Daniel
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- Suburban Philadelphia (Wayne)
I was recently having a discussion about leaving stubs when pruning with Tom D and Guy M and I sent the following email as an example. Hopefully I can get the pics to downlaod:
Here's a story to share which may serve as an example of how leaving stubs can benefit trees and people.
This tree would have been a complete removal save for the fact that the customers wanted to keep the remaining portion of the tree because it provides food for the birds. The tree was crowding out a young DED resistant Elm, which had been developed at some mid west university by the customers brother, and was constantly dropping stuff on the the cars parked in the driveway.
The remaining 2/3 of the tree has a hard lean over an open lawn area with the only potential obstacle being the electric service lines to the neighbor's house. In addition to removing one of three main leads, the remaining center lead would need to be cut back hard from the young elm. I agreed to do the job and recommended leaving a large stub on the co-dominant stem to be removed, maybe 8-10' tall. I explained to the customer that it would be better for the tree to leave the stub rather than leave such a large wound on the trunk. The stub will most likely sprout out, and the sprouts can be pruned later. Leaving the cut high enough to be out of sight from the ground would also be better aesthetically for the property as the large cut would otherwise be right in immediate sight every time the customer drove up the driveway. I also cut the upper portion with a heading cut, leaving a stub as well...
In this situation, which should really be considered a partial removal, rather than pruning, do you think the tree is better or worse off with the stubs? I certainly think the tree is better off, as is the customer, for leaving the lower stub, though it might be removed or reduced some years down the road. The upper stub is more questionable.
Here's one pic of the tree from the driveway, the lead on the right is to be removed: pic 1
and another view from a different angle showing the adjacent elm: pic 2
here's a shot of the remains after pruning: pic 3
and a close up of the high heading cut, which I'd estimate to be around 6-8" in diameter. This cut could have come back a few inches without the danger of cutting into the live tissue on the upright stems. The stub may sprout out with water sprouts which would be fine with me, or just dry up. It is a questionable cut: pic 4
and here's a view of the competed job from the backyard, the lower cut is hard to see, just to the right of the telephone pole: pic5
Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated.
Here's a story to share which may serve as an example of how leaving stubs can benefit trees and people.
This tree would have been a complete removal save for the fact that the customers wanted to keep the remaining portion of the tree because it provides food for the birds. The tree was crowding out a young DED resistant Elm, which had been developed at some mid west university by the customers brother, and was constantly dropping stuff on the the cars parked in the driveway.
The remaining 2/3 of the tree has a hard lean over an open lawn area with the only potential obstacle being the electric service lines to the neighbor's house. In addition to removing one of three main leads, the remaining center lead would need to be cut back hard from the young elm. I agreed to do the job and recommended leaving a large stub on the co-dominant stem to be removed, maybe 8-10' tall. I explained to the customer that it would be better for the tree to leave the stub rather than leave such a large wound on the trunk. The stub will most likely sprout out, and the sprouts can be pruned later. Leaving the cut high enough to be out of sight from the ground would also be better aesthetically for the property as the large cut would otherwise be right in immediate sight every time the customer drove up the driveway. I also cut the upper portion with a heading cut, leaving a stub as well...
In this situation, which should really be considered a partial removal, rather than pruning, do you think the tree is better or worse off with the stubs? I certainly think the tree is better off, as is the customer, for leaving the lower stub, though it might be removed or reduced some years down the road. The upper stub is more questionable.
Here's one pic of the tree from the driveway, the lead on the right is to be removed: pic 1
and another view from a different angle showing the adjacent elm: pic 2
here's a shot of the remains after pruning: pic 3
and a close up of the high heading cut, which I'd estimate to be around 6-8" in diameter. This cut could have come back a few inches without the danger of cutting into the live tissue on the upright stems. The stub may sprout out with water sprouts which would be fine with me, or just dry up. It is a questionable cut: pic 4
and here's a view of the competed job from the backyard, the lower cut is hard to see, just to the right of the telephone pole: pic5
Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated.
