Structural Pruning
/STRUK-chur-al PROO-ning/🌲 Arboriculture●● Intermediate
Structural pruning focuses on establishing good branch architecture in young and semi-mature trees. Key objectives include maintaining a single dominant leader, ensuring adequate branch spacing, removing or subordinating co-dominant stems, maintaining appropriate branch-to-trunk diameter ratios, and developing a strong scaffold of permanent branches. It is most effective when started early in a tree's development.
Etymology
From Latin structura (building) + Old French proignier (to prune)
Example
“Investing in structural pruning of newly planted trees prevents costly corrective work decades later.”