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Cleaning the crown of trees is a very important function. Our industry’s standard for tree care maintenance, ANSI A300-1995, defines cleaning as “the removal of dead, diseased, crowded, weakly-attached, low-vigor branches and waterspouts from a tree’s crown.” 

One of the key functions of cleaning is to remove deadwood, or dying branches what will soon become deadwood, to improve the health of the tree. Stubs are also removed since they cause the same problems as dead branches. 

Why is it so important to remove dead and dying branches and stubs from a tree? 

  • Many microorganisms use dead branches and stubs as springboards into the trunk. 
  • Canker-causing microorganisms often become established on dead branches and stubs. 
  • The bark often splits above and below branch stubs. These splits are additional entry points for trunk-infecting microorganisms. 
  • Tree health is improved by crown cleaning. Trees can cover branch wounds faster once dead branches are removed. This reduces the chance of infections that lead to decay. 

It is also very important not to leave a stub when you prune. A stub is defined as “an undesirable short length of a branch remaining after a break or when an incorrect pruning cut is made.” A stub functions just the same as a dead branch. By leaving a stub, the future health of the tree is in danger. 

Remember—proper pruning will help the tree, while improper pruning only causes the tree more trouble. When pruning, we do not:

  • leave a stub
  • use a flush cut
  • tear the bark

Also, we do not strip out all interior branches. When your job is complete, a number of properly spaced branches will remain in the interior of the tree. Depending on the species, we may also need to leave interior waterspouts. Interior waterspouts are a valuable source of food production for the tree. 

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