pruning tips & techniques

What do people think of Gary Knowlton's recommendation to use blend of beeswax and orange oil for prune cuts and pure orange terpene oil for damage. Seems to make sense, probably not a magic bullet but with repeated treatment over the course of years could ward off vectors and slow decay while...

Inherited a lot of bad pruning jobs from prior owner, stubs everywhere, see pics. Some of the stubs have decay and I'm inclined to cut a bit of the collar that's grown up on the stub to get the tree to "re-heal" around a fresh cut. What do you think? got some pine, sycamore, crab apple, maple...

I've been cutting dead branches from mature oaks around my house. After study, most cuts seem reasonably straight forward but this one has me puzzled. I invite your feedback and advice. Allow me to apologize in advance for not taking photos before cutting and even more importantly, cutting...

I'm about to prune a lot of mature oaks that have never been pruned before. My objective is mostly limited to removing dead limbs in an effort to improve tree health. I'm sure rot from some of these limbs will have moved past the branch collar into the trunk. My question has to do with what to...

A couple of basic questions about pruning. From what I’ve read the best time of year to prune many trees is often around the very end of winter, say February. What about dead or diseased limbs? Is the best time to prune them whenever you discover them? Also, what about pruning a tree to reduce...

One of the problems I have pruning dead branches from oaks is that, by the time the optimal season for pruning arrives, leaves have fallen and it is not necessarily as easy to discern branches that should be trimmed. Of course, one could mark these while the leaves are up for pruning later in...

Pruning is key for training plants, maintaining plant health, restricting growth, and improving the quality of flowers, stems, foliage, and fruit. Many people believe that they can chop off a few branches as needed and call it good. In reality, pruning improperly can actually do more harm than...