Deadwooding is a form of pruning that involves the removal of dead limbs and branches from a tree. Light deficiency, pests and disease damage to root damage are all part of a range of reasons why branches can die off. Deadwooding should be carried out for safety as dead branches will eventually decay and fall off. This process is normally slow, but can be shorted by high winds and extremities of temperature. This is particularly crucial for trees overhanging roads, houses, public areas and gardens.
Deadwooding can be undertaken for many reasons, a common reason being safety. When limbs die they become weak and at some point will fall of. Depending on where the tree is located this may cause a potential threat to pedestrians, traffic or children playing below, therefore the measure to be taken is a climbing inspection of the tree to remove any major deadwood causing threat.
Notice that when mentioning the dead material to be removed ‘major deadwood’ was stated. This reasoning is because there are plenty of dead branches which are too small to be a concern; therefore it would not be necessary to remove them. It is the decision of the climber to choose the diameter of dead wood according to the timber characteristics that should be removed from the canopy for each individual tree.
Advantages to Deadwooding
- Safety – remove those branches before they fall on your property, or passing pedestrians and vehicles.
- Remove unwanted weight, reducing the wind resistance of the tree and helping overall balance.
- Aesthetic reasons – a tree with the deadwood removed looks more aesthetically pleasing.
Deadwooding Example
