a week or so. This can mean that you tie the string in a perfectly reasonable spot, but a week later, the string is starting to cut one of the leaves off. And these are baby plants. They need their leaves.

Which brings me to the suggestion... Re-tie the trees about once a week. Like, unwind the string and rewind it completely. You don’t need new string, but you should redo the tie.

You can keep the fishing line in place using a rubber band around the potting container.

Many people believe that trees should be able to thrive just fine without human interference, such as trimming shrubs and trees in Newark, DE landscapes. After all, trees and other plants have been doing so for centuries. However, when people add trees to their home and business properties, some expect them to flourish in less-than-hospitable environments. On average, for every 100 trees planted along town streets, only 50 will survive to 13-20 years. One method that can help ensure tree health if done is tree training. When you train or practice trimming shrubs and trees to guide their growth and well-being, you enhance their appearance and improve their health and lifespan.

What is Tree Training?

Tree training is a process that helps trees or shrubs grow into specific shapes. Through careful, selective pruning cuts, one can have more influence over how a tree grows to the benefit of themselves and the tree. Training a tree can help make a tree more aesthetically pleasing and attractive, but also prevent future health issues such as helping branches grow farther apart to prevent blocking each other out.

What Is The Different Between Pruning And Training?

You may think training a tree is the same as pruning, but training a tree is slightly different in the approach compared to pruning. While pruning can be used to enhance the beauty of a tree, pruning is most often used to maintain tree health and appearance. For example, pruning would be making pruning cuts to sides of a tree because the branches are too close to a building.

Tree training, on the other hand, is about altering the shape of a tree rather than adjusting or maintaining the shape when problems arise. Tying branches down or propping them up from the ground are examples of techniques used to train trees.

Common Tree Training Methods

The following is a quick look at some different types of training methods and recommendations:

Pollard

Pollard is when upper tree branches are removed to create a fuller topping of foliage and smaller branches. This encourages more vigorous growth at the top, and helps maintain trees at a specific and desired height.

Espalier

This trimming technique trains trees and shrubs to grow up trellises, walls, and other flat surfaces. You may have seen apple and pear trees against walls or fences on farms. While often used for decorative purposes, espalier is also helpful for increasing production on fruit trees as the process exposes plants to more sunlight (and makes fruit picking a lot easier).

Pleach

Pleaching is a technique that weaves branches together to create a seemingly cohesive wall. Pleaching is a time-intensive process that makes hedges stronger and thicker, a good option for protection, privacy, and animal control.

Topiary

You have likely seen this tree training technique in people’s houses or gardens. Topiary is a popular pruning technique that involves training plants and trees by clipping foliage and twigs to create defined shapes. If you have ever seen a hedged transformed into animals or a a maze, you have seen an instance of topiary.

Bonsai

Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing and pruning a tree or shrub in a pot to have the specimen stay small but mimic the tree’s mature form. A beautiful example is the Copper Beech tree that makes for a colorful addition to anyone’s private bonsai collection. However, this delicate tree can also be planted outside and allowed to grow to its mature size as long as the tree is carefully and gradually pruned by a professional with a long-term plan in mind.

Trimming Shrubs and Trees in Newark, DE? Call Stein Tree Service

Stein Tree Service focuses foremost on tree health, but we often do train trees to keep their proper shapes and stay within desired boundaries (i.e., keeping a mature tree from growing its branches into electrical lines). Proper planting is important, which includes choosing the right specimen to ensure the tree or shrub has room to mature to its natural full size.

We are eager to help ensure your trees reach their full potential. For more information about tree training and other best tips and practices for trimming your shrubs and trees, contact us today.

Blog is originally published at: https://www.steintree.com/trimming-shrubs-trees-newark-de-can-train-tree/

I have no space for a tree. Why did I buy a tree? Why am I intentionally growing more trees???

I have no impulse control. It’s a problem. Save me from my tree habit, somebody.

In the meantime, though: I’m teaching my lemon to grow up instead of out.

Plantings for the future

The Fab Tree Hab  Three MIT designers – Mitchell Joachim, Lara Greden and Javier Arbona – created a concept of a living tree house which nourishes its inhabitants and merges within its environment. The project of Fab Tree Hab is expect to take a minimum of five years to grow the home. The plans are for the interior to be lined with clay and plastered to keep the weather outside and to look normal. The exterior is to be all-natural. The Patient Gardener A Swedish architectural firm VisionDivision took part in a week-long workshop at the Italian university Politecnico di Milano with the students. The result was an 80-year plan of a living cheery tree dome in an hourglass shape and grown furniture. Framing for the dome, table and a lawn chair were built. Ten Japanese cherry trees were planted in a diameter of eight-meter circle. Four of these trees are to be living staircases to a future top level. The stair trees will have their branches grafted into each other to form the rungs. VisionDivision's architects helped the students and instructors to create an easy maintenance plan for future gardeners of the university. Baubotanik Tower Ferdinand Ludwig designed this tower as part of his doctoral thesis with the help of Prof. Dr. Speck. "Speck become the botanical co-supervisor" said Ferdinand. Growing at the University of Stuttgart is a three-storey tower of living white willows (Salix alba). This nine-meter-tall construction is almost fully grown, with a base area of around eight square meters. The framing is made up of mainly steel scaffolding which is supporting the growing trees, while keeping them to the correct form. They started with 400 white willow (Salix alba) grown in baskets on multiple levels with one row of willows planted into the ground. Once the trees were two meters tall, they were planted at the different levels of the tower. These plants are then trained to the design. The root system of the bottom level of willows needs to develop large enough to support the willows on the above levels, so that the scaffold becomes obsolete and then it and the watering and fertilising baskets can be removed altogether. The trees are grafted together with the objective of all the different plants eventually becoming a single organism. The overall aim is to have a living structure with the strength to support itself and to carry a working load. Ferdinand predicts the tower will be stable enough to support itself in five to ten years. Ferdinand does state "However, these are only estimates."

Alternative names

The practice of shaping living trees has several names. Practitioners may have their own name for their techniques, so a standard name for the various practices has not emerged.[57] Richard Reames calls the practice "arborsculpture";[62][81][82] Dan Ladd calls his work "tree sculpture";[48] Nirandr Boonnetr's work is called "living furniture";[53] Christopher Cattle calls his works "grown up furniture" and "grown stools";[65] while Peter Cook and Becky Northey call their work "Pooktre".[77][83]

The following names are also encountered:

Arbortecture[62][81]

Biotecture/Biotechture[10][84][85]

Grown furniture[9][10][57]

Living Art[21][41][86]

Pleaching[3][25][87]

Tree training[25][32][88]

Read more about the craft: Tree shaping (wikipedia)

Tree Whispering - I'm going to get my green witch on! :D

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☽✪☾ The Dance at Alder Cove - Youth/Father/Geezer  -  I see you

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