Pruning the Pine

After our brief but destructive storm here, there was much work to be done and therefore jobs to be had. Roofers came to replace those beautiful and characteristic roof tiles that had landed in the streets. Gardeners were everywhere, removing branches that had cracked off of trees; in some cases, they were carting away whole trees that had been uprooted and had fallen against power lines, disturbing the flow of electricity to whole neighborhoods. Of course all kinds of things happened that no one had expected…

The Maritime pines are so beautiful but they are dangerous when planted on a small piece of property. They grow too high, about 75 ft., and when not pruned properly to the umbrella shape, the lower branches get brittle. A turbulent wind can tear them off and they are heavy. Of course, gravity brings them pretty much straight down; but if they are above a neighbor’s carport or roof, they can be extremely destructive. That did happen right next to me. The neighbors wrote a petition and summoned Signora Anna to send her gardeners to trim the pines. It was very exciting for me to watch the operation — first one forked pine and then 7 days later another pine (cleaning up all the needles was another laborious operation). The branches were cut up and then the logs were distributed among the neighbors who have fireplaces, a peace-offering from Signora Anna, I suppose.

I have heard since that there is a school that teaches the trimming of the Maritime pine. This Majestic tree is all over Italy and is kept in shape in every region by those who have learned the art. Pinoli, those wonderful pine nuts, can only be harvested by hand…it is no wonder that they are expensive! With a ladder, the first branch can be reached to attach a cable with pulley that brings the pine pruner into the branches, harnessed in a saddle. He pushes upward with his feet against the tree until he reaches his post. He starts at the bottom leaving about 2 ft. of branch there to form a natural ladder. His electric saw hangs from one cable near him and the branch he has cut off is hooked to a rope and lowered slowly and with precise calculation to the gardeners below. As he descends, he takes off  the remnant of each limb. He doesn’t need the ladder he has created anymore. Once again he lowers himself, in his gear slowly pushing his feet against the trunk, all the way to the ground this time. It is a precise operation and an art. In the end, the tree has a lively symmetry that it did not have 5 hours ago. Most likely it will weather the next storm with much more discretion.

When I watched the pruning of the Maritime pine here in Italy, I was reminded of another rather dramatic gardening event that I had witnessed near Mombasa in Kenya on the coast of the Indian ocean. Next time, I’ll tell you about the pruning of the coco palm.

Ciao, Sally Fougerousse