Can I take this limb/branch off my Silver Birch?
Discussion
In the processing of tidying up the bottom of the garden and I’d like to create a bit more room to the right of the silver birch. Can I take off the branch highlighted?
(Apologies for my crap editing skills
)
If so, do I just go with the usual slightly over vertical cut and is there any time of year when I should avoid making the cut?
Thanks all.
(Apologies for my crap editing skills
)If so, do I just go with the usual slightly over vertical cut and is there any time of year when I should avoid making the cut?
Thanks all.
55palfers said:
Yes.
I'd take the whole limb off
I did think about that, but I don't want to harm the tree and I wasn't sure if that was too much.I'd take the whole limb off
sherman said:
You have missed your oppurtunity to do such a prune.
You can only really do that sort of pruning in winter.
Its also bird nesting season and you dont want to go disturbing any nests.
The tree will regrow from the cut just to warn you.
Ok, so I need to wait till October/November now?You can only really do that sort of pruning in winter.
Its also bird nesting season and you dont want to go disturbing any nests.
The tree will regrow from the cut just to warn you.
Road2Ruin said:
I'd do a spot of weeding while you are at it 
Tell me about it Most of them have just appeared in the last 10 days from nowhere, gardening this weekend!Thanks all.
I wouldn't wait, we've trimmed Silver Birch at this time of the year.
As an aside to all this,, peel some of the outer bark off, it's like paper, strike a light and set fire to it, it's quite amazing stuff, doesn't matter if it's been raining or bone dry it will burn.
Supposedly a boy scout type of trick, good for starting a camp fire.
I wouldn't go as far as Titchmarsh though, he claims he scrubs all the loose old bark off and washes his birch trees until they come up all white and shiny.
As an aside to all this,, peel some of the outer bark off, it's like paper, strike a light and set fire to it, it's quite amazing stuff, doesn't matter if it's been raining or bone dry it will burn.
Supposedly a boy scout type of trick, good for starting a camp fire.
I wouldn't go as far as Titchmarsh though, he claims he scrubs all the loose old bark off and washes his birch trees until they come up all white and shiny.
netherfield said:
I wouldn't wait, we've trimmed Silver Birch at this time of the year.
The right thing to do is wait, its nesting season and unnecessary tree and hedge work should be avoided. With the drive to look after nature it's a small price to pay, September will be here before you know itsfella said:
The right thing to do is wait, its nesting season and unnecessary tree and hedge work should be avoided. With the drive to look after nature it's a small price to pay, September will be here before you know it
Its one ;limb on a modest size silver birch. Im sure you can easily see if there is a nest in the tree. If there is then yep leave it, if not just get on with it.Whenever you choose to cut it, I'd do it in two goes. First I'd remove the bulk of the branch to get the weight off the branch's stump so that I could then make a second cut that would be clean and sloped to deflect rain. That way the first cut is all about getting the weight down in a controlled way, and the second cut is all about leaving the tree in a state from which it can recover.
Obviously that first cut needs to have left enough room to make that second cut into good clean wood that hasn't got cracked and split by the first cut.
The first cut itself would also be done in two steps. First you cut halfway or a little more through the branch from the top. Then you come back towards the trunk, maybe 6 or 8 inches, and start cutting through the branch from underneath. At some point the branch will crack and split between the two half cuts and hinge down to the ground. I'm not sure if this description is clear. You're not trying to make your two cuts hit each other. They're separate parallel cuts 6 to 8 inches apart.
You then makes your final cut right the way through the branch to leave the clean, sloping cut that should eventually heal.
Obviously that first cut needs to have left enough room to make that second cut into good clean wood that hasn't got cracked and split by the first cut.
The first cut itself would also be done in two steps. First you cut halfway or a little more through the branch from the top. Then you come back towards the trunk, maybe 6 or 8 inches, and start cutting through the branch from underneath. At some point the branch will crack and split between the two half cuts and hinge down to the ground. I'm not sure if this description is clear. You're not trying to make your two cuts hit each other. They're separate parallel cuts 6 to 8 inches apart.
You then makes your final cut right the way through the branch to leave the clean, sloping cut that should eventually heal.
Edited by ATG on Wednesday 8th May 16:59
I’ve always done step-cuts starting with the bottom cut first, about a third of the way through, then come in from the top, leaving a gap between. The size of the gap depends on the thickness of the branch, in this case 2-3 inches should be sufficient from the branches highlighted.
This method means the branch isn’t falling with your saw in the way but your saw is safely above the branch and should be more controlled. For how long it would take I would just trim it in a few sections and hold the branches and lower them by hand.
Pruning this time of year will cause bleeding of sap from the open wound of the tree so isn’t advisable but shouldn’t be too detrimental to tree health.
This method means the branch isn’t falling with your saw in the way but your saw is safely above the branch and should be more controlled. For how long it would take I would just trim it in a few sections and hold the branches and lower them by hand.
Pruning this time of year will cause bleeding of sap from the open wound of the tree so isn’t advisable but shouldn’t be too detrimental to tree health.
sfella said:
The right thing to do is wait, its nesting season and unnecessary tree and hedge work should be avoided. With the drive to look after nature it's a small price to pay, September will be here before you know it
Im going to have a wild guess here but maybe the op has a functioning pair of eyes and can maybe have a look up at the one limb of the tree he wants to cut off and see if there are any birds nesting up there ? Also this might be difficult for some people to fathom but not everyone gives a f
k about nature/ the planet. I for one would gladly stamp on every pigeons head than comes into our garden. 
It's illegal to disturb an active nest, it's not illegal to cut a tree.
OK, it's sometimes more complex than that.
Cutting a big branch off, it might be worth sealing the wound with sealant or pruning compound?
You can find online advice to suit whatever you want to do, but I generally go with the RHS:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/birch/winter-interes...
So, birches can bleed a lot of sap if you cut them heavily this time of year.
OK, it's sometimes more complex than that.
Cutting a big branch off, it might be worth sealing the wound with sealant or pruning compound?
You can find online advice to suit whatever you want to do, but I generally go with the RHS:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/birch/winter-interes...
So, birches can bleed a lot of sap if you cut them heavily this time of year.
MrBig said:
55palfers said:
Yes.
I'd take the whole limb off
I did think about that, but I don't want to harm the tree and I wasn't sure if that was too much.I'd take the whole limb off
sherman said:
You have missed your oppurtunity to do such a prune.
You can only really do that sort of pruning in winter.
Its also bird nesting season and you dont want to go disturbing any nests.
The tree will regrow from the cut just to warn you.
Ok, so I need to wait till October/November now?You can only really do that sort of pruning in winter.
Its also bird nesting season and you dont want to go disturbing any nests.
The tree will regrow from the cut just to warn you.
Road2Ruin said:
I'd do a spot of weeding while you are at it
Tell me about it Most of them have just appeared in the last 10 days from nowhere, gardening this weekend!Thanks all.
There was a decent sapling growing out of a crack in one of the steps.
He said it wasn't there when he looked last week.
His name wasn't Percy Thrower or Geoff Hamilton but he sure could grow a tree faster than anyone I knew.
No issues removing that branch on a birch tree. I often do some minor pruning on birch trees late spring/early autumn. Sappy hardwoods like birch and maples can bleed sap quite heavily late winter/spring so now is a perfectly ok time. I will be doing similar on a whole load of birch and maples of varying species, plus some work to some fruit tree species.
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