Natural break Pruning ? what ?

[Page]

I was just over on arbtalk forum and saw some very peculiar pruning. coronet pruning? or natural break pruning it might be called. Before I trash this type of work I think mabye someone should explain it to me. there must be a reason(I would hope) that someone is doing this to a tree. I am aware that part of the purpose is to help cultivate fungus and micro organisms, but on what trees and where? and I'm kidding, I'm not gonna just trash talk this practice, I would like to have a real discussion about it.

 

[tophopper]

Cant comment for the same reasons

 

[canadiantreeman]

To replicate the way in which a tree might break under natural events that overload its structure and/or to reduce the height and to create niches for microorganisms and small animals. I believe it is generally done on overmature specimens which pose a high risk to surrounding targets. The practice induces sprouting, and can be considered a type of retrenchment.

This is what I gather, many others would be able to more accurately and eloquently describe the practice.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I think it's the oddest thing in the world. The customer would kill me if I pruned like that!

 

[Porkbrick]

ive heard it called "fracture" pruning. didn't Stig do a job a while back that involved pruning an oak by ripping heads out with a tractor? as i recall, it turned out looking surprisingly good, and very natural (like it got hit by a very selective hurricane).

 

[PCTREE]

We had a microburst few years back and I had just read about this practice. I told some of my clients about it and we left large jagged breaks in the canopy to see if it would promote new growth. Today they all look like ass and have died....

 

[SkwerI]

Not conducive to the customer base in my area. Around here people will pay to remove a tree if it leans a little different than the surrounding trees. Or if it's over their house. Or if it looks like it might sort of lean towards their house. Or if it drops leaves in their yard. People want perfect trees and even that's not good enough sometimes. I get paid to clean up trees that look like that, or cut them down. If you want to let nature take its course then leave it the hell alone. If I'm going to prune a tree then I have a moral obligation to prune it in such a way as to maximize the tree's health. I can't intentionally leave decayed limbs to 'nurture bacteria growth'.

 

[canadiantreeman]

Isn't it funny when you get asked "Can you recommend a tree I should plant in my yard that doesn't fruit, flower, drop needles or leaves?" Sure, I'll just bring it in with my skyhook, oh but damn I left my left handed shovels at the shop! You're SOL, sorry!

 

[PCTREE]

 

[Page]

Not conducive to the customer base in my area. Around here people will pay to remove a tree if it leans a little different than the surrounding trees. Or if it's over their house. Or if it looks like it might sort of lean towards their house. Or if it drops leaves in their yard. People want perfect trees and even that's not good enough sometimes. I get paid to clean up trees that look like that, or cut them down. If you want to let nature take its course then leave it the hell alone. If I'm going to prune a tree then I have a moral obligation to prune it in such a way as to maximize the tree's health. I can't intentionally leave decayed limbs to 'nurture bacteria growth'.

Yep, I'd agree with that. you should hear some of the guys from the UK, their all about this stuff. I'm gonna start marketing my new bark stripping technique.

 

[HolmenTree]

The palm is a good candidate for natural break pruning. I saw it done lots in Egypt and Mexico. Saves carrying around tools.

 

[rbtree]

Coronet cuts, as the Brits call it, and fracture pruning, aren't the same thing.

I create habitat or wildlife snags quite often, and make cuts similar to these coronet cuts, to simulate a natural break. I also create a cavity or two, in hopes a bird will use it for nesting.. Most if not all the wildlife snags I create are not meant to grow back.

Fracture pruning is a method of cutting or breaking a limb, only used on a declining old veteran tree, also as part habitat, but mostly as it has been determined that the sprout growth will be spread throughout the break area, rather than at the end. Makes sense to me. But I've never tried it.

I've been to a Neville Fay seminar. You'd have to be there. But his methods actually have a reason, and make some sense. He's a cool fella, though his ideas are tough to stomach for some.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's nonsense, IMO. But WTH!

 

[pete mctree]

It is a valuable tool for us. We have a very small tree stock & as a result not enough trees in decline to provide a rich & specific habitat for a large range of flora & fauna.
So we do our best & try & recreate it. Not usually done in private gardens but woodland edges & hedgerows are more common

 

[MasterBlaster]

Never thought about that.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Yanks are so cute.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

It seems like a few steps further from the textbook trees that some customers want, and arborists have been indoctrinated to think is the only way to go in all situations--branch collar cuts, never leave a stub, even a very old one, etc.

Not for typical front yard tree, but maybe the right treatment for the right tree in the right place for the right customer.

 

[Burnham]

We have been doing stuff like that for decades, in the extreme, to create wildlife habitat in managed forest stands that are deficit in snags and decadent trees.

 

[OTGBOSTON]

Yanks are so cute.

I bet you say that to all the girls...

 

[Jack]

We had a microburst few years back and I had just read about this practice. I told some of my clients about it and we left large jagged breaks in the canopy to see if it would promote new growth. Today they all look like ass and have died....

edit:

 

[Thor's Hammer]

I bet you say that to all the girls...

And the boys buttercup

 

[CurSedVoyce]

 

[OTGBOSTON]

so you're over your "man cold" then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXLHWmjA5IE

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Ha! I wish. Past few days have been a trial, working away from home with a chest infection.
It surprised me quite how badly it upset my mental equilibrium.

Your kind and considerate words helped a lot :birdy:

 

[OTGBOSTON]

Your kind and considerate words helped a lot :birdy:

You can always count on me......to kick a man when he's down