"Centering" pruning for tree efficiency?

[bendtrees]

Wandering around sites I found this...

“Centering…
Removal of the inner growth of foliage from your trees. Leaves and needles that are in the inside of the canopy do not produce as much photosynthesis as leaves and needles on the outside of the canopy. By removing the inner growth this improves the efficiency and health of your trees."

Is this practice common? Outdated? Cutting Edge? I've never heard of it before and I am a bit skeptical.

Any ideas? Thanks

 

[treedoc1]

open center or vase

open center or vase pruning is used on orchard peach and nectarines and is a special technique started when the tree is young
this type isn't used how you are describing and would lead to a lion tail effect on the tree, the “gutting-out” of a tree by removing a large number of the inner branches.

 

[underwor]

Nature rarely wastes energy putting extra leaves in a tree, growing it too tall, or spreading it too wide. There are reasons for most everything. Just look at all the different shapes and densities the same species will grow when we alter light, air flow, available water and other environmental stresses. We rarely see a tree suddenly drop all those inner leaves. The one exception may be during severe drought, when it puts all effort to the new young, highly efficient leaves at the tip and sacrifices older inner ones for survival. Usually the next year when conditions improve, all the little inner leaves are back.

Best lessons are learned by getting out and looking at trees that have not been altered by man's pruners. Those altered by his manipulation of their environment will give us a lot of ideas of how they respond to stress, especially when compared to those growing in the most natural wild sites. From the wild sites, we will learn what we have to change to make the human altered ones healthier and happier. One thing you will notice is that few of the happy wild ones have had a squirrel with a pruner working in them.

My thoughts on PHC.

 

[Urban Forester]

That kind of pruning around here is called line clearance.

 

[kennertree]

That's how alot of companies around here "thin" trees. Usually, the tree responds with excessive interior growth. Lion's tailing is so common around here.

 

[tree MDS]

That's how alot of companies around here "thin" trees. Usually, the tree responds with excessive interior growth. Lion's tailing is so common around here.

Bucket prunes produce the worst results I think, some of the old Sugar Maples around town have just been bilked to near death by people that just go up and start indescriminately start stripping away. Not too many leaves but plenty of cables. I hate real pruning because it takes so long and Its just me cutting, but I'm usually proud of the results. Also it takes alot of of thought to try and do whats right, gets mentally taxing.

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

The inner growth of trees is vital to the trees. The inner canopy is considerably cooler than the other reaches of the tree. When it is hot out leaves on the outside of the tree will stop transpiring, essentially the trees way of sweating. When this occurs the inner canopy will continue to transpire and 'cool' the tree. As it was mentioned by others what you are talking about is considered lions tailing and as far as I know is not an acceptable practice in pruning. If there is excessive sucker/water sprouts in the inner canopy you want to remove ones that will potenially create problems down the road ie. redundant, crossing/rubbing, growth back towards the center of the tree and ones that will create weak crothches.

Hope this helps

 

[tree MDS]

The inner growth of trees is vital to the trees. The inner canopy is considerably cooler than the other reaches of the tree. When it is hot out leaves on the outside of the tree will stop transpiring, essentially the trees way of sweating. When this occurs the inner canopy will continue to transpire and 'cool' the tree. As it was mentioned by others what you are talking about is considered lions tailing and as far as I know is not an acceptable practice in pruning. If there is excessive sucker/water sprouts in the inner canopy you want to remove ones that will potenially create problems down the road ie. redundant, crossing/rubbing, growth back towards the center of the tree and ones that will create weak crothches.

Hope this helps

Damn good post Lawnboy!

 

[CE99]