trimming maple tree - Ask Extension
This maple tree was planted almost four years ago by Valley View where we bought the tree. The branch that hangs low on the right side is annoyingly ...
Knowledgebase
trimming maple tree #827677
Asked April 29, 2023, 10:12 AM EDT
This maple tree was planted almost four years ago by Valley View where we bought the tree. The branch that hangs low on the right side is annoyingly low and gets in the way when my husband mows the law. At the end of summer, the local deer ate all the leaves off that branch. We would like to trim the branch. Is there a proper way to trim it closer to the trunk?
PS: The frame around the trunk is to keep the local deer from further damaging the trunk. The trunk is healing nicely now after serious damage from deer.
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
You can trim that branch off, ideally between May and July so they don't "bleed" too much sap from the cut. You can visit our Pruning Trees page (the "proper pruning cuts" section in particular) to find information about where to make the cut so you leave the wound-closure tissue that is found in the branch collar intact. (The branch collar is the swollen ring of tissue found where the branch attaches to the trunk or to a larger branch.) Don't coat the cut stub with any type of sealant; let it close-over naturally.
Miri
Miri