Pruning is an important part of landscaping. Essentially a grooming technique for your trees and shrubs, pruning extends the life of your plants, letting you enjoy them longer. However, different types of plants require different precautions while pruning them. While you can remain carefree while cutting thin branches, you must watch your step with the thicker ones.
You should only prune thick branches only for a few very specific reasons (for example to maintain the safety of pedestrians). You must also follow only a few very strict methods based on those reasons. Generally, these methods use three-step techniques to create a callus in place of the branch.
While pruning methods may seem daunting at first, they are simple to understand. You do need the right tools but keeping your trees healthy is easier than you might think. You just need to understand your trees and know the right techniques for encouraging the best callus growth.
Why Should You Prune Thick Branches?
While we landscape for the aesthetic value it brings to our properties, pruning does more than just make trees and shrubs look good. The grooming procedure offers many great health benefits along with it. We can see some of these benefits right away. Others happen over the life of the plant. Either way, you want to prune your trees correctly if you want to last.
Some of the common benefits for proper pruning include:
- Maintains safety – Pruning removes the low growing branches, so they do not impede movement on the vehicles and people passing by the tree. It also clears the view so people can see better. Finally, pruning removes split or broken branches before they fall and hurt someone.
- Rejuvenates the plant – Pruning prevents overgrown shrubs from splitting and turning into multi-trunk trees. It reduces the need for replacing the plant with a new one as well.
- Manage growth – You can push a tree to grow the way you want by pruning its branches at the right time. Each cut stops growth in that direction. Thus, by pruning, you can encourage strong branch structures in young trees.
- Eliminates unwanted growth – A part of managing the growth of the tree, pruning lets you remove branches you groom the tree into something desirable. This includes:
- Cut off wayward branches
- Remove suckers or shoots growing from the pros
- Remove water sprouts or shoots coming out of the trunk
- Thin out the branches.
- Control diseases – Pruning lets you remove diseased, dead, and pest-ridden branches to prevent the infections from spreading.
- Increase fruit and flower yields – Some flowering and fruit trees will bloom more often after a good pruning. The fruit often tastes better as well.
When Should You Prune Large Branches?
You can prune branchers at any time on the year, though different plants may have different recommended pruning seasons. Please note that pruning a tree out of season will not kill it. Only improper pruning can cause damage.
You do want to prune when you can do it right, though. While you are unlikely to miss it things up, you want to do the job when you can safely stand next to the tree, reach the target branch, and make your cut. Because of this, most of the time, you only want to prune branches during late winter or early spring when the tree is dormant and not growing. You also want to avoid mid-spring for similar reasons.
However, you may not want to cut the branch regardless of the time of the year. You prune large thick branches to manage safety and size, making it more important to do correctly. Improperly pruned branches can make the tree unstable.
Thus, you also understand the reasons you will do it as well. You never want to prune any live foliage from an adult tree except under an emergency as it can lead to decay.
Because of this, you only want to prune a thick branch if:
- Someone is trapped by the branch and removing it is the only way to save them.
- The branch is dead or diseased.
- The branch is a safety hazard
Thick Branch Pruning is a Process
While the best thing to do is to not prune thick branches, you want to ensure you are doing it correctly if you must do it. Improper pruning can deform or weaken the tree.
While the exact procedures will vary between types of trees, there are a few common pruning steps you can take with any large branch. Some of these steps are more involved than others, but they will lead you in the right direction.
These common pruning steps are:
- Plan out the pruning process
- Select the right tools
- Take the necessary precautions
- Make the required cuts
- Repair any resulting damage
A Planned Approach to Pruning
You always want to establish a plan before you push a chainsaw through a thick branch. This plan should include your reasons to prune as well as the order in which you will make your cuts. You should try to cut the branch from its origin point, but you might need several cuts to reach this point. While you should avoid it, you should also plan to cut a few nearby branches if needed to reach the target.
Other important considerations to the plan include the length and schedule of the pruning process, protective dressings for the exposed wound left once you remove the branch, and the equipment you will need to get the job done.
Choose Your Pruning Equipment
Pruning thick branches require tools that can eat through a lot of wood without issue. Proper wood cutting tools have easily maintainable sharp edges and easy to handle in any orientation. For instance, you do not want to prune a thick branch with a pair of hand pruning shears Just make sure you store them in a dry place and disinfected to prevent plant diseases from spreading.
Lopping Shears
Good lopping shears have the bite force to slice through branches of 2 inches or more. You also operate them with both hands, adding your strength to the mix.
Pole Pruners
Pole pruners work like large looping shears with a hooked blade as a part of their cutter assembly, though some use saws. Situated at the end of a long pole, you operate the cutter by pulling a rope. Depending on the model, the pole is either modular or telescopic to let you reach even the highest branches.
Pruning, Bow, or Tree Saws
Rigid or folding, pruning saw work well for branches too thick for the hand-operated tools. They also have wide teeth to allow better control of the resulting sawdust. Bow saws are best for when you have clear, unobstructed access to the branch.
Gas or Electric Powered Chainsaws
Chainsaws work nicely if you know how to use them, but you should only use them for the thickest branches. While they can rip through wood with ease, they can be a bit too much for most pruning jobs.
Wound Dressing
You need something you cover the exposed wood or wound you will leave behind after cutting off the branch. This dressing is mostly cosmetic, but it may help some trees heal faster. However, you never want to use pruning paint which does more harm than good.
Other Equipment
Besides your main cutting tool, you want a few landscaping tools to repair the wound created by the pruning. Some of these tools include gouges, chisels, mallets, and pruning knives.
All the equipment needed can be found on Amazon. Below is a list of great products that I use or would buy if I would need a replacement:
Make a Safe Place Around the Tree
With safety concerns already on your mind, you should not overlook your safety while pruning the branch. Cutting it can easily accelerate what may happen naturally and have the severed wood come crashing down on top of you.
- Make sure you can do the job before you do anything else. There is no shame in asking a professional arborist to prune your tree branch if the tree is large and the branch is up high, or if you cannot acquire the proper equipment.
- You are also working with sharp cutting tools with the power to saw through bone. Therefore, you want to wear protective gear when you approach the tree. You want to wear clothing that is loose enough to protect your arms, feet, and body, but will not get snagged by your pruning tool. You also want to wear safety glasses to shield your eyes from the sawdust.
- Properly maintain all your pruning equipment to keep them sharp and in good condition. Also, make sure you use the right tools for the job.
- Know where all the electrical lines near the tree are. You should have the power disconnected if a wire touches the tree.
- Never climb the tree without safety ropes. Ladders make scaling the tree easier, but they will not save you from falling.
- Keep fingers clear of the cutting head while pruning. If you must hold the branch, wear safety gloves.
- Cut the branch so that it will fall away from you. If you can, you should try to get level with the branch as much as possible so if it does fall straight down you will not be under it.
Finally, you should keep all non-essential people and pets away from the tree while you prune it. Falling branches can travel as it hits other branches or the trunk as they roll down.
The Three-Cut Pruning Method
To keep your tree healthy, you must prune thick and heavy branches at the collar near the base of the branch, but not flush to the trunk. The collar walls off the interior of the trunk, reducing the chance for disease and infections to pass through to the healthy parts of the tree.
You are free to cut anywhere else on the branch as needed, though most landscaping experts agree that you use a three-part cut. Three-part cuts help you dig into the thick wood without getting your cutting tool stuck and injuring you.
The most common three-part cut is:
- If required to protect lower branches, properly rope the target branch to support it during the cut while allowing you to slowly lower it to the ground afterward
- Cut about a third of the branch through the bottom about 6 inches to a foot away from the trunk
- Cut through the top about 3 inches away from the undercut until the branch falls away.
- Cut the resulting stub back to the collar
Check out this video to see how the three-part cut looks in more detail:
Repair any Resulting Tree Injuries
While you do not intend to injury your tree further than it already was, sometimes that is unavoidable. If you do cut off more than just the branch, you must treat the damaged area as soon as possible to prevent insect contamination and disease. Proper treatment also accelerates the healing of the wound while it protects the tree.
Just note that trees do not heal in the true sense of the word. If you damage your tree, it will never grow back to its pre-cut state. Instead, trees compartmentalize or isolate the wound from the rest of its tissue. The wood around the wound will eventually cover it up, but not before it starts to decolor.
If you accidentally cut more wood than expected, you can help quicken this compartmentalization with a little landscaping and some tree care techniques. These steps also work for natural disasters as well, giving you a toolset to use whenever your trees require servicing.
- If you have not done so earlier, prepare a safe zone surrounding the tree. Your pruning tools are your key repairing tools as well, and you might knock off a few more branches during your endeavor.
- If you accidentally crushed or stripped the bark of the trunk, you want to remove the broken and isolated bark and then shape the wound into something more manageable. The wound should end up as an elongated ellipse. If you cannot achieve this shape, you can settle by turning the top and bottom edges of the wound into points. You can make the wound bigger if you must do so to make the shape. You can then use a chisel to remove any splinted wood.
- If cavities or hollows from within the trunk, you should leave them alone and just clean them out on occasion. While gardeners used to fill in these holes with concrete, cement, bricks, and other materials, these fillings can backfire, leading to more severe insect infestations and disease. If water fills the cavity, you can shape the wound opening or drill a weep hole to let the water drain out.
If you are pruning the tree because of storm damage, please note that most lightning damage is internal and may be more severe than a broken branch. Because of this, some trees which look fine may die while the broken ones may live. Thus, you want to remove any damage you can see as soon as possible while encouraging new branches to develop.
Alternative Thick Branch Pruning Methods
The chief procedure for pruning large, thick branches is the three-cut method mentioned above, but how you make those cuts can vary from one tool to the next. Some will chomp through the wood like it is nothing, while other tools require more finesse.
You can even make the cuts with hand tools. No professional landscaper or arborist would recommend them, but you can use them if they are all you have. Machetes, hacksaws, and similar tools just require some extra safety precautions.
These tools also require extra instructions as each tool cuts through wood differently. Understanding how your pruning tool works will help prevent accidents to both you and the tree. Because of this, you want to learn these techniques before you approach the trees. That way you will never cut blindly.
Hacking Branches with a Machete
Machetes are traditional thick branch pruning tools, and many people still stand by them today. The diehards prefer them for many reasons including the rush of power that comes from using them to unleashing built-up stress and anger.
If you go this route, you do want to ensure your machete is as razor-sharp as possible. Remember, you must drive the blade through at least an inch-thick piece of wood. Otherwise, the pruning will be agonizingly slow along with branch chips flying everywhere. Plus, you will have more wound clean up afterward.
You must also have the space to drive the blade through the wood as well as a machete’s power comes solely from your muscles. The process with jar and rattle you and the tree, but at least you get that familiar hacking sound.
Cutting Branches with a Hacksaw
Without access to a chainsaw, you can still slice through the branch with a hacksaw. Hacksaws are quieter than machetes while giving you a cleaner cut. You can even use these saws in cramp spaces, provided you can move them back and forth through the wood. You can even use them with a blunt edge.
Hacksaws are more accessible as well as you can find them in any hardware store. However, they have a limited range of cutting power. Most hacksaws have too many teeth on their blades to efficiently cut through the thick wood.
You also must be next to the branch to use them as well. They are no use if it is high in the air. Hacksaws are great when you are in a bind, but you should never use them as your regular tree pruning tool.
Use a Pruning Saw Instead
If these hand tools are all you have, you can go ahead, and use them. However, you should consider using one of the dedicated pruning tools mentioned earlier. Tree pruning saws and shears come pre-built to handle even the thickest branches with more options than the hand tools can provide. Tree pruning equipment can even hand live green wood without getting stuck.
Tree pruning equipment can do these feats because of their big, wide teeth. These teeth are naturally sharp enough to cut a hole through the wood that is bigger than the blade itself. You must use a saw with large enough teeth to cut through your branch. Luckily, most tree pruning shears and saws come with the right number of teeth for the job.
General Tree Pruning Tips
Large branch pruning is rare because it is avoidable. Most trees can live their entire lives without needing their main branches pruned. So, if you must prune a thick branch, something seriously went wrong. That also means you risk your life attempting to save the tree.
To that end, you can keep yourself and the tree safe enough if you take a few precautions before aiming a cutting tool at the tree. These general tips go beyond just protecting you from harm. They ensure that both you can the tree can walk away from the pruning relatively intact.
Contact a Professional Arborist for Large Projects
Tree pruning is a project. It requires specialized knowledge, skills, and extensive planning to do right. Therefore, you should leave the largest and most established trees to qualified and licensed tree care specialists and arborists. Professional arborists have the training and experience to safely remove the large branches, along with the equipment to do it right.
Start Pruning Trees Early
Most experts recommend that you start pruning trees as soon as you plant them to remove any dead, diseased, or broken branches. You should then start regular pruning after the first winter. Regular pruning of smaller branches alleviates stress on the tree and its larger limbs.
Prune Most Trees During Winter
This routine pruning should occur during mid to late winter before the tree begins their annual growth. Pruning at any other time can introduce diseases if it causes new growth before temperatures drop. You can identify which branches to remove as autumn ends when the falling leaves reveal the wood underneath. The tree may bleed sap as you prune, but this is normal and does not hurt the plant.
If you must, you can prune a tree during the summer after the seasonal growth peaks. You must take extra precautions to not harm the tree if you do it, though summer pruning helps direct the tree’s development if done right.
Avoid Pruning Early Blooming Trees During Winter
While most tree pruning works best during winter, you should never prune early blooming trees before they bloom. These trees use the previous year’s growth to bloom, and you make prevent them from doing so if you prune off the tips over the winter.
Prune Late Blooming Trees During Spring
The opposite is true for late-blooming trees. These trees use the current year’s growth to bloom in the late spring or summer. As their life cycle happens later than most trees, you want to prune them later as well. Thus, you want to prune them during early springtime.
Keep Crown Thinning Consistent
Tree crown thinning allows more sunlight and air to pass through the foliage and is the most common reason to prune mature trees. The process removes a few live branches to reduce a tree’s density and the stress on its limbs from wind, gravity, snow, and ice.
You should routinely thin a tree’s crown, but you must ensure you keep the tree balanced while doing it, leaving the tree appearing unpruned. Generally, consistent thinning refers to maintaining about 80 percent of the tree branches by removing portions of its medium-sized branches.
- For large trees, prune off any branches between 1 and 4 inches in diameter
- For small trees, clip off the quarter to half-inch branches
Crown Raising Takes Time
If you must prune a limb to keep it clear of buildings, traffic, or your view, you should do it gradually over a few years. You never want to remove too much at once as that can weaken the tree. Thus, you should strive to keep the tree balanced as much as possible by only removing a few inches each year.
Reduce the Crown Instead of Topping the Tree
Topping a tree can damage the tree if done poorly. Instead, you should just reduce the crown to strengthen and encourage a tree to grow. Crown reduction is easier to do and is much gentler than topping. This is because it uses smaller cuts while keeping the tree’s growth structure intact.
While reducing the crown, you remove branches until they run flush to a growing nearby branch. This growing branch will serve as next year’s crown creating a gentler canopy.
Common Tree Pruning Mistakes
While pruning your tree, you should avoid some costly mistakes. These mistakes can harm you or the tree or so something worse. Some of these mistakes were considered pruning best practices in the past. So, you may get conflicting information on them, but science has recently revealed these practices were in error.
- Cutting branches too short – Only prune a branch up to the collar. The collar forms the scar tissue that will heal the tree once you finish cutting it. Removing it can prevent the tree from recovering, leading to disease, and seeping wounds.
- Not cutting enough – Collars only function once you completely remove the branch. Any leftover wood can prevent this.
- Not making relief cuts – Relief cuts reduce a limb weight so you can safely trim it back to the trunk. Without this reduction, gravity can rip the branch off the trunk causing damage to the tree.
Conclusion
You should never take thick branch pruning lightly. The massive weight of the limb can crush both you and the tree you are trying to protect. With the proper tools and techniques, you can safely remove the excess wood before it becomes a problem.