Pruning scar...Gingko

[che]

I just came across this photo...I thought it was pretty interesting. I've always heard that if pruned correctly a tree will 'heal itself' and scar over the wound. To be honest, I've seen the end results, but never noticed it 'mid healing'. Thought I'd share this here since there's alot of 'tree lovers' here...kinda pretty.

Che

 

[Dave]

Hi Che, welcome to Arboristsite- how's things at the "cranky moderator shed forum"? If a limb is removed correctly, (cut made at the branch collar) it will heal best. If flush cut, all the healing tissue is removed with the branch. If a stub is left, the tissue has to grow out over the stub. As the stub rots away, you are left with a funnel to feed the tree nastyness.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

that cut looks like a slightly flushe wound.
For the poor closing is that when a branch puts on wood the pring wood is the branch then the sumer wood is from the trunk (The two shades of ring color.) this is what develops the branch colar and protection zones. I think I heard once the the fibers in the spring wood are bent and compressed to form these boundries. If the branch started at the same time as the main stem, that is the pith is connected, Gilman is clasifing this as a codom being that there are no boundries, no true collar, so no cood wound closing.

SO if we don't wound the colar wich is trunk wood, the wound closes up in a near perfect doughnut.

It is a far, far better thing to stub a little,
then to flush at all.

 

[che]

Hi Dave,

Pretty uneventful over there....there's still some good advice from some regulars but it's just not too lively anymore. I did just help a girl scout needing a badge requirement of an 'essential gardening tools' list though. (no....I didn't tell her she needed a chain saw) ;-)

John, You're saying I cut into the collar a bit too much? I've got lots to practice on....if I can't figure it out, I'll post a picture if you all don't mind.

Thanks,
Che

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Unless it was a branch that started out with the main stem (one of my other posts today).

A true branch will usualy have a circular closing and after you cut it off the rings should be close to equal in size top to bottom. Notice on your picture that the the upper left has a bigger area of woundwood and almost none in the bottom right near none.All of us ahve pooched a cut from time to time.

if it was a codom branch then there was no realy god target to prune too. On that size of stem it is all to possible. Another reason to subordinate low...opps, flatfile asked me to stop that.

Stubs are the lesser of the two evils.