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Pruning lingo 101
ROP Nursery/Greenhouse & ROP Landscape Maintenance
By: Mrs. Deanna Cargill
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1. ROOTSTOCK is the base of the plant, below the union
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2. Sucker A shoot which grows from the rootstock.
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3. Heading Back Cutting back branches to buds or side branches .
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4. Evergreen Plants that have leaves on them throughout the year.
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5. Deciduous Plants which shed their leaves yearly.
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6. Terminal Buds Growing point of the stem.
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7. Lateral Buds Side branches
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8. Bud Union Point at which the rootstock and top of the plant unite
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9. Stub Improperly pruned branch which leaves a protruding hook; bad because it allows for entry of disease and pests
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10. Watersprout Long, vertical shoots arising from branches
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11. Primary Scaffold Branch
First main branch from trunk
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12. Secondary Scaffold Branch
Limb branching from primary scaffold
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13. Spur Short lateral that bears the fruit in many species
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14. Leader The central stem in a plant
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15. Lateral Those branches growing from primaries and secondaries
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16. Thinning Complete removal of branches to
the trunk or to the ground
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17. Node or bud A small swelling or projection on a plant where a shoot, cluster of leaves or flowers
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18. internode Distance on stem between leaves or buds
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19. pinching Most basic pruning technique, using thumb and forefinger to remove the stem tips of new growth
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20. shearing Method of clipping the surface of
densely foliaged plants using hand or electric shears
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21. Espaliering The practice of training a tree or shrub to grow flat either on a trellis or against a wall
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22. canopy Refers to the top, shade-producing structure of a tree or shrub, made up of branches and foliage
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23. Crotch The angle formed between the trunk and the scaffold branch or between a pair of trunks
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24. Double leader When two trunks or main stems compete for the dominant, leading position
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25. pollard Shearing off the top of a tree so that it puts out a dense head of slender shoots
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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
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27. topiary The technique of shearing trees and shrubs to geometric or animal-like shapes
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28. conifer Cone-bearing trees and shrubs, primarily evergreen with needle- or scale-like foliage
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29. bonsai To dwarf a shrub or tree by various means in a container
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30. Pleaching Weaving together or intertwining of upper branches of several trees
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31. framework The basic branch structure of a tree which gives it its shape
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32. One-year-old wood
Growth that develops during the previous growing season