We at the City of Bastrop hope that everyone had a great holiday season. Now that we are in a new year, we would like to make sure our citizens are starting their year with healthy trees. Here are some tips for maintaining and caring for your trees to help keep the city beautiful for all.
Whether your trees are young or fully mature in size, correct pruning practices are always good to know to assure good structure and healthy growth of your trees. Always be sure to disinfect your cutting tools with a general disinfectant or bleach diluted in water before pruning. It is best to disinfect in-between pruning of each different tree, as well.
When pruning, it is recommended that the final cut be made just out the branch bark ridge and branch collar as seen here. The ability to see these formations within each branch union is dependent upon the species of tree you have in front of you.


Here are some examples of incorrect pruning cuts:


On the left we see a limb that was not removed completely back to the branch union. On the right we see two limbs that were not cut back to the branch unions and could be classified as improper heading cuts. Cuts shown are not recommended because they don’t allow the tree to properly heal over the pruning wound and cuts like this could also leave a tree vulnerable to disease, decay, and insect pests.
Another aspect of pruning to remember is the weight of the limb/s that you are pruning from your tree/s. If you do not remove the weight of the limb before making your final pruning cut, you could end up peeling the bark off the tree from the limb, branch union, and trunk.


The Three-Cut Method for pruning is the most commonly seen and taught way of removing slightly large to medium sized limbs from a tree.

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Undercut the branch a few inches away from the trunk to prevent bark tearing. Only cut part way through the bottom of the branch.
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Move a short distance away from the first cut, further out on the branch and cut al the way through to remove the entire branch. This will eliminate the weight of the branch, allowing you to make the final pruning cut. If the falling branch tears the bark off the trees as it drops, the bark tear will stop at the first cut.
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Start the third pruning cut on the outside edge of the branch-bark ridge and cut through the branch to the outside edge of the collar swelling on the underside of the branch. Remove only the branch; do not damage the trunk or branch collar.
When removing tree branches, don’t ever cut the branch flush with the trunk or parent limb, be sure to always leave a short stub, to preserve the branch collar so the tree can heal over the wound more easily.
Here are some examples of correct pruning cuts and how they can look when completely healed:



When correct pruning cuts are made the tree is given the best chance to heal correctly and quickly to avoid disease and decay from entering at the pruning wound and possibly spreading inward through the tree. Take some time to inspect the trees in your yard and see if you can spot the branch unions and how they may look different from tree to tree.