I finally started checking for included bark on every single young tree I prune

For years I just looked for deadwood and crossed branches, but a silver maple I worked on in a park split right down the middle during a storm last month. The city forester pointed out the massive included bark union I'd missed, which was the weak point. Now I spend an extra minute on each job looking for those narrow, V-shaped branch attachments, especially on maples and ashes. Anyone have a good trick for correcting them on a tree that's maybe 8 years old?

3 comments

3 Comments

leor372mo ago

It's a pattern of small things causing big failures. You miss one detail in a tree union or a car's brake line, and it all comes apart later. Good habits are just a defense against that.

mia_fox981mo ago

I read something about that "pattern of small things" leor37 mentioned, how a bad branch angle can split a tree years later.

the_wren2mo ago

That split silver maple is a tough lesson, but a good one. When you say you're looking for those narrow, V-shaped attachments on an 8-year-old tree, are you finding many that are still small enough to remove entirely? Or are you mostly dealing with bigger limbs where you have to choose the best one to cut back?