Edith on Pruning

  by Edith Isidoro-Mills -- Early spring is a popular time for pruning in the garden. It’s easier to see where you need to prune because few leaves have appeared to obstruct the structure of trees or shrubs.  It’s also where you can see past pruning mistakes and one mistake is not removing the entire lateral branch when you decide a branch is in the way or detrimental to the health and shape of the plant. It’s common for people to just remove the portion of a branch that blocks a pathway or brushes up against their vehicle because it overhangs the driveway.  This is a mistake because the stump left behind usually doesn’t heal over, leaving a permanent entry point for disease organisms and the stump usually dies leaving an unsightly dead stump. The proper way to remove a branch that is in the way or is rubbing against other branches is to remove it back to the nearest main branch that is not in the way.  This may mean removing it all the way back to the trunk of the tree. Depending on the diameter of the branch you can use pruning shears or loppers to remove a branch.  If the branch is larger than shears or loppers can cut, you will need to use a saw.  Before you just slice into the branch start by doing a partial cut by sawing upward from under the branch.  This partial cut should be an inch or two away from the trunk.  Then start a second cut further out from the trunk then the first under cut that only goes partially through the branch from the underside.  This second cut will go completely through the branch more than two inches out from the main branch. After the second cut the branch will probably peel a little of the lower bark back on the underside.  This peeling should stop at the point of the first cut if you made the first cut deep enough.  This helps reduce the area where disease organisms can enter the trunk. To aid in healing the tree, you have one more cut to make and that is to saw of the remaining stub all the way back to the main branch or trunk.  This cut should be made so that you don’t scrape the bark on the main branch but such that little or no stub remains.  The first two cuts are made to keep the weight of the branch being removed from peeling away more bark on trunk or and leaving the exposed wound as small as possible.  You do not need to seal this wound.  The tree or shrub will form callus  around the edges and this callus will act as a seal.       We need your support now more than ever -- as our small business community is hit, so is our advertising support -- if you are able to support local, independent news, now is the time to click here to contribute to The Fallon Post, so we can continue to bring you up-to-the-minute information. We are your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon and appreciate all your support. Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page.