Are the buds breaking where you are?

Dan

hey jeff

here is my logic ...

first.. i do it when i walk by with the saw ... all year long ... though i do not work in snow ..

second.. if you hired it out.. the guy would come at his next available schedule time ... not when is best for the tree ...

third ... the ONLY... IMHO.. reason to perfectly time a cut.. would be if you had a farm with 10 millions trees.. representing your entire life fortune .. and wanted to insure that some bizarre disease or bug infestation would not destroy the entire crop ..

soo.. in summation your honor.. knock yourself out.. and do it when you can ..

all that said.. it is sometimes easier to do it.. before the sap starts running ... which is not quite happening in my z5 MI .... so now would be a fine time.. IMHO ...

do you know how to do it properly?? branch collars and all that stuff????

ken

The flowering bushes which only produce on new growth make this seem over complicated. Imagine cutting off all the new growth and not getting any flowers.

Your trers are grown for structure and the like so that doesnt apply.

Thanks Guys

The trees I'm going to trim are at my summerhouse near Coldwater MI. I live in the Chicagoland Area and the Norway Maple in my front yard hasn't opened it's buds yet, so I'm guessing my trees in Michigan haven't either; Although both the elms and silver maples have been flowering since the last warm spell a couple weeks ago by my house.

All four of my trees are in the 15 to 20 foot range and I just wanted to cut off a couple of limbs on each that are now getting in the way of walking. My main concern is not to stunt or limit this years growth which will be starting in a few weeks.

Not sure about the proper way to cut a limb Ken. Last year when I did it I just cut it as close to the trunk as possible, making sure I cut around the limb so it wouldn't tear from the tree. That seemed to work out fine.

Jeff

A number of species of spring pruned maples tend to bleed for a while - doesn't really hurt anything but can visually be a bit nasty. I prune river birch in late summer to avoid the spring drip and bleeding that occurs if done in the winter.
My theory for most trees is that the best time is to prune before bud break in the spring. That way, there are two additional benefits to the pruning anytime method: first, the tree hasn't wasted food energy forming leaves that get removed and second, the tree's wound has the most time during the growing season to begin healing over with woundwood.
Having said that, I am guilty of pruning through the season, but try to do most of it before bud break. I remove deadwood or storm damage anytime.
I have read about sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) that pruning during moist, cool and windy conditions (early spring) makes transmission of the disease more likely, since it is spread by wind driven rain. Guess it really depends on pathogens in your area and what you are pruning.
Ken asked a good question, since it is important to use the three-cut method and cut at the branch collar. Good site attached.
hortster

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning technique

at horts link.. go down to the part labeled: Pruning large branches (Figure 3, below)

in figure 3 ... and mind you.. took me about 20 years to figure this out ...

IF YOU CAN NOT HOLD UP THE BRANCH once its cut [meaning a big branch] ... due to weight.. simply hack it off about a foot or two from the trunk.. and get rid of all that weight.. which might cause it to rip the bark down the trunk ...

then make the surgical cut ... it is just soooo much easier ...

now same pic ... see between the trunk.. and the branch.. there is a protrusion ... and now that i look again.. and a label the says BRANCH COLLAR ... well get this.. thats the branch collar.. go figure ... lol ...

DO NOT LEAVE BRANCH MATERIAL past the collar .. AND DO NOT CUT OFF THE COLLAR .. [dont worry about your prior cuts.. the tree will take care of it]

that is about it ...

except for buying the right saw ...

check out the link .. i can get knockoffs for about $12 ... double teeth.. i can.. with practice.. cut a one inch branch with maybe 6 swipes.. works on the push and the pull ... [the other day.. a 2 inch branch on a soft pine in 8 swipes]

check any garden store .... probably even the bigboxstore ...

the right tool.. makes all the difference in the world ...

soooo ... hack one off.. use the branch to learn your saw a bit.. then go in surgically and DO THE RIGHT THING ...

then walk away from the tree.. and clean up the mess you made ...

you might get so excited about your new saw.. that you will be pruning the whole yard.. and then down the road ... lol ...

BTW .. the beauty of the folding part is... you close it.. and slip it in the back pocket of your jeans.. and you never lose it ....

good luck

kenPS: one of the reviews at the link says:

The kerf setting on the A700 is correct from the start and binding is not a problem.

===>>> what the heck is kerf .. and i presume that what makes it so freaking sharp ... or self cleaning as you go????

Here is a link that might be useful: link

The only thing about the website - they comment about using a wound dressing to discourage beetles (another vector) if it is an oak in SOD areas. We all know the negatives of tar or paint! This is just me, but, when I have discussed this with folks that MUST, GOTTA, CAN'T STAND IT if their tree's fresh cut isn't covered with a psychological band-aid, I tell 'em if they gotta to use boiled linseed oil as a cover that will "protect and discourage beetles and other maladies." I have done this as an experiment on my own trees. If used on wounds of about the same size it gives psychological security to them and doesn't seem to affect the progression of woundwood! Cuts of the same size heal the same and the worry is eliminated...go figure...
hortster

horster is right that there are exceptions to the wound painting rule...all insect related. The best option is to avoid pruning altogether in those territories at certain times of the year. When that can't happen, wound dressings can help prevent these insects from entering at the site of a fresh cut.

Hortster also brought back memories of the ruckus that routine tree care would cause amongst the residents in certain communities where I used to live and work. I mean, the phone would ring off the hook with complaints and concern when they would see those bright fresh wounds.

I took the 'chicken' way out and equipped staff with cans of latex based, black spray paint. Problem solved. The paint would wear off in a few weeks, and the cuts weathered naturally.

they are trees.. NOT CHILDREN... lol

they do not need to be fed..

they do not need to be dressed ...

and they would be much better off.. if we just left them alone ... they shed branches themselves all the time.. and usually live for centuries for criminey sake ...

just dont love them to death ...

treat them like teenagers.. ignore them .. lol

ken

Along hortster's lines, IIRC it was at a utility forester's conf where the guy speaking in front of me was asserting that painting oak wounds was the way to go, altho his data weren't solid.

Anyway, he didn't get a very good reception after or during the mingling meetings. I suspect there are very few professionals that paint wounds any more.

Dan

Dan,
That is why I experimented with the boiled linseed oil thing. I have tried it on maples, redbud, oaks, black gum, and so on - damn near every tree in my yard. It gives a real preventative treatment for oaks and hasn't seemed to affect woundwood on my trees as far as regrowth. I didn't do it to calm my mind, just to see if the linseed hurt anything so that I could give a reasonable response to people that must cover the wound with something to ease THEIR mind. Hey, I am no PhD but have seeN then effect when occasionally treating wounds to prevent vectors from spreading "whatever" malady. Call me nuts, I don't care.
Trust me, I am a Shigo beliver.
hortster

ANSI standards allow the use of sealants to lessen decay and to look better, among other reasons. One size does not fit all in arboriculture.

Before you cut the lower branches from your trees, ask how close to them you need to walk. Maples and birches look very nice with lower branches left, and that means less lawn to mow!

Research shows that pruning while the tree is growing causes less decay than dormant pruning.

Research shows that pruning while the tree is growing causes less decay than dormant pruning

As always, it depends. The time for pruning is when the shears are sharp. As long as you know if there will be a pruning reaction and how to deal with it. Or if you are in a place where bugs are flying or its humid and spores are moving.

Dan