Pruning a tree can look straightforward: identify an unwanted branch and cut it off.
In reality, where and how that cut is made can affect the tree for years.
Penn State Extension explains the importance of pruning technique in “Making the Cut: It Matters When Pruning Trees.”
“Different types of cuts can have a big impact on how a tree responds to pruning.”
— Penn State Extension
Every Pruning Cut Affects the Tree
Pruning removes living tissue and foliage. It also creates a wound that the tree must respond to.
Trees don’t heal damaged tissue in the same way people heal a cut. Instead, trees isolate damaged tissue and gradually grow new wood around wounds.
That makes the location and type of pruning cut important.
Penn State identifies three principal pruning cuts: heading cuts, branch removal cuts and reduction cuts. Each produces a different response from the tree.
Why Tree Topping Can Create Bigger Problems
One practice homeowners should be particularly cautious about is tree topping.
Topping generally involves indiscriminately shortening large branches rather than selectively pruning them back to appropriate branches or growth points.
It may seem logical that making a tree dramatically shorter would make it safer.
Unfortunately, improper topping can create exactly the opposite result.
Large improper cuts can encourage decay while triggering vigorous new shoots below the cuts. Those shoots can grow quickly but may have weak attachments.
Instead of permanently solving the problem, topping can leave a tree with decay and rapidly growing branches that may become future hazards.
Proper Pruning Has a Purpose
Professional pruning shouldn’t simply be about making a tree smaller.
Depending upon the tree and situation, pruning can be used to:
- Remove dead or damaged branches
- Improve structural integrity
- Reduce interference with structures
- Redirect growth
- Address damaged limbs
- Remove branches that pose hazards
- Improve clearance where appropriate
Different objectives require different cuts.
For example, properly removing an entire branch requires preserving important tissue around the branch attachment. Shortening a large branch generally requires selecting an appropriate lateral branch capable of assuming its growth.
These details may appear small, but they’re fundamental to good arboricultural practices.
Bigger Trees Require Bigger Considerations
There’s also an obvious safety issue.
Working from the ground with a small ornamental tree is very different from removing a large limb suspended 40 feet above a house.
Large-tree pruning involves considerable weight, specialized equipment and an understanding of how branches will behave once they’re cut.
The Bogan Tree Service takeaway: Good pruning should solve a problem without unnecessarily creating another one. Before removing major branches from a mature tree, consider not only what you want removed, but how the tree will respond after the work is completed.
Read the Original Article
Penn State Extension provides diagrams and a much more technical explanation of the different pruning cuts in “Making the Cut: It Matters When Pruning Trees.”
https://extension.psu.edu/making-the-cut-it-matters-when-pruning-trees
Source: Penn State Extension. Original source material is quoted for educational and commentary purposes.
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