The branch is attached to the trunk. But they’re separate and they’re joined at a place called the collar. This is the swollen area where the branch attaches.
Our objective is to remove the branch without damaging the trunk or the collar. So we want to make our pruning cut right in here. In order to do that we want to take our bypass pruners and get as close to the trunk without damaging the collar. We’ve made a nice straight clean cut parallel to the trunk of the tree and we haven’t damaged the collar at all.
As I mentioned before I’m using a bypass pruner. It’s my favorite type. It’s called that because the two blades actually pass one another during the cutting action, much like a pair of scissors do.
There’s another type of pruning shear you might be able to get. That’s called an anvil pruner. This operates with a non-cutting, anvil type blade and a single cutting blade that comes down to meet the anvil. It works quite well also, unless the wood is very hard or dense or if it’s dead wood, then this doesn’t cut quite as well.
They both have advantages and disadvantages. My best advice to you; get the most expensive pair of pruning shears you can afford. It will be darn well worth it in the long run.
When Pruning…
- Remove the branch without damaging the trunk or collar
- Use a tool such as a bypass pruner or an anvil pruner
- Get the most expensive pair of pruning shears you can afford