Branch cutting question

A large branch on my big old apple tree died, and looks like this:

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year it dropped all leaves and fruit towards the end of summer, and this year there is no growth on it at all.

Question: Should I remove the branch, and if I do, how close to the trunk of the tree should I cut it?

Reply to
Zootal
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I agree with David Ross about the copper spray to kill the peach leaf curl. Be sure you remove all dead leaves and clean up the area aroung the tree as it can harbor the disease. I think David meant to say you should use a spreader and a sticker. The soap does the spreading, but you need something else for a sticker. Without the sticker, anything you spray may wash off too quickly in future rainfalls. You may have to give it more than one spray of copper sulfate during next season, but the early one done before the buds swell is the most important.

As regards your apple tree: Check the branche first to see if it is still alive. All fruit trees have a layer of growth called the cambium just below the bark. It is a green colored layer. Just scratch off the bark in a small area to check this. If the cambium is brown, that branch is dead and should be removed. If the entire branch is dead, you can cut it way back to the main trunk. If this branch is dead, is is probably doing no harm, but it may be a future home for insects.

Sherwin

Reply to
sherwin dubren

If you do decide to remove the branch read this

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Reply to
Garrapata

What a coinkydink... I spent most of today removing lower limbs from some fairly large trees; three maples, two rather large cedars, and a good sized white birch... because they had grown so large that their weight made those limbs droop too low for me to drive my tractor under. And perfect timing, I cut those limbs into useful lengths to keep the corrogated in my garden from blowing away.

Actually that information at that web site is incorrect. When a tree limb is removed the top of the cut should start out away from the trunk (about an inch out from the limb collar) and slant inward so an "eave" is created, this so that when it rains water drips from from the tip of the top lip and not run down over the cut, and so snow does not accumulate on the cut surface, or there will be a much greater opportunity for water to enter the trunk, for decay to ensue inside the trunk and in winter that water will freeze and split the trunk, in fact the kind of cut shown at that web site actually guarantees eventual premature loss of the tree. And limb cuts heal far quicker from the bottom up (up is how plants grow if anyone has noticed). When limbing a tree the bottom of the cut should be as flush with the trunk as is practical but still outside the limb collar. When limbing a tree the cut should be made so that the cut surface remains as dry as possible... the eave created is for exactly the same purpose houses are built with eaves, so the exterior walls remain dry and don't rot. Just about everyone does it wrong (back asswards)... even professional arborists don't know how to properly limb a tree... that's because common sense cannot be taught. I'm positive most of you, the very next time you limb a tree will have forgotten, or it never registered, and will do it back assward.

Reply to
brooklyn1

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