Can Cutting Branches Kill a Tree? Proper Pruning Is Essential

Trees provide immense value to our lives – they purify the air, prevent soil erosion, provide shade, and even boost our mental health. As such, it’s in everyone’s best interest to ensure trees remain healthy, which sometimes necessitates pruning. But the wrong pruning techniques can actually harm or even kill a tree. So can cutting branches kill a tree? Let’s take a closer look.

How Trees Heal After Pruning

To understand if improper pruning can be fatal, it helps to first understand how trees heal from correct pruning. When you make the proper cut just outside the branch collar, the tree forms new tissue and gradually seals the wound through a process called compartmentalization. The branch collar contains specialized cells that help wall off infections and decay.

So when pruning is done properly, trees have a built-in defense mechanism that allows them to recover and heal over time. However, trees need their leaves, branches and vascular system to transport water, nutrients and carbohydrates that fuel growth. If these are severely compromised, the tree can starve and decline.

Pruning Mistakes That Harm Trees

While regular pruning is beneficial certain mistakes during pruning can damage the tree’s ability to thrive

• Excessive pruning: Removing too much of the canopy stresses the tree by reducing its ability to generate energy through photosynthesis. As a rule, arborists recommend pruning no more than 25% of a tree’s branches during one season.

• Improper cut location: Flush cuts and stub cuts negatively impact compartmentalization, preventing the tree from sealing wounds. This leaves it vulnerable to insects, disease and decay.

• Untimely pruning: Pruning during seasons when disease transmission is high or when the tree is less able to recover poses unintended risks.

• Incorrect pruning method: Using the wrong tools or techniques can rip bark, destroy branch collars, and lead to infections.

• Topping Cutting main branches back to stubs or trunks destroys the tree’s form and ability to function, This is perhaps the most harmful pruning method

Signs of Decline After Pruning

How can you tell if pruning has harmed your tree? Be on the lookout for these symptoms

• Lack of new growth or stunted growth
• Wilting, yellowing or browning leaves
• Peeling bark or cracks in bark
• Mushroom growth at base indicating decay
• Sunscald on exposed areas of bark
• Lots of new shoots along branches or trunk (called watersprouts)
• Wood boring insect holes
• Dead branches or branch dieback

Trees already under stress or those pruned extensively are most vulnerable to decline. But even a healthy tree can struggle to recover if pruning was done incorrectly.

Best Practices for Pruning Trees

The best way to prune trees is to:

• Educate yourself on proper techniques and timing before pruning
• Hire a certified arborist if you are uncertain about any aspect of pruning
• Always use sharp, sterile pruning tools to make clean cuts
• Prune minimally and only remove necessary branches
• Cut just outside the branch collar without leaving stubs
• Avoid pruning during seasons when disease is active
• Space out pruning over time rather than removing too much at once

Prune with Care at the Right Time

When done improperly, pruning can certainly damage or even kill a tree by inhibiting its ability to seal wounds and generate new growth. However, correct pruning stimulates vigor and removes hazards. By mastering proper techniques and timing, you can prune your trees with confidence knowing that you are supporting their health, safety and longevity.