pruning and cabling a mature maple

[dadio]

There was some discussion on another board about pruning and cabling and whether it is appropriate to make reduction cuts, rather than thinning cuts. This video provides a good example of the way I do things, which is to make reduction cuts, as I believe that will reduce more weight on the branch tips, (where the leverage is greatest), reducing the most stress on the tree's structure for the least amount of wounding and loss of leaves.

 

Here's the vid of a mature Norway Maple prune and cable.. the tree was in decline, and it was only after I saw the extensive sun scald that I asked the owner if another tree had been removed nearby. He said that yes indeed another larger tree had been removed. This must have been south/west of the tree shown here, and my guess is that it was done in early-mid summer..

 

anyhow here is the job.. once again there are no shots of the work actually being done, just a before, during and after with discussion of why and how cuts were made etc..

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDKTXJc8mcE]YouTube - ‪prune and cable declining maple.mov‬‏[/ame]

[RobArb]

STUBS...!!!!

[dadio]

That's right.. stubs are better than accidentally violating the living tissue of the parent stem or branch.. Do you really think leaving a short stub, less than 1-2" diameter, on the tip of a long branch is somehow bad for the tree. If so, you've been paying more attention to pruning standards than the trees themselves..

[RobArb]

From personal experience of working with other arbs who also purposefully left stubs, I have seen the trees exude stupid amounts of epi from said stubs because said stubs where left on, it's not hard to leave the branch bark collar intact without leaving a stub

[atree]

Stubs..!!

[tommer9]

stubs!!!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!

[skyhuck]

Fell it!!

[Paul Jenks]

Couldn't be bothered to watch the whole vid. Fell it.

[dadio]

From personal experience of working with other arbs who also purposefully left stubs, I have seen the trees exude stupid amounts of epi from said stubs because said stubs where left on, it's not hard to leave the branch bark collar intact without leaving a stub

 

There is no branch bark collar involved here. The stubs left were on branch tips, not at the parent stem. I thought I explained on the only stub that was left on the main stem, that it was out of reach of the bucket and I would finish the cut when the bucket was moved to the other side of the tree.

[monkey boy]

shouldnt really reduce trees in decline, think bout it do u like to work when ur sick