Pruning Basics: Trimming/Removing A Dead Branch

Tree pruning is most necessary when branches are dead, wounded, or diseased, and therefore posing risk to the health of the rest of the tree. An abundance if dead wood is a friendly feast for rot fungi, and can allow disease and fugi to spread from the dead wood to the live flesh.

But while it is advantageous to rid a healthy tree of its excess dead wood and unwanted dead branches, poorly executed pruning is equally bad if not worse for the well-being of your trees. Incorrectly pruning can result in a lengthy list of tree-health issues: including cankers, sun scald, frost cracks, insect borers, and more.

Amateur tree-pruners and home-gardeners tend to leave too much of the stub when cutting off branches. Once the extended stub dies off, it creates an easy gateway for disease pathogens and destructive insects to enter into the tree and wreak havoc.

Fortunately, making the correct pruning cut on a dead branch is typically much easier than de-limbing a live branch from a young tree. That is because you can distinguish between the dead wood and the live stalk much easier, as a ring of swollen tree flesh encircles the area in which living tree becomes dead branch. This circle is known as the "collar." The collar serves as a natural defense system.

When cutting off a dead branch, a perfect, flush cuts should occur just outside the collar, leaving as little of a stub as possible,  but without damaging or removing any part of the collar (the natural defense barrier).

Usually a series of cuts and incises should be made in order to safely remove the dead branch. Just a simple slice just beyond the swollen collar is not quite enough. One should begin with a small cut just beyond the collar and on the underside of the dead branch. Next, just beyond the first slice, cut all the through, taking down the dead branch, so that when you make the more important cut next to the collar, your not apt to cause tearing as the weight of the dead branch puts stress on the joint. Refer to the diagram above or to the right to see exactly what I'm talking about.

So there you have it. Now you can remove dead branches all on your own. But for rather large or particularly high dead branches, consider bringing in certified arborists a.k.a. "tree experts," like the ones at Hufnagel Tree, to do your pruning for you.

An Intro to Tree Pruning...

Pruning seems like it would be unnecessarily harmful to trees and the environment, and done recklessly and unsafely it can be, but when done properly it is actually beneficial to the health of the tree, effectually speeding up and assisting in otherwise natural processes. Inefficient limbs and branches are detrimental to a trees ability to compete, and so a limb that is not pulling its weight (literally) in the operations of photosynthesis and etc will be naturally shed. As a careful and calculated pruner, you can enable and even commandeer this process.

A tree might warrant trimming and pruning for a number of reasons: in order to remove diseased or damaged branches, in order to thin the crown to permit new growth, lessen wind resistance and load, and to increase air circulation and absorption of sun and rain, or maybe in order to remove branches that may pose a risk to property or the public. These are just a few reason why a prune might bust out the tree clippers.

While pruning can certainly be done yourself, getting rid of large and especially high branches should mostly likely be left up to an expert certified arborist, like the ones at Hufnagel Trees. But for smaller jobs and smaller trees, many of these pruning techniques are certainly doable for the average handy yardman or woman.

It's understandable that many a yardman or gardner sees such yard and tree care as a laborious distraction from the relaxation of a leisurely weekend, but just remember, when it comes to tree care, safety and technique always supersede speed, no matter how anxious you are to get back to watching the ballgame or making that tee time.

When is it best to prune?

The best time of the year to prune is the dormant season, late fall or winter, when the tree is in a sense hibernating. This allows the tree to enjoy maximum healing and utilize the advantages of pruning for the purposes of new growth in the spring. Pruning during the winter minimizes the stress put on the tree, in limits sap loss, and it lessens the likelihood of a fungus or insect infection. That being said, any dead, damaged, diseased, or rotting limbs should be removed as soon as possible, no matter what the season.

Well know you know a little bit about tree pruning, and when its best to undertake pruning jobs. Next post, we'll go over a few of the simpler and more common tree pruning techniques.

Why Hiring A Certified Arborist Matters

Many customers in search of tree service likely assume the title "Certified Arborist" to be simply an easy excuse for tree care professionals to charge a higher rate. This could not be further from the truth. Aside from having at least three years of experience in the field, a certified arborist must pass an extensive examination process in order to be ordained by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). The testing and education process has become more and more involved and technical over the years, meaning certified arborists today have an impressively deep biological understanding of trees and their place in our ecosystem and your backyard.

ISA Certified Arborists must pass a difficult, 200-plus question final exam that tests each arborist on their knowledge and comprehension of tree identification, tree-soil-water relations, tree nutrition, planting, pruning, cabling, lightning protection, problem diagnosis, preservation, protection on construction sites, safety, risk assessment, and much, much more.

Using a Certified Arborist is the only way to make sure your trees are accurately diagnosed and cared for with the utmost precision, and the utmost sense of responsibility for the health of the tree and the life cycles it supports. An ISA Certified Arborist, like the tree experts at Hufnagel, has the know-how, the tool set, and the experience to make sure your trees are never damaged while in their hands and undergoing their treatment.

The ISA Certification program not only helps set standards for the arborist profession, it also encourages continuing education, meaning Certifiend Arborist are constantly refreshing their knowledge base, expanding their understanding of trees, and staying up to date on the newest, most effective, and safest tree-care techniques.

As we learn each day how great the value of each tree really is (as life supporter, as a purifying agent of both water and air, as a oxygen producer, a climate cooler, etc), it becomes more and more imperative to both preserve and properly care for the trees that remain on our planet. Certified Arborists successfully complete their training and leave with a strong understanding of this fact.

So please, if you care for the health and longevity of your backyard, your trees, and the surrounding natural world, always employ the skills and expertise of an ISA Certified Arborist.