Every January, Cheryl Buckwalter sees more horror stories along local streets and in Sacramento gardens. She wonders when the brutality will end.

Mulberries hacked off at the arms. Crape myrtles buzz-sawed down to stumps. Maples, oaks, even pines and cedars, all indiscriminately topped.

"When you top a tree, you totally destroy its natural shape and structure," said the landscape designer and river-friendly advocate. "It will never be the same."

Yet, this is pruning season, when professional gardeners advertise "tree topping."

It's seldom a tree-friendly service, Buckwalter said.

"I've seen redwoods literally cut in half," she said. "There are a lot of coast redwoods around here. They were planted because they grow fast. But they're not the right tree under a power line. People cut them – then they grow even faster."

That's among problems with topping. Instead of correcting a situation, it makes it worse.

"The No. 1 reason people top a tree: It's gotten too big for its space," Buckwalter said. "Or it's in front of a business and blocking a sign, or it was planted under power lines."

Choose the right tree for the right spot and that won't be an issue, she said. The Sacramento Tree Foundation (www.sactree.org) has recommendations. So does the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (www.smud.org), which offers free shade trees and expert guidance to its customers.

This month, the foundation also will host two seminars on tree care. It's among several opportunities to learn about proper pruning and winter maintenance, not just trees but rose bushes, grape vines, shrubs and perennials.

Buckwalter conducts river-friendly landscaping seminars and also serves as the Blue Thumb blogger on the Regional Water Authority's www.BeWaterSmart. info website. She leads the RWA's Green Gardener training program for landscape professionals. A similar program for residential gardeners is coming this spring.

Reference for trees should come naturally in Sacramento, "the City of Trees."

"I try to help people understand what's so bad about topping a tree," she said. "It's the most harmful practice people can do to a tree.

"What happens is you cut off 50 (percent) to 100 percent of the tree's leaf surface. Any time a tree loses half of its leaf surface, it's at extreme risk because you're taking away its food source. Without leaves, it will starve."

Most trees react by growing as fast as possible to replace those lost limbs and leaves. Such rapid growth can create weak, unstable branches.

"The tree often becomes a hazard," Buckwalter said. "Those branches are weakly attached and can break off easily."

Instead, consult a trained arborist. Let the tree follow its natural form and growth. Thin a tree's upper branches if necessary, but avoid a severe across-the-top reduction.

"It's really about understanding," she said. "Do proper pruning and get 'topping' out of your vocabulary."

Prune-a-thon postponed

Due to the city of Sacramento's ongoing renovation of McKinley Park's memorial rose garden, the annual Sacramento Rose Society prune-a-thon has been postponed until Feb. 4. But there are plenty of other opportunities to get in the swing of snipping and shaping.

Local rosarians, master gardeners, arborists and other experts are conducting several free workshops and clinics. (See listings, Page 4.) Or ask at your neighborhood nursery about upcoming seminars.

PRUNING WORKSHOPS

Whether you're tackling roses, shrubs or trees, get advice on pruning from local experts. Here are some of the free pruning workshops and clinics available to the public:

Today

• Gold Country Rose Society conducts its annual rose pruning clinic while rejuvenating the Bell Road Memorial Garden. Public welcome. Bring pruners and gloves. Consulting rosarians conduct informal seminar for beginners at 10 a.m. (Rain date: next Saturday.) Bell Road Memorial Rose Garden, 707 Bell Road, Auburn. (916) 276-0170. 9 a.m.

• Walt Miller will demonstrate pruning and remedial pruning of deciduous fruit trees. El Dorado County Master Gardeners, 311 Fair Lane, Placerville. (530) 621-5512. 9 a.m.-noon.

Tuesday

• The Gold Country Rose Society shares the basics of rose pruning and propagation (how to make new non-patent bushes out of those pruned canes) at its regular meeting. Public welcome. Rose Room, Auburn City Hall, 1225 Lincoln Way, Auburn. (916) 276-0170. 7 p.m.

Thursday

• The Sacramento Rose Society presents a hands-on rose pruning workshop. Bring pruners and gloves. Tool sharpening available for donation. Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. (916) 799-6199. 7:30 p.m.

Next Saturday

• Sierra Foothills Rose Society hosts its rose pruning workshop with something extra – a chili cookoff. Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Drive, Roseville. (916) 420-0344. 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.; cookoff at 1 p.m.

• Yolo County master gardeners lead a fruit tree pruning workshop in the demonstration orchard behind the college greenhouse. Learn how proper training and pruning of fruit trees directs new growth, helps create a desired tree structure and encourages spring fruit set. (Class will be held in greenhouse in case of rain.) Woodland Community College, 2300 E. Gibson Road, Woodland. (530) 666-8143. 10 a.m.-noon.

• A master gardener will discuss pruning techniques and tips in a pruning workshop presented by the Sacramento Public Library. Belle Cooledge Library, 5600 S. Land Park Drive, Sacramento. (916) 264-2920. 11:30 a.m.

• The Sacramento Tree Foundation conducts workshops on proper pruning to extend the life and beauty of trees. Learn when and how to make pruning cuts and overall pruning strategies for young trees. Weather permitting, there will be an optional walkabout afterwards on library grounds to look at tree structure and pruning. Pre-registration required at www.sactree.org. (916) 924-8733 ext. 122. Two locations: Folsom Park Library, 411 Stafford St., Folsom, 10:30 a.m.; or Elk Grove Library, 8900 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove, 2 p.m.

Jan. 21

• Winter pruning workshop. Sacramento County master gardeners will demonstrate how to prune fruit trees for easier harvest as well as how to prune grape vines and blueberries. Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks. (916) 875-6913. 9 a.m.-noon.

• Eisley Nursery hands-on pruning clinic. Members of the Gold Coast Rose Society will give pruning pointers, then demonstrate on the nursery's bushes. Eisley Nursery, 380 Nevada St., Auburn. (530) 885-5163. Two sessions: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Jan. 28

Rose pruning demonstration presented by the Mother Lode Rose Society. Amador Senior Center Rose Garden, 229 New York Ranch Road, Jackson. (530) 620-2200. 10 a.m.-noon.

Feb. 4

Sacramento Rose Society prune- a-thon. Beginners welcome; learn while helping prune more than 1,000 rose bushes. Bring pruners and gloves. Tool sharpening available for donation. (Rain date: Feb. 11.) McKinley Park Memorial Rose Garden, H and 33rd streets, Sacramento. (916) 799-6199. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Feb. 25

Open Garden Day. Sacramento County master gardeners will demonstrate how to prune shrubs and dormant fruit trees as well as how to groom ornamental grasses. Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. (916) 875-6913. 9 a.m.-noon.

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