DURHAM >> With a warning to "avert your eyes," Ken Hodge wielded his clippers dangerously close to a young bare-root cherry tree.
With one quick snip of the shears, his decapitation was done — much to the horror and fascination of his tree pruning workshop attendees. The lopping-off of freshly planted trees is all part of Hodge's method to lay a firm foundation for future fruit trees and ensure they grow according to plan.
"Basically you are bonsai-ing trees and making them do what you want them to do," he said. "You have to keep in mind they still want to get a lot bigger so you have to prune, but it's easy ... People tend to be too kind."
More than 50 people recently gathered for a Saturday crash course in fruit trees at his Durham nursery. Hodge, who has been involved with gardening since he was 5 and a nursery owner for nearly 30 years, lectured and demonstrated on his techniques for planting and pruning orchard crops, from gopher-battling tactics to sunburn protection.
"You always read things about gardeners doing these pie-in-the-sky ideas," he said. "I like to do things people can follow and that work."
After a tour of the 150-plus fruit trees growing around the property, from persimmons to pears to peaches, his planting demonstration began with a talk about how in areas with poor quality soil — and always for apricot and cherry trees — Hodge rims the hole with a wide box made from 2-by-6-inch redwood to help protect against crown and root rot.
Hodge also is a promoter of using metal mesh gopher baskets to protect the root systems, especially with figs and artichokes.
"I call them subterranean beavers," Hodge said, showing off a tree that had been sheared clean just below the dirt. "I use (the baskets) on all the fruit trees because it's such an expensive meal to feed a gopher."
The bare-root trees should be planted between the graft union and the roots, so the roots are barely buried, he said.
Hodge also tosses in a handful of Dr. Earth Biosoil, an organic fertilizer with a broad spectrum of nutrients, and a handful of Dr. Iron which brings down the pH level if the trees are planted in an area with hard water.
"You've kind of insulted it by ripping it out of the ground," he said. "You want to give it every chance it's got."
Instead of surrounding the roots with the soil from the original hole, he uses a topsoil mix instead.
"You want to give it something super sweet to grow into," he said.
Once the tree is planted, he makes his initial and most severe pruning. The lopping off of the trunk is most severe for cherries, because their vertical stems always dominate over side stems, and he cuts those about 8 to 10 inches above the ground. Other fruit trees should be cut back to two to three feet, though Hodge will sometimes go as low as 18 inches.
By cutting the trees back, it essentially dwarfs the tree, he said. Hodge still gets vigorous crops with plentiful fruit, but can harvest at knee level instead of climbing a ladder and he doesn't have to ascend for pruning either. It also allows more trees in a smaller space, so someone can have two varieties of the same fruit to harvest weeks or even months apart, instead of one tree that bears everything at once.
Heavy pruning needs to be done in winter or early spring, Hodge said. Any pruning to follow is best done in early summer and late summer to not affect fruit buds.
"In winter, you can really see the structure and make the structure a little better, like if the branches are crossing or cutting into one another," he said.
When he prunes back, he always cuts one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch above buds. He picks a bud that is growing outward and cuts straight across it.
Don't let any shoot get longer than eight inches, Hodge advised. The continuous forking will build strong branches and the trees can be kept between 4 and 6 feet tall.
"Most all trees are wanting to get 20 or 30 feet tall and wide," he said. "I'd rather pinch it back and force it to stay down where you are feeding your family instead of the birds."
The trunks should be painted white latex paint to protect them from the sun, but don't do it until the buds have pushed out, likely in April.
Hodge's workshops are offered for free throughout the year, and people can sign up to hear about them through his email list at www.hodgesnursery.com. Spring pruning workshops and details on drip irrigation will be held March 22 and 29.
Contact reporter Ashley Gebb at 896-7768.