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To seal or not to seal? (Tree limbs after cutting)

2K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  johncanfield 
#1 ·
I used to help my Dad trim trees when I was a kid. He was very particular about it. He carefully sealed each cut that was more than about a inch in diameter. He also sterilized his saw after each cut because he didn't want to spread any tree diseases.

So I've always thought that you had to seal trees when you pruned them. But I have a neighbor that insists it's not necessary to seal them. So I may be guilty of "old school of thought." But I know there are some serious tree experts on this forum, so I thought I'd ask. I'd rather not spend the extra time and money on tree sealer, but I also want to do what's best for the trees.

Keane
 
#3 ·
I'm with ya, old school habits are hard to break and I used o use the spray can of wound treatment.

Research though has shown that wound treatment actually slows the healing process and provides an environment that actually promotes decay. Depending on your location, when trimming oak trees, trimming is best done in late November through late February to decrease the likelihood of oak wilt.

No need to treat, its more important to place your cuts properly, google up Dr. Alex Shigo method of tree pruning.
 
#8 ·
I'm with ya, old school habits are hard to break and I used o use the spray can of wound treatment.

Research though has shown that wound treatment actually slows the healing process and provides an environment that actually promotes decay. Depending on your location, when trimming oak trees, trimming is best done in late November through late February to decrease the likelihood of oak wilt.

No need to treat, its more important to place your cuts properly, google up Dr. Alex Shigo method of tree pruning.
That was what I was told by a forester who came to give my 150 year old trees a check up.
 
#4 ·
A few months ago I Googled this subject for what I was doing. What I took away from it was to let the tree do its own healing. No wound treatment.
(I too grew up watching dad put a tar-ish substance on the prune cut, so I didn't know either)
 
#6 ·
These guys have it right, takes longer to heal if you use that stuff. Small cut at the bottom then cut the top. Don’t prune in the spring, fall-winter is best.
 
#10 ·
The clean your saw/shears between trees is excellent advice. Here in Massachusetts most orchard pruning is done in the late winter/early spring, also depends on the kind of tree as well.
 
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#11 ·
As far as whether to seal, or not, we had a tree with the opposite situation,,

A cherry tree split this Spring, and we did not want to loose either "half" of the tree,,,



The tree is about 8 inches in diameter just below the "Y"...

So, I decided to put a 1/2" threaded rod through the "Y",,
I selected a location that I was pretty sure the 12 inch long drill bit I had would reach through the tree,,

I miss-guessed by about an inch, but, luckily, I was able to drive the threaded rod through the last inch of the tree like a "nail"



Once the rod was through, I added washers, and the nut to the protruding rod, and tightened the nut,,

The gap closed by over half due to the clamping force of the rod,,



That threaded rod was added in mid-June,,

So, what happened was the tree almost immediately started oozing sap, which ended up filling the remaining gap in the tree split,,
I expect by next summer, you will not be able to tell the split in the tree was there,,,

If the tree lives long enough (which I think it will,,,) the threaded rod, washers, and nuts should be grown over,,

Maybe someone in the future will hit the steel with their chain saw,, and say a few choice words in my memory,,,,:lolol:

So, in the case of my tree,, nothing was added to seal the tree wound, the tree fixed its own open wound,,,
 
#12 ·
As far as whether to seal, or not, we had a tree with the opposite situation,,

A cherry tree split this Spring, and we did not want to loose either "half" of the tree,,,


The tree is about 8 inches in diameter just below the "Y"...

So, I decided to put a 1/2" threaded rod through the "Y",,
I selected a location that I was pretty sure the 12 inch long drill bit I had would reach through the tree,,

I miss-guessed by about an inch, but, luckily, I was able to drive the threaded rod through the last inch of the tree like a "nail"



Once the rod was through, I added washers, and the nut to the protruding rod, and tightened the nut,,

The gap closed by over half due to the clamping force of the rod,,



That threaded rod was added in mid-June,,

So, what happened was the tree almost immediately started oozing sap, which ended up filling the remaining gap in the tree split,,
I expect by next summer, you will not be able to tell the split in the tree was there,,,

If the tree lives long enough (which I think it will,,,) the threaded rod, washers, and nuts should be grown over,,

Maybe someone in the future will hit the steel with their chain saw,, and say a few choice words in my memory,,,,:lolol:

So, in the case of my tree,, nothing was added to seal the tree wound, the tree fixed its own open wound,,,
I would be willing to bet the tree is not long for this world and is probably hollow some where in the trunk.
What does the top look like?
 
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#16 ·
The county extension agent in central Florida always advised to not paint any cut limb but here in the Texas Hill Country we have oak wilt (mainly live oaks are affected) carried by I think a beetle so certain times of the year we paint.
 
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