Forrest Rose
Information Specialist
573-882-6843
RoseF@missouri.edu
May 1, 2002
Proper pruning minimizes injury
to trees damaged by high winds
"Some branches will be able to recover if the damage is minor," said Chris Starbuck, state extension woody plants specialist. "If you have a branch with jagged edges on the break, it's very difficult for the tree to cover the wound with callus tissue. It's best to prune back to another branch, or even to the trunk."
Always cut back to a lateral branch, Starbuck said, and "never leave stubs. If you don't have any shoots above some branch tissue, that part will starve and die and eventually rot. It can serve as an entry point for fungal diseases."
A smooth surface promotes quicker healing, but never prune limbs flush with the trunk, he said. "We used to make it look pretty by cutting a branch off flush with the trunk. Now, the conventional wisdom is to start an inch or so away from the trunk on the bottom, then angle the cut so it's flush at the top.
"This preserves the branch collar - that rough, upraised tissue on the underside of the branch next to the trunk," Starbuck said. "Preserving the branch collar promotes production of callus tissue to cover over the pruning wound, and it also makes a smaller wound."
When high winds accompanied by heavy rains that soften the ground, " a lot of trees can get partially uprooted," he said. "They're leaning, and part of the root system is out of the ground. I've seen many cases where if a tree is straightened back up, it can recover. Actually, a tree can live for a long time in the slanted position."
Starbuck said the main concern regarding pruning involves safety. "When a lot of inexperienced people are turned loose with chainsaws, there's a lot of potential for them to hurt themselves - and their trees."
Source: Chris Starbuck (573) 882-9630
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