Abstract

OSSENBRUGGEN, SHARON. 1985. A properly placed cut is crucial to healthy pruning. Am. Nurseryman 161(6): 132-136.

For protection, trees wall off dying branches. Every branch has internal tissues that separate it from the trunk. As this tissue forms, the bark is forced upward to form a raised ridge on the trunk that separates the branch from the trunk. This is the branch bark ridge. It is the guide to proper pruning. Proper pruning means removing dead, dying, or living branches so that the branch collar is not injured or removed. The recommended pruning is called natural target pruning. It is natural because the cut lines are made along those that the tree forms for natural shedding. It is target pruning because the tree provides target points as guides for the cut. These target points are obvious on most trees, even more so on dying and dead branches.

• © 1986, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.