Quote:
Originally Posted by Underwor  What are your thoughts about leaving a long stub, so that the tree will start to compartmentalize near the proper place for a cut, while the entrance for pathogens is still a long distance away. The theory is that this starts the process while the pathogen is a long way from the tree's heart so to speak, then you cut off the stub. It also makes the proper place to cut the stub easier to see, since the remaining stem will have started to grow around it in a year or so, leaving a very definite ridge. Of course, this is more labor intensive, but it might be something to consider on your higher end customers, who take a deal of interest in educating themselves as well as caring for their trees. |
Yes thats very interesting and has some merit, but as for having clients who are going to follow the explaination of why i would be leaving a stub then returning later to remove same stub, can't see it, not in my current market place.
But in terms of what is actually going on in the tree yes I'd agree with the arguement that the tree will form both chemical and physical barriers behind the cut irrespective of the final location (given its away from the ideal finishing line) Not sure how you'd locate the that ridge in some of the species we deal with up here, also there is a limit to that distance.. if you leave a long stub you leave numerous meristematic points from which reassertion of hormonal growth control will be attempted.(To complicate the situation even further in some circumatnces I would argue permitting epicormic growth to occur can be beneficial in the stimulation of raised cambium vitality in larger limbs)
In the rare occaisons I've worked on veteran trees here in Oz thats been exactly my approach, since with secondary branch unions the tree system will do all its going to do behind the cut, once that damage is made. There are of course some big variations in approach...dose when it comes to branches (even secondary) with huge storage capacity ie very large diameter limbs, then my approach along with Steve has been to try to persuade the client to allow us to stage the reduction of that limb over 12 months or more leading to the final removal with the ideal finishing cut. Our logic being lets try to permit the tree to withdraw what resources it can from the limb over the time we are reducing it. (Talking about limbs >500mm dia) But thus far there's onlt been two clients that have accepted the logic of that arguement. (after all the cost is the same for them at the time of quoting, we'd make some allowance for the extra travel but honestly not enough)
Of course the other aspect with older trees..veterans is that you stop percieving them as single biological entities and see them in their real role within the ecosystem as a whole, some of thosse fungi are more ecologically fragile than the tree, providing them with a niche is pretty darn important too (but you and I can maybe discuss that in some other thread)
All of what we and others have touched on is all relative to variations in species, age, environment and past practices, not a cop out just recognition that how I approach dose for a young mango is vastly different to that for a mature eucalypt. In fact with
mangofera indica, tamarindus indica, and
ceasalpinea ferrea (all great compartmentalisers) I would have no reservations in leaving a short stub to be removed on a second visit perhaps 6-8 months later, but we're talking about co-dominant stems here and these species have very well defined stem and branch bark ridges so finding the ideal line for the finishing cut should not be a problem anyway.
I"m assuming all of the above probably comes accross as overly complex but honestly I don't believe it is, each tree has its own genetic imperatives, working away through the restraints and limitations of the environmental circumstances it finds itself. Any absolutist model of this is the precise location of the final cut for an equally divided branch union such as is the case in co-dominance I think will lead to errors that are avoidable.
My way of trying to limit my margin of error has been when in doubt in make my cuts in the locations indicated in previous posts.
SF
