On Tue, 6 Aug 2013 21:22:44 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Guv Bob wrote:
PS -- Be sure that when you cut the limbs that it doesn't kill the
tree.

When I have to prune a tree that is important to keep, I always make
up a disinfecting solution of 1 teaspoon of chlorox in a gallon of
water, wipe it around where I'm going to cut and wipe the saw blade.
Then after cutting, paint the open wound with a pruning seal. Cheap,
easy and helps to ensure the tree survives. I do this even with
small cuts if the tree is important to keep.

My understanding is that "pruning seal" is not recommended these day. They can
prevent the tree from properly sealing the wound.

True that.

On Wed, 07 Aug 2013 01:10:50 -0400, Derald
wrote:

"Bob F" wrote:

Guv Bob wrote:
PS -- Be sure that when you cut the limbs that it doesn't kill the
tree.

When I have to prune a tree that is important to keep, I always make
up a disinfecting solution of 1 teaspoon of chlorox in a gallon of
water, wipe it around where I'm going to cut and wipe the saw blade.
Then after cutting, paint the open wound with a pruning seal. Cheap,
easy and helps to ensure the tree survives. I do this even with
small cuts if the tree is important to keep.

My understanding is that "pruning seal" is not recommended these day. They can
prevent the tree from properly sealing the wound.

I've read this advice, too, even in my pruning "Bible" on which
I've depended for years. However, my experience (mostly with Florida's
native hardwoods) has been that use of a good pruning paint seems --
anecdotally, mind you -- to prevent fungus growth and to speed callus
formation, particularly on larger wounds. For the past thirty-or-so
years, I've abandoned the use of specialty products, which AFAIK no
longer contain creosote, in favor of the spray-on product sold as
"undercoating" by automotive parts stores.

Undercoating is the worst... a thick coat of tarry goop that won't
disolve with water is far worse... the whole concept of coating tree
wounds is to prevent insect entry during healing... an occasional
spritz with soapy solution works well; 1 oz Murphy's Oil Soap to 1 qt
H2O. Also a poultice of water and Octagon brown soap applied to tree
wounds goes a long way towards keeping the creepy crawlies out.

Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 8/6/2013 8:15 PM, Bob F wrote:
Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 8/5/2013 1:22 PM, Lisa T wrote:
My neighbour has a huge oak tree literally on my boundary fence.
It's so massive that it takes all light from the middle section of
my garden. The trees on my side (an apple and rowan tree) are
bending, trying to look for light.

I've been in this situation before, including having the
passive-aggressive neighbor who is fully aware that the tree is a
nuisance to you - but instead of candidly discussing the problem,
she prevaricates, promises, and complains.

I'll tell you what I finally resorted to (and this was after a third
of the tree crashed down onto my parked car during a storm, leaving
me responsible for the removal and cleanup, since it fell onto my
property):
I acquired a bottle of brushkiller (failing that, the most
highly-concentrated formulation of Roundup could be used). In the
middle of the night, I quietly went to the tree and dug away some of
the soil to expose a spot on one of the larger roots. I scraped off
a small patch of the root's surface with the knife, applied a goodly
spoonful of the brushkiller to the exposed area. I then patted the
dirt back over the spot and went back to bed.

Within a week, the tree began to show some browning of a branch or
two. I said nothing, but repeated the process in a couple of weeks,
this time finding another root to treat, as well as hitting the
original root with another dose. By the time the damage from the
second application showed up, the neighbor noticed the tree was in
distress and had it removed. Good thing; I was prepared to continue
until the tree died.

You can also kill a tree by girdling it - removing a collar of bark
from the base of the tree - but that is much easier to detect than a
few scraped patches on some roots.

I had an elderly neighbor that didn't like a shrup growing on his
neighbors yard edge. He sprayed it with some weed killer at night.
His neighbor hired a sprayer to spray his fruit tree, and the
sprayer asked about the dying shrub. The sprayer took it upon
himself to notify the local state EPA equivalent about it. They sent
an investigator who tested the plant to determine the chemical, then
cornered the elderly neighbor and had a long talk with him. He could
have been prosecuted, had the investigator chosen to.

I'm calling BS on this one. The feds lack the funding and thus the
inclination to investigate a single incident complaint. They declined
to investigate a local "lawn care expert" who was recommending the use
of a banned chemical for off-label purposes and openly selling at his
store. Additionally, we had one hell of a time getting the state, much
less the feds, to do anything about all the complaints about
misapplied chemicals from the lawn care services in the area. The
reality is that the regulatory agencies have been deliberately starved
of funds and are thus so short-handed, they have to practice triage -
which means no, they do not go out an conduct an investigation of a
lone neighbor complaint.

Hell, we couldn't even get them to investigate the chemical dumping
along the local railroad tracks, until we got the media involved.

Call it what you like. Maybe my state wasn't as depressed as yours is when this
happened? And it had nothing to do with the feds.

On 8/6/13 9:22 PM, Bob F wrote:
Guv Bob wrote:
PS -- Be sure that when you cut the limbs that it doesn't kill the
tree.

When I have to prune a tree that is important to keep, I always make
up a disinfecting solution of 1 teaspoon of chlorox in a gallon of
water, wipe it around where I'm going to cut and wipe the saw blade.
Then after cutting, paint the open wound with a pruning seal. Cheap,
easy and helps to ensure the tree survives. I do this even with
small cuts if the tree is important to keep.

My understanding is that "pruning seal" is not recommended these day. They can
prevent the tree from properly sealing the wound.



Pruning paint or seal based on oil or tar often causes die-back. I use
white glue on my roses and peach tree. This prevents insects from
boring into the branch at the cut. It also seems to promote the
formation of callus over the cut.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary