Will_Heath

Wow, that's what I meant to say, lol.

Excellent use of words Brent and fantastic information, thank you. It is very nice to see intelligent discussion on these matters.

Would you then suggest the same treatment for deciduous and conifers even though both have the same inbuilt dynamic balance? I do not think so because even though both are the same in many ways, they respond differently.

Any branch that is not producing enough to support itself will be cut off and left to die, energy then being diverted to those that can. I understand this but when you mention that some foliage should be removed if the conditions to prevent transpiration do not exist, I get a little confused. Is it not just a guess as to what foliage to remove and how much? Your statement on removing the foliage farthest from the roots is brillant, but how much and which?

And lastly, you spoke of balance as not quite an adequate description as the tree is not static. However I am sure that you will agree that the crown often mirrors the roots. In fact many people will not use jagged particles in there soil mix for maples because they claim it causes jagged, ungraceful branches that mirror the roots. It has also been said that if All the roots on one side of a tree are removed then most the branches on that side will die. You have also agreed that a tree will try to push root growth and stop foliage growth when root pruned, in order to "balance" the roots to the foliage again.

All these things leads me to still believe that a tree has a balance that it strives to maintain. I'll leave it to your vast experience to say how, but I think we will agree that there is indeed a balance inbuilt for trees. Or maybe we should refer to it as "Dynamic Balance." (Coined by Brent)


Will