Redwood trees – how do I properly thin/trim?
I have three Redwood trees that need to be thinned and trimmed. Is there a publication or website that will show me how to without hurting the trees?
2 Responses
Cornpatch
03 Jan 2011
SANDRA B
03 Jan 2011
thin them by taken out the odd branch here and there have someone on the ground at the same time to assist so u don,t destroy the shape off the tree.they should do this by lookin at the tree from lots of angles and make sure all your cuts are clean so disease do,snt get in.
Other than removing some of the lower branches from the trunk, I don’t believe I have ever seen a redwood tree pruned; and have never seen one thinned. Sad to say, they often are poorly placed.
Best to leave them alone say the experts:
Cultural Practices that can harm redwoods include: pruning, south facing planting aspect, low soil moisture levels, competing plant cover and lack of mulch. Often redwoods are inter-planted with adjacentshrub or ground cover plantings. These plantings compete with the trees for moisture and open up thetrunk area to sunlight and higher temperatures. To maintain space for adjacent plants the tree are often pruned up, further exposing their trunks to full sunlight and increased temperatures. Another common planting problem is planting redwoods in turf areas. Instead of leaving the canopy to the ground, lower limbs are pruned to allow access for mowing etc. In my own survey of redwood problems I have always found unpruned trees to generally be in a better state of vigor and health than skirt-pruned redwoods.Coast redwood prefers to have a full canopy right to the ground, and its own, thick mulch layer surrounding the trunk. When redwoods are planted on hot, south facing slopes, they also suffer.