Pruning lingo 101

ROP Nursery/Greenhouse & ROP Landscape Maintenance

By: Mrs. Deanna Cargill

Pruning lingo 101

1. ROOTSTOCK is the base of the plant, below the union

2. Sucker A shoot which grows from the rootstock.

3. Heading Back Cutting back branches to buds or side branches .

4. Evergreen Plants that have leaves on them throughout the year.

5. Deciduous Plants which shed their leaves yearly.

6. Terminal Buds Growing point of the stem.

7. Lateral Buds Side branches

8. Bud Union Point at which the rootstock and top of the plant unite

9. Stub Improperly pruned branch which leaves a protruding hook; bad because it allows for entry of disease and pests

10. Watersprout Long, vertical shoots arising from branches

11. Primary Scaffold Branch

First main branch from trunk

12. Secondary Scaffold Branch

Limb branching from primary scaffold

13. Spur Short lateral that bears the fruit in many species

14. Leader The central stem in a plant

15. Lateral Those branches growing from primaries and secondaries

16. Thinning Complete removal of branches to

the trunk or to the ground

17. Node or bud A small swelling or projection on a plant where a shoot, cluster of leaves or flowers

18. internode Distance on stem between leaves or buds

19. pinching Most basic pruning technique, using thumb and forefinger to remove the stem tips of new growth

20. shearing Method of clipping the surface of

densely foliaged plants using hand or electric shears

21. Espaliering The practice of training a tree or shrub to grow flat either on a trellis or against a wall

22. canopy Refers to the top, shade-producing structure of a tree or shrub, made up of branches and foliage

23. Crotch The angle formed between the trunk and the scaffold branch or between a pair of trunks

24. Double leader When two trunks or main stems compete for the dominant, leading position

25. pollard Shearing off the top of a tree so that it puts out a dense head of slender shoots

26. standard A plant, not naturally growing as a

tree, that is trained into a small tree- like form with a single, upright trunk and rounded crown

27. topiary The technique of shearing trees and shrubs to geometric or animal-like shapes

28. conifer Cone-bearing trees and shrubs, primarily evergreen with needle- or scale-like foliage

29. bonsai To dwarf a shrub or tree by various means in a container

30. Pleaching Weaving together or intertwining of upper branches of several trees

31. framework The basic branch structure of a tree which gives it its shape

32. One-year-old wood

Growth that develops during the previous growing season

The End