UGA Cooperative Extension

Bryan County Extension
Agriculture & Natural Resources

The Most Unkindest Cut Of All

Trees don't expect much and that's usually what they get, little care and a lot of abuse. Yet we expect our trees to live forever and produce shade for a life time. Eighty percent of tree failure is due to improper planting. Most trees are very resilient, but in time they will succumb because of a fifty-cent hole for a fifty-dollar tree. The thing that distresses me most is improper pruning. If you ride in almost any neighborhood, you can find trees that have been butchered in the name of pruning.

How do you know if you are a red neck? You are if you prune your trees with a 30-06 rifle. A couple of weeks ago when I went home to Mississippi, I noticed my old neighbor was out shooting what I thought was a squirrel. Big gun, small prey, but he informed me that he was shooting (pruning) some dead limbs out of a tree next to his patio. Yes, this is true. But as I look around, it looks like some folks have used a tank to prune some of their trees. Now I know what the loud explosions are, people pruning trees.

Winter is a great time to prune when trees are dormant. With no leaves on the tree, the arborist is better able to evaluate the tree's architecture and spot dead or diseased branches. Branches of trees can break due to excessive winds and sometimes from the weight of ice from a freak winter storm. This type of pruning is unavoidable.

Pruning may not be the fix all. Sometimes in the name of safety, trees need to be removed. Butchering (pruning) isn't the answer. Having a nice tree around the house is a dream for many homeowners. Having something hazardous hanging over our head is a nightmare. Somewhere between the dream and the nightmare a tree goes from being an asset to a liability. Any tree identified as hazardous should be promptly cared for, using the best arboricultural techniques to eliminate the hazardous state of the tree. If it cannot be made safe, or if the effort to make it safe would be too costly in terms of manpower or dollars, then the tree should be removed.