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Animation of aggressive structural pruning on medium-aged tree

The clip shows how to prune the medium aged tree with three main stems competing for space that was lightly pruned in example four. Two of these competing stems will be shortened dramatically using a reduction cut so that the one stem that was not shortened will grow faster. This faster growth rate will allow the uncut stem to become the main trunk. This procedure needs to be repeated every 2-5 years in the first 25 years in the life of the tree to develop good structure. This aggressive treatment is needed 1) for certain fast growing species, 2) for tees that are pruned infrequently, and 3) in the warmer climates where growth rate is rapid.