This Arbutus unedo, or Strawberry Tree, had been hedged years ago. The client wanted it to look more like a tree. Hedging creates lots of new growth points in the upper canopy, and generally trees have fewer growth points. By leaving the leaders that were well attached and growing in the directions I wanted, while removing leaders in crowded areas of the canopy, I was able to get a good start on making it more tree like. I started by removing a few lower larger diameter branches that seemed especially crowded, then focused on thinning the areas in the upper canopy that were topped in the past.
Before pruning
After pruning the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)
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