In Shennandoah, Va & had a ~3" diameter limb hanging over the road of our Redbud tree ripped off (not sure what type of Redbud though as we just moved here). Im hoping for some help to ensure i prune appropriately to help it heal/recover as best it can understanding the time of year isnt ideal & that follow-up care would be needed in the future.
Any concerns if cut back the limb to the yellow line by to the closest lateral branch (green dot)? There's what look to be some sprouts (red dots) right by the lateral branch id guess should go to, but not certain
by Formal_Appearance_71
4 Comments
Potential unpopular opinion I would only make the yellow cut. The whole nub is likely to die back so removing the sprouts is going to further cut down on the branches photosynthetic abilities. You could also remove the whole nub but in my experience red buds don’t compartmentalize decay well and allowing the nub to die naturally will the tree time to start pushing the reaction wood outward before you make the final cut. Plus those sprouts can be pruned out at a later date if in fact they can photosynthesize enough to keep it alive.
Yes, cutting at that line to remove the splintered wood is the best course of action. Those lateral branches should be enough to keep that limb alive, don’t remove them
Based on the second photo, take it back to your line.
If it looks like it hasn’t compartmentalized well (woundwood forming), consider taking it back to the next union.
Honestly I’d only remove the green branch. The natural fracture is the subjectively aesthetically better choice than a big pruning wound, the distance gives the branch more time to compartmentalize as pathogens work their way in. And the green epicormic is going to shoot up into an unsightly ‘water shoot’, whereas the red branches are more submissive and breedable, they’ll hopefully form some lateral foliage to fill out the gap in the crown and obscure the tear out. If the green branches get too vigorous you can nip the tips off back to side buds to discourage apical dominance.