I had to take a slightly larger limb than I prefer to cut off a tree in my
yard today. A six inch limb at a major fork. If it was not at a fork I
would not be concerned. The tree is fairly young, planted 15 years ago as
1.5" caliper. Some named variety of Honey Locust.

I left a nice collar but I wonder if I might not be better off to make it a
bit smaller so it can heal better.

If anyone in this group has knowledge about this topic I will post some pics
with links.

Colbyt

On Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:28:28 -0400, "Colbyt"
wrote:

I had to take a slightly larger limb than I prefer to cut off a tree in my
yard today. A six inch limb at a major fork. If it was not at a fork I
would not be concerned. The tree is fairly young, planted 15 years ago as
1.5" caliper. Some named variety of Honey Locust.

I left a nice collar but I wonder if I might not be better off to make it a
bit smaller so it can heal better.

If anyone in this group has knowledge about this topic I will post some pics
with links.

Colbyt


Best to wait until the tree is dormant. Do apply anything to the cut,
it will heal all by itself. All you need to do is keep it clean.

on 9/12/2009 5:37 PM (ET) Phisherman wrote the following:
On Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:28:28 -0400, "Colbyt"
wrote:


I had to take a slightly larger limb than I prefer to cut off a tree in my
yard today. A six inch limb at a major fork. If it was not at a fork I
would not be concerned. The tree is fairly young, planted 15 years ago as
1.5" caliper. Some named variety of Honey Locust.

I left a nice collar but I wonder if I might not be better off to make it a
bit smaller so it can heal better.

If anyone in this group has knowledge about this topic I will post some pics
with links.

Colbyt



Best to wait until the tree is dormant. Do apply anything to the cut,
it will heal all by itself. All you need to do is keep it clean.

My wife paints all cut with Elmer's Glue.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

willshak wrote:
on 9/12/2009 5:37 PM (ET) Phisherman wrote the following:
On Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:28:28 -0400, "Colbyt"
wrote:


I had to take a slightly larger limb than I prefer to cut off a
tree in my yard today. A six inch limb at a major fork. If it was
not at a fork I would not be concerned. The tree is fairly young,
planted 15 years ago as 1.5" caliper. Some named variety of Honey Locust.

I left a nice collar but I wonder if I might not be better off to
make it a bit smaller so it can heal better.

If anyone in this group has knowledge about this topic I will post
some pics with links.

Colbyt



Best to wait until the tree is dormant. Do apply anything to the
cut, it will heal all by itself. All you need to do is keep it
clean.
My wife paints all cut with Elmer's Glue.

Paint it shut - keep it from properly healing over.

Colbyt wrote:
I had to take a slightly larger limb than I prefer to cut off a tree
in my yard today. A six inch limb at a major fork. If it was not at
a fork I would not be concerned. The tree is fairly young, planted 15
years ago as 1.5" caliper. Some named variety of Honey Locust.

I left a nice collar but I wonder if I might not be better off to
make it a bit smaller so it can heal better.

Did you *cut* at the collar or do you mean you left a stub?

A fork is where it *should* be cut; a mid-branch will never heal.
Unfortunately, most people - including pros - butcher trees when they trim.

When cutting, you need to determine the location of the "collar" between
limb and trunk. That location can be difficult to spot sometimes, depending
on type of tree, but it is where the bark direction changes from vertical on
the trunk to sideways at the limb. You need to cut just above the collar so
that the cambium layer from the trunk can overgrow the cut. Here's a link
to a photo (red = collar, blue = cut line)...
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto...ines3_Full.jpg

and to the article.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4712042_cut-tree-limbs.html

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"dadiOH" wrote in message
...
Colbyt wrote:
I had to take a slightly larger limb than I prefer to cut off a tree
in my yard today. A six inch limb at a major fork. If it was not at
a fork I would not be concerned. The tree is fairly young, planted 15
years ago as 1.5" caliper. Some named variety of Honey Locust.

I left a nice collar but I wonder if I might not be better off to
make it a bit smaller so it can heal better.

Did you *cut* at the collar or do you mean you left a stub?

A fork is where it *should* be cut; a mid-branch will never heal.
Unfortunately, most people - including pros - butcher trees when they
trim.

When cutting, you need to determine the location of the "collar" between
limb and trunk. That location can be difficult to spot sometimes,
depending on type of tree, but it is where the bark direction changes from
vertical on the trunk to sideways at the limb. You need to cut just above
the collar so that the cambium layer from the trunk can overgrow the cut.
Here's a link to a photo (red = collar, blue = cut line)...
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto...ines3_Full.jpg

and to the article.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4712042_cut-tree-limbs.html

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico


Thanks for the post and the picture link.

That pretty much is where I cut. I may sharpen the angle a little after I
clear the mess and really study it. My branch was more vertical and that
was the confusing part. The limb had to go no matter what the eventual
outcome. Would have been better for the tree if I had done it years ago.


Colbyt