Proper Tree Lopping Techniques

Proper limbing can help to prevent a tree from becoming a widowmaker (a fallen tree that causes injury or property damage because it lands on or hangs from adjacent trees). While removing branches from standing timber, consider not cutting above your shoulders. This allows you to better control your saw and reduces the risk of serious injuries or fatalities. This practice also encourages controlled, healthy new growth.

For large branches, it is best to make a slanting cut rather than an undercut. This allows a section of the wood to function as a hinge and guide the tree to fall in a desired direction. It also helps to reduce the weight of the limb and makes it easier to roll or move the log. For both undercuts and slanting cuts, make them on the side of the branch facing the direction of the intended fall.

To prevent a stump or stub from being left behind, use three cuts instead of just one. The first cut should be made on the underside of the branch and should travel about 18 inches up the branch. The second cut should be made on the topside of the branch, about 3 inches up from the first cut. The third cut should be outside of the branch collar, which is an area of swollen bark around the base of the trunk. This will ensure that a callus forms quickly.

Cleansing removes diseased, weakly attached, and dead limbs from the crown of a tree. Raising is the selective pruning of limbs to lower the height of a tree, often for clearance for buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, or vistas. Reduction is the selective pruning of a tree to maintain its natural form and structural integrity. It is a process that does not involve removing limbs that are not required for the terminal role of the tree and, unlike topping, minimizes tree stress and decay.

Avoid forming narrow crotches in your limbing work, as this may result in bark becoming trapped between limbs and causing weak attachment. Narrow crotches are also a fire hazard and pose a safety hazard to the public.

When pruning in an orchard, prune to maximize economic return and stimulate early fruit production. When pruning landscape trees, prune to maintain a tree’s natural form and health, minimize hazards caused by improper pruning and unrestricted branch growth and follow the proper pruning information provided in MU Extension publications G5160, Pruning Orchard Trees, and G6866, Pruning and Care of Landscape Trees. When size-reduction pruning is necessary, do so in a manner that will not affect the tree’s ability to produce quality fruit or provide adequate structural support for buildings and structures. Avoid topping, which can cause a number of problems including unacceptable risk, poor structure and weak attachment and requires continuous, intensive maintenance. For more information on proper pruning techniques, contact your county extension agent or consult an arborist.

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