In the last pic, I'd cut from the top of the green line, down to the bottom of the red line, so the cut slopes outward a bit.

Resin

Aaaak!

That should say "cut from the top of the red line, down to the bottom of the green line".

Got it the wrong way round above!!

Resin

The red line looks like the spot. I presume you know to cut most of the branch off first, so as to not let the bark tear down the trunk from weight. BTW, we arborists either laugh or cringe when we see pruning being done from a ladder. Far better to borrow someones climbing saddle and tie yourself in. I value your participation on this board, Ken ;^)

Right now, before buds swell, is just jim-dandy.

Carefull!.......+oM

Why are you such worried about it being that close to the house? Not even us have that much room to plant that far away so pretty much all of my neighbors' are 15-25 feet from their house.

I tend to be pretty conservative with pruning...so...I would consider just taking off the branch that seems to be coming out most horizontally below the solid blue line in the first photograph. However that might just be the illusion the first photo gives...nothing beats being there on the ground to gauge the distances & angles involved. As far as the distance to the house, Dirr says these typically attain a spread of 30 to 50 ft., so on average the crown might be expected to be near the edge of the roof, which would be fine with me as long as the crown was a good bit higher than the roof.

i guess a scale might have helped.. the thing is about 6 inch caliper at the ground... maybe 3 up at the cut .... i really dont see swinging around on it ... lol

and the cut is about 6 to 8 feet up ... so fully within my extension ladder ...

yes.. i was planning a first cut 3 feet out or so .. to reduce the load on the proper cut .... the first cut will probably be with a pole pruner.. nothing worse than worrying about a big branch knocking the ladder out from under you .. almost been there.. almost done that.. lol ... usually i have neighbor or wifey under such.. cut it slowly.. letting it arc down to the ground.. and letting them grab and pull it to keep it from the ladder ... but man.. pole pruning hurts ... some of those neck and shoulder muscles are never used in that manner...

why now?? .. because it is fully within my capability .... in 5 years.. when it is poking through the window ... i would probably have to hire someone to come prune it ... i am trying to be ahead of the curve.. but i should have taken it off 3 years ago when it was pencil sized.. but life got in the way ....

trees are easy to take care of ... if you have the foresight to do it.. BEFORE it become the monster it has the potential too ...

ken

Resin's recommendation (the second one) is correct.

I'd "either laugh or cringe" if I saw Tom trying to take off this limb with a "climbing saddle and (tying) (him)self in."

Well then, Brandon, what we've got here is a good old fashioned disagreement. First, as to the correct location for the pruning cut, we're almost splitting hairs here already, but.......there is no factual basis for the cut to be sloped in any way. Ed Gilman out of Florida is doing the most research on this of anyone, and his latest recommendations do not support this idea.

Second, if doing things in a safe manner makes you cringe, well........about all I can say is, good luck. A saddle and a simple safety strap/lanyard looped around a higher branch is about as easy and simple as it gets, and absolutely prevents the cutter from falling, getting knocked off ladder, etc.

+oM

Ken, looking at the pic again, it appears that a pole saw with extension handle would reach if you were standing on the ground. Just make a small undercut a foot or so out, followed by a top cut an inch or two further out from there. The branch will snap off cleanly. Now make your final cut, removing the stub. Extremely simple operation.

BTW, that's a nice looking butternut. I see no reason whatsoever why you shouldn't remove this branch if you wish to. I've been pruning trees every work day since Jan. 2. And of course, many years worth before '08 began. I guess my shoulder and arm muscles ARE getting used quite regularly!

One final helpful hint: If you can find a retail source for the "ARS"-style polesaw blades, get one. Also sometimes labelled "Turbocut". You won't believe how well they work. These have been industry standard for oh.......15 years or so now, but may still be hard to find retail. I don't know because I never shop for tools that way.

+oM

Tom, I think you will find that almost all text on pruning will advise pruning just outside the branch bark ridge and ending just outside the branch collar. I am completely familiar with the majority of new research going on about this subject, but the above advice (Resin's second post) is the currently accepted best method by most professional arborists. See the US Forest Service's pruning instruction sheet posted below. The International Society of Arboriculture also is in complete agreement. You can review their guidelines at http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/pruning_young.aspx. You will find similar recommendations just about anywhere you look. There are those that suggest other methods, but they are not the generally accepted method (yet, at least).

So far as the "climbing saddle and ty(ing) yourself in", this seems like major overkill for this small project. It wouldn't hurt anything, but a pole pruner would sure be a lot less trouble. There's nothing wrong with being safe, but sometimes simple is better and just as safe.

Here is a link that might be useful: US Forest Service on How To Prune Trees

Ken, what you propose seems reasonable. I wouldn't worry about the remaining "triple" fork -- it seems fairly well-spaced, walnut wood is not split-prone, & Butternut will develop many co-dominant leaders eventually.

Don't forget to first cut off the limb a foot or two away from the trunk, before making the final "trunk" cut.

Something I remember about walnuts bleeding at certain times. You might look into that -- might be best to trim in late summer like my Sugar maples.

Brandon, you don't know me, we're just two individuals who participate in this forum. Therefor, you would not know how rediculous it is for you to be telling me to check into pruning methods. As Stephen Colbert would say, I accept your apology ;^)

At any rate, I think it's all in how we see the pic. My recommendation for Ken to follow the red line is precisely because I would like him to make the cut just outside the branch collar/branch bark ridge.

Also, if you are following this discussion, you should have seen that I recommended simply pruning this limb from the ground, using a pole saw.

It sounds to me like you are well versed in modern arboriculture. How you missed that the same is true of myself, I have no idea.

Ken, did you do this already? Additionally, Beng mentioned that butternut might be a bleeder this time of year, like maples. This should not be considered a problem. Trees, when healthy, have positive pressure relative to the air around them. Sap coming out, good. Pathogens going in, bad. The exudation of sap could be considered a protection against the later.

+oM

Tom,

I do kind of know you from the forum (in case you've missed me somehow, I frequently post here also). That is why I was shocked when your advice seemed to contradict fairly well established and well researched methods. Contradicting Resin, alone, should have been at least one red flag (-;

The BC, as I'm sure you know, is, in almost all cases, farther out from the trunk than the BBR as the websites I linked above clearly show. If you cut straight down from just outside the BBR, you will cut well into, and likely completely through, the BC.

As I'm sure you will see when you look back, my original response was BEFORE you mentioned anything about a pole pruner. You were suggesting tackling the task as if the tree had to be climbed. I may have come off the wrong way to you, but my point was that the method you were suggesting was overkill. As a matter of fact, I don't even think there would be a safe place to tie off to if you did want to climb such a small tree.

But, with all this said, I won't ask for your apology, because I didn't take it personally. I just enjoy sharing the knowledge.

Well, as my last post on this topic, I must say, with all due respect to Mr. Pineresin, I have, and undoubtedly will continue, to disagree with some of his statements from time to time. Looking back at this photo, I see no clearly discernable branch collar at the point of departure for this branch. If anything, there seems to be a somewhat compounded one well further back than either color line. Kens' red line simply represents, for me, the best option in such a case. Why leave any stub where there is no clear reason to do so?

And yes, tying in would be overkill. After my relooking at the pic, I realized this is exactly the kind of thing I would do from the ground every day at work. The mention of needing a ladder set me down the path of chastising this poor, amateurish practice, and to a degree, ignoring the obvious, that it is a ground operation.

+oM

For anyone interested in a refresher on pruning basics, the two sites I posted above represent two of the leading authorities on the subject.

The one detail that I don't see clearly covered in those articles (I reviewed them fairly quickly and could have just missed it) was how to identify the branch collar if its location is not obvious. There are many articles that cover this topic and I will link one below. See page 2 and the top of page 3 for relevant information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Colorado State Master Gardener Info Sheet on Pruning