Q: Timing the trunk chop

Kazoo

The "mother tree" of my Acer root layer. Planning to trunk chop to see what happens. Is ...now... a good time or should I wait til growth starts?

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daystorm

kay I may not be able to answer the question fully, but I'd say we need a pic (sometimes helps). Read up on your tree, there are plenty of places that can give you advice on when is good for trunk chopping and pruning. Some trees will only let you do it in certain times (like early summer or what not)

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ChrisM

i would suggest waiting til just before the first new growth hardens off. even in cali, i can't see why the tree wouldn't be dormant by now. maybe some others who may be more familiar with the climate out there can chime in (being that it is in the 20's here).

chris

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Aaron_K

Hi Kazoo,

I'd suggest waiting till Spring 2006, just prior to bud break, before you attempt to trunk chopping the Acer P. Cut about an inch or so above where you actually want it removed, then seal the wound (You can always remove this extention at a later stage).

Even though the tree is dormant, doing a chop now could result in die back due to hard freezes, or increase the risk of the tree not surviving the winter.

All the best,

Aaron

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bwaynef

You definitely want to do this chop just when the tree breaks buds. If you wait til the growth hardens off and then chop you'll severely weaken the tree. The tree has just used its energy reserves to break bud and the growth that is pushed is to be used to replenish the reserves.

You want the reserves to be used to grow the tree after the chop.

WF

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rockm

I would not wait until the tree is in active growth, or about to begin growing, with A.P. I would do the chop in late winter a month or so before active growth starts. A.P. can "bleed" sap for quite a while after being chopped. This won't kill the tree, but it's not the best thing for it.

I do all the structural hard pruning (pruning into old wood) on my A.P. and tridents in late winter

Doing the chop at this time gives the wound time to dry out a bit before the tree starts pushing sap in preparation for growth. The plant should be pretected from wind and temperature extremes once the chop has been done.

CScott

Before you chop, test the tree for sap movement. Cut off a twig, and wait to see if sap flows. A drop of water will form at the cut. Sap will start to flow just before the buds swell so if you wait too late into winter/spring you may have to postpone the chop after the first flush of growth. Either way will work. Make sure to trim the cut with a very sharp knife so it is not ragged, and seal the wound completely.

Carmen