How to cut off branches to get a nice heal over?

[Saddler]

@M. Frary I have concave cutters and have used them with mild success. Leaving the collar is something I have not tried, but I will next time the opportunity arises. I have some Japanese cut paste that I don't really like because once its on, its on until the wound heals or I spend the afternoon scraping it off.

 

[Saddler]

@Dav4 I'll find something with silly putty like properties and give it a whirl.

 

[M. Frary]

@M. Frary I have concave cutters and have used them with mild success. Leaving the collar is something I have not tried, but I will next time the opportunity arises. I have some Japanese cut paste that I don't really like because once its on, its on until the wound heals or I spend the afternoon scraping it off.

If you leave the branch collar you get a bump. It's a technique used by arborists to help healing faster cot trees trimmed in the landscape.
Go look at trees trimmed along powerlines. If they were done right all removed branches will have been cut leaving the collar. It's actually called a collar cut.
I know because I'm one of those guys.

 

[Smoke]

Deciduous trees should be pruned in fall after leaf fall. The tree will not begin healing till spring. This will give the wound time to compartmentalize and heal as a smaller unit. If major cut are made during the heavy growing time, the callus will be thick and unsightly.

Conifers and pines should be treated as Dave suggested and made part of the total image by leaving jin stubs and treating them later with lime sulpher or removal flush with trunk after drying.

 

[Saddler]

@M. Frary I have noticed the collar cuts (now I know what they are) before and thought how great some of them would look carved out to make a nice uro. I have had an eye on half dozen cuts on large trees around the city to watch how they heal over the coming years.

Deciduous trees should be pruned in fall after leaf fall. The tree will not begin healing till spring. This will give the wound time to compartmentalize and heal as a smaller unit. If major cut are made during the heavy growing time, the callus will be thick and unsightly.

Conifers and pines should be treated as Dave suggested and made part of the total image by leaving jin stubs and treating them later with lime sulpher or removal flush with trunk after drying.

@Smoke I have slowly been coming to that conclusion on my own. I have read numerous times to cut in the spring for a fast heal of cuts, and have found that it only is applicable to smaller (pencil sized and under) branches and even then some take a few years to smooth the bump over. By making the cut in the fall, does it slow down the healing the next growing season? In my limited and very unscientific data pool, it seems like it takes at least twice as long. I am not bothered if it does, I am curious to know if it something I am doing or not doing to inhibit the growth of the callous or if that is just how it works and and maybe slower growth is best long for the long term growth of the tree.

When something grows as slowly as a tree, you really need be to into them for a long time to be able to learn their growing patterns, habits, and reactions. Doing a trunk chop on a maple and watching it heal for five years only to learn that this has gone wrong or that happened makes for slow learning. Particularly if you don't have enough trees to be trying a bigger technique at least once a year if not more. It only took me six years to learn to buy enough trees that I can try a lot of this on them fairly often, well, once they all recover from being repotted this spring.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Is this not what knob cutters and concave cutters made for? Slightly concave cut heals off more flat. Some trees not heal over wounds so leave jin or expect open wound.

 

[Saddler]

Is this not what knob cutters and concave cutters made for? Slightly concave cut heals off more flat. Some trees not heal over wounds so leave jin or expect open wound.

Yes, but I am looking for information that is a little more nuanced then that.

 

[Eric Group]

I know what you mean...
And I understand your frustration.

Gotta start with a sharp saw and a clean cut.
The work has to be done...
I been dremeling and hand sanding edges.

Unfortunately....

I believe it is lack of excellent growth that makes it a Bitch.

Add North.

Sorce

..And using a saw and Dremel- get an Exacto knife and cut the edges clean, as well as the surface of the cut wood- it will heal much better. Smoother and faster.

 

[Saddler]

..And using a saw and Dremel- get an Exacto knife and cut the edges clean, as well as the surface of the cut wood- it will heal much better. Smoother and faster.

I use a utility knife with the break off blades and clean the cut with thar making smooth sharp edges. If my blade gets even the tiniest bit dull, I snap it off and use a fresh one. I have always done this, not because I knew it was good for the tree, but being a chef I can't take any ragged edges I have cut. And I like precision knife work lol.

 

[Eric Group]

I use a utility knife with the break off blades and clean the cut with thar making smooth sharp edges. If my blade gets even the tiniest bit dull, I snap it off and use a fresh one. I have always done this, not because I knew it was good for the tree, but being a chef I can't take any ragged edges I have cut. And I like precision knife work lol.

I started doing it a few years ago.. it can become an obsession! I firmly believe it is an important part of improving the healing of wounds on trees.. the smoother the cut the faster the heal!