How to Prune Trees With Three Cuts
- 1). Make a partial cut with a pruning saw about 6 to 8 inches away from the trunk in the limb that is being removed. Cut on the underside of the branch about a third or halfway into the branch. The purpose of this cut is a safety precaution to ensure that the next cut made does not rip the bark past this point.
- 2). Shorten the limb to remove most of the weight for the final cut. Cut completely through the branch from the top about 10 to 12 inches away from the main trunk, above the partial cut. Make sure you protect anything below the branch as it falls to the ground. You should now have a stub coming from the main trunk.
- 3). Cut through the wood from the top down at about a 10- to 15-degree angle away from the trunk. This helps shed water away from the wound. Do not cut flush with the branch collar, which is a slight bulge in the bark at the connection point of the branch and the main trunk. Keep the branch collar intact so that the tree will heal the wound correctly.
