Pruning For Quality: Lateral Branches

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So far in this little pruning series we have corrected stag-headed trees and fixed steep branch angles and forks.  Those cuts make for sound, long lived, and merchantable trees.  Merchantability may not be your goal with your yard trees, but you do want strong trees that do not break up in storms.  The next priority is to remove lateral branches.  This will allow timber trees to grow higher quality wood, and your yard trees need this treatment so you can walk under them, and mow under them.  Try to do your pruning before the lateral branches reach an inch in diameter.

Make the first cut about 4 inches away from the trunk on the under side of the branch. The second cut comes in from the top and takes off the weight of the branch.  The third cut removes all of the stub while leaving the branch collar intact. The purpose of this order of cuts is to prevent bark from tearing down the side of the tree.  If the weight of the branch is not too much, you can hang onto the branch and make only cut number three, but be careful.  The bark tears very easily during springtime.

Use a sharp saw, and oil it when you are finished.  Do not lay your saw in the bed of a pickup truck, or other places where the teeth may touch metal.  I like to wrap mine in cardboard when they are not being used.  A small chainsaw scabbard is a good cover.

I like to buy only the blades and mount them in an axe handle so I can use both arms when I am sawing.  That makes a big difference in your sawing ability when you have a bunch of branches to prune.

After you have taken off the live lateral branches your final pruning priority is to take off dead branches.  Again, leave the live tissue in the branch collar alone when you are taking those off.

Pruning's Second Priority: Forks, Bad Branch Angles, Included Bark

Strong branch angles are wide, almost 90°.  As branch angles become more acute, they grow weaker.  Forked trees, and forks with included bark are at high risk for breakage, and of course forked trees may not be merchantable as logs, or they will have a shorter merchantable length than unforked trees.

Forked trees are hazardous to property improvements, as is this hackberry that threatens a house.

Pears are all about bad branch angles, and you can't fight them.  Plant your pear trees away from your house so you can enjoy them without worrying when they will break and fall on you.  With pears you can only prune out branches that interfere with one another.  You can't correct their form to what we would like.  We can learn from the damage up close on pears, so study what happens when included bark, weak angles, and wind all come together.  [Better Idea: Do Not Plant Bradford Pears At All!  Remove the ones you have and replace them with a better tree. Bradford Pears are nothing but trouble, and they reproduce like crazy in our natural woodlands}

It happens in timber, too, and it is up too high to correct it.  High risk trees like this one should be harvested early, as soon as a harvest occurs after the defective tree reaches a merchantable size.

Maples are always poplular for shade trees, but they are more prone to breaking apart in their joints than any other tree.  This broken tree was ready to fall on a house, and the owner still was looking for a way to save it.  Don't fret over problems like this.  Just take it out before it gets you.

This was a handsome pitch pine with included bark in a high fork.  A strong gust during a thunderstorm whipped it and broke out both sides of the fork.  The dark area at the top is a patch of the offending bark that weakened the tree.

Prevention is the key, if you can reach it.  Cut off one side, first leaving a stub to get the weight off without ripping bark, then make a second cut to get rid of the stub.  Try to do your corrections before the fork passes 2" diameter.  I prefer 1" so I don't have to pull on the saw for long, but a 2" wound will heal quickly enough to keep rot out.

Pruning Begins At The Top

Folks are getting out and doing yard work again, so a little pruning advice is always good.  You need to evaluate your young trees from the top down.  A tree with a mis-shapen top is never going to be a good one and pruning side branches won't correct it. Go to the top and select one fork to be the leader.

Use duct tape to bring it upright and clip the tops off the other leaders you have taped it to.  That will destroy their dominance.

Other forks that are not taped up can be cut off at their bases

Now you have a good tree.  Clip the long stubs off in a year or two after the straightened fork decides to stay in position.  Don't do any additional pruning at this time, because you have shocked the tree enough for one growing season.