Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Gnarledly Ugly Weeping Mulberry

Trusty loppers and hand pruners in hand, I tackled a tangle of limbs in my weeping mulberry. The limbs were a tangled mess because, over the years, I pruned incorrectly. I cut long tendrils back, maybe half way to their source. The cut created an apical bud which produced new growth at that point.

I had long graceful tendrils from the top of the tree, and I had short branches from the middle of the trimmed tendrils. Limbs close to the trunk got thicker and more gnarledly ugly.

A few days ago I decided to do something about it. I decided I couldn't make it worse and at this point, almost anything would be an improvement. I cut and pulled and cut and pulled until a huge pile of of limbs lay on the ground. I was careful to go all the way to the beginning of the branch, so any new growth should begin there. My husband finished the job with a tree saw and removed large bare stubs from the inside.

Presently, the tree is denuded, but wonderfully thinned. I'm confident new leaves will soon cover the branches and they will hang to the ground before summer's end, creating a cool secluded "hide away" for grandsons.

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