Trees

#3: How to Make a Pruning Cut

Pruning Cuts

#1 - Don't Top Trees!
#2 - 1/3 and 1/4 Rules of Pruning
#3 - How to Make a Pruning Cut
#4 - The Value of Mulch
#5 - Where Roots Really Grow
#6 - Girdling Kills Trees
#7 - How to Plant a Containerized Tree
#8 - How to Plant a Bare-root Tree
#9 - Your Street Trees May Be City Trees

Large Limbs:

A: Make a partial cut from beneath.

B: Make a second cut from above several inches out and allow the limb to fall.

C: Complete the job with a final cut just outside the branch collar.

Small Branches:

Make a sharp clean cut, just beyond a lateral bud or other branch.

Correct cut.

Incorrect cuts are too close, left too long, or cut at too much of an angle.

No shade tree? Blame not the sun but yourself.
—Chinese Proverb