Monkey D's big alternative mimicking natural prunning thread

[David Humphries]

Appologies for the micky take on the thread title Tony.

 

Placing the late great Shigo aside for a while, which is harder for some than others, what beter way to watch & learn how the greatest most natural pruning takes place, than by mimicking how Trees actually do it.

 

Leaving stubs, to develope collars and occlusion in there own time & not as part of a complete amputation.

How often do we see cut prunning wounds fail to completely occlude.

 

This is not a place for the feint hearted or 3998 sticklers, you lot may grab your coats on the way out

 

Here's the start of what should/will be, a series of visual controls to see what happens.

 

First shot is a natural fracture on Beech thats been hit by shed limb from above.

Note what appears to be both epicormic & adventitious sprouts from the fracture callousing & on the trunk.

The next shot is a replication of this, again on Beech, which was on a younger tree being halo'd for an adjacent Veteran Pollard.

Haven't had the chance to get back to this one yet, but will update when I can.

 

Last two are a natural delamination & a replication.

This ones more to do with aesthetics.

 

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Edited March 13, 2010 by Monkey-D

[Dean Lofthouse]

If removing say one big limb from a garden tree, I like to leave a 2ft stub then go back a year later to take it off, just my thing, I have it in my head that it will compartment off better

[Stephen Blair]

so bir rips andshatters are the future, mmmmmmmmmmm.

mark bolam will be pleased lol

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

If removing say one big limb from a garden tree, I like to leave a 2ft stub then go back a year later to take it off, just my thing, I have it in my head that it will compartment off better

 

Im with you there dean,

 

cracking beech simulation cuts David, well impressed with those:thumbup1:

[Ben Ballard]

nice cuts mate on the beech it harder than it looks to mimick breaks we have started to do a few about the place away from gardens up in the woods as not everybodys cup of tea yet ,made a natural fracture using my crane grab other week :001_smile

[David Humphries]

If removing say one big limb from a garden tree, I like to leave a 2ft stub then go back a year later to take it off, just my thing, I have it in my head that it will compartment off better

 

 

 

So what drove you to do this the first time Dean?

 

Something you read or talked over.

 

Lazyness.

 

Or just gut instinct?

 

Have you ever noticed whether there has been swelling of the natural collar when you've left a stub?

 

 

 

Here's some natural stubs showing collar swelling and a naturally severed branch & dynamic occlusion on Hornbeam.

 

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[Will Hinchliffe]

Cor blimey you wouldnt want to swing of the end of a branch and impale yourself on one of those:001_huh:. I really like the open split one, how did you create that ?

[David Humphries]

Cor blimey you wouldnt want to swing of the end of a branch and impale yourself on one of those:001_huh:. I really like the open split one, how did you create that ?

 

 

 

There may be sado-masochistic arbs out there Will, don't be so safist

 

 

The split was a big long up-turning lateral, with loads of top tension, the top cut was made where the stub ends, quite shallow & very acute backwards toward the trunk.

Climber retreated to safety & with a tag line toward the tip, the branch was pulled down.

 

It was an ugly, loud crack, not sure what the dog walkers thought when they heard it.

 

 

 

 

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[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

a few natural ones.

 

 

 

[Ian C]

Looks like the Caravan utilising nomadic travelers have been doing it right all along!

 

Dean, like your thinking re the 2 foot stub but i cant be arsed to trave a 20m round trip to go back up a tree to knock off a stub, right off to the BBC for me.