Alright, so I finally got around to tackling that Ruby Falls Redbud this weekend. It’s been on my to-do list for, well, let’s just say a while. These weeping trees, they’re gorgeous, but man, they can start looking like a neglected haircut if you don’t step in.
Mine was getting there. You know, branches just kinda hanging, some crossing over each other, a few looking a bit dead-ish at the tips. It wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t showing off its best self either. The whole point of a Ruby Falls is that graceful cascade, and mine was starting to look more like a jumbled waterfall.
Getting Down to Business
So, Saturday morning, I grabbed my good secateurs – the sharp ones, because there’s nothing worse than trying to prune with dull tools that just chew up the branches. Pulled on my gloves, because even though it’s not a thorny beast, you can still get poked and scratched.
First thing I did was just walk around it. Stood back, squinted a bit. Tried to visualize what I wanted it to look like. With these weeping types, you’re mostly trying to enhance their natural shape, not force them into something they’re not. I wasn’t looking to make it smaller, really, just… tidier. More defined.
I started with the obvious stuff. Deadwood. Always the easiest place to begin. Snip, snip, anything brown and brittle, gone. Then I looked for branches that were rubbing against each other. That’s just asking for trouble down the line, diseases and whatnot. Picked the weaker or worse-placed one of the pair and took it out. Then I looked for any branches growing inwards, back towards the main trunk, or straight up instead of weeping down. Those had to go. You want the energy going into the branches that are doing the weeping thing properly.
It’s funny, you make a few cuts and suddenly you start seeing more. It’s like your eyes adjust. I took out a few wispy little branches at the bottom that were just trailing on the ground, collecting dirt. Then I thinned out a couple of areas that looked a bit too congested. You want air to be able to move through the plant, right?
I was pretty conservative, to be honest. With these ornamental trees, especially a prized one like the Ruby Falls, you don’t want to go too Rambo on it. You can always take more off later, but you can’t stick it back on. I kept stepping back, looking at it from different angles. Made a cut, stepped back. Made another, stepped back. My neighbors probably thought I was doing some kind of slow-motion garden tai chi.
The Aftermath and Thoughts
By the time I was done, I had a small pile of branches. Not a huge amount, but enough to make a difference. The tree itself looked… lighter. More elegant, I think. You could actually see the structure of the weeping branches better. It wasn’t so much a dense blob anymore.
I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. It’s not a dramatic transformation, but it didn’t need one. Just a bit of a tidy-up to help it along. Now I’m just looking forward to spring, seeing those beautiful purple-pink flowers on the now neatly defined branches. That’s the real reward, seeing it bloom after you’ve given it a bit of care.
Pruning always feels a bit like a gamble, especially when you’re not a professional landscaper. But you learn by doing. Each year, I get a little more confident, understand what the plant needs a bit more. This Ruby Falls, it’s a pretty forgiving tree, really. As long as you don’t go completely wild, it usually bounces back just fine. It’s a good reminder that sometimes, a little intervention can make a big difference in the garden.
