PRUNING CHESTNUT AND RED CEDAR TREES!!

It's time for pruning!  And not the kind that happens after a too-long shower...

Your trees will really appreciate this small effort from you.  They'll grow stronger, and more uniformly, with some well-placed snipping. 

Here is a chestnut tree prior to pruning and the same tree after pruning. 

The branches were cut off to allow a mower to pass under the tree and to keep branches off the ground. 

Prune your branches to create a ½ inch to ¾ inch cut sticking out from the main trunk.   This helps protect the tree from insect damage. 

Prune off your 'suckers' at ground level.  These wasted branches drain your trees by redirecting their energy away from more beneficial limbs.  Some of the suckers are thick enough to make good hardwood walking sticks.

One problem we have here is with ‘thatch ants’ as their waste products (formic acid) kills young trees. 

These ants also bite.

Here is a red cedar that has not been pruned.  We need to prune branches that hang close to the ground to allow mowers to clear the grass.  The prune cedar is pruned clear of the ground to mower height.  This will also help if there is a grass fire - the more easily burnt branches will be more difficult for flames to reach. 

This Douglas fir has a double main leader branching.  

The weakest leader should be pruned out to strengthen the best central leader. 

Some people place weed block fabric around a young tree to cut down on grass and weed competition.  The idea works well for the first year of two, but the grasses and weeds soon grow into and through the fabric.  Each tree type has basis pruning methods depending on what you want from the tree.