| Hi Alan,
Do the same thing on multiple trees and then take careful measurements. The experiments have been done. The research I referenced was conducted by Dr. Dave Ferree at Ohio State University over ten years ago.
There's plenty of research that is "truly definitive," and it is often counter-intuitive. An example: the intuitive lopping back of stems on transplanted bare-root trees to "balance the root loss during transplanting." Seems like the right thing to do but, as careful measurements have shown, it isn't. (Hormones produced in buds stimulate root growth, among other things.)
As for where all that energy goes from "say mid-July until leaf-fall," how about into the roots, into existing stems, into buds that are forming? The research has been done.
I agree that much horticultural research is useless in the real world, but no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Some it -- Dave Ferree's, for example -- is very meaningful, as is much of the pruning research on apple trees.
And yes, I do like to sell my books. More importantly, I find it frustrating to read theories based on limited personal observations (and intuitions) when facts are available. In my books, I try to present these facts in an engaging manner.
Lee Lee Reich, PhD
Books by Lee Reich: A Northeast Gardener's Year The Pruning Book Weedless Gardening Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden Landscaping with Fruit On Aug 12, 2009, at 9:12 PM, Alan Haigh wrote: OK Lee, I know you need to sell your books and all I'm feeding is ego here, but what specific research are you talking about? I rarely find any hort research to be truly definitive but it can certainly provide strong evidence so please steer us to this strongly counter-intuitive research. It's hard to imagine that those trees are doing nothing with all the stored energy they acquire from say mid-July until leaf-fall. Where does all that energy go? If you remove enough canopy to reduce a trees capacity to harvest light how could it not affect its vigor? Wood removed in winter is quickly replaced in spring but wood removed in mid-summer leaves an open canopy for half the growing season. It will certainly have to be quite a piece of research- first let's see what happens if we just remove all the water sprouts- try that for several seasons. Then let's see what happens when we do major structural pruning in say June for a few seasons, then try July and then August. Of course the same varieties in the same soil will have to be pruned in winter only as a control- and pruned the same way. Better also try both young immature trees and trees well into bearing. I guess it's quite possible this all has been done or you wouldn't indicate it has- I'd just really like to see the source. If you're going to be a guru, don't tantalize us- give us the juice. I look at the hours it takes me to prune big apple trees where I have switched from winter to summer pruning at several sites. By the second season my hours decrease by about 30% from what I spent when doing dormant pruning. Would that be placebo affect? Maybe the winter temps and all those layers just slow me down. I have another site where I was pruning only in the summer and the trees became dangerously weak so I switched to winter pruning there and their vigor came back dramaticly. OK, I admit that we tend to fall in love with our own anecdotal evidence and I'm not confusing my experiece with carefully controlled research but I'm sharing my actual experience with you. If you are going to contradict this hard earned experience I'd appreciate it if you'd at least mention your source. _______________________________________________
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