Removing burrs from living trees..

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PowerTool

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..my question is - can you?

Whilst collecting my hoard of yew on Saturday,I saw a sweet chestnut tree in my mates back garden that has already "donated" some of it's branches to me,but I noticed that firstly,it's HUGE,and secondly,it has two or three large burrs on it.
So is it possible to slice off some of these burrs (perhaps 18-20" diameter) without harming the tree (at least 4' diameter)?

All wisdom gratefully received,

Andrew
 
Simple answer NO.

Any open wound that diameter is a serious source of infection and being open to the elements eventually wet rot.

No way could the tree repair that sort of wound.
 
i read in a book on greenwood turning, that u can cut burrs off live trees, as long as u seal up the cot left on the tree with a tar or bitumen , its like having a wart cut off , also spoke to my tree surgeon friend and he said the same thing
 
gary foxton":g4txdgd9 said:
i read in a book on greenwood turning, that u can cut burrs off live trees, as long as u seal up the cot left on the tree with a tar or bitumen , its like having a wart cut off , also spoke to my tree surgeon friend and he said the same thing

My understanding is that the only way for a tree to preserve its integrity is for it to be able to seal the damage naturally by forming a new skin or callus over the wound. On such a large area this will more than likely be impossible before rot or fungal contamination sets in.

Sealing the wound artificially inhibits the trees own attempt to heal the wound and is only as good as the integrity of the sealing substance and its application and provides only short term protection in relation to the life of a tree, as soon as a split opens in the underlying wood or the surface treatment fails for whatever reason then rain etc. is free to enter.

When pruning branches the aim is to cut close to the main stem wood without actually cutting into the branch collar to give a tree the best chance of forming a callus, on a main trunk Burr where the natural branching mechanism is already disturbed it is most unlikely that a sound callus could be formed.

EDIT: Look up compartmentalisation of decay in trees (CODIT) principles.
 
gary foxton":1fgqw3j0 said:
a bit over my head there chj

No it is not, just do a bit of reading, all the info. is out there.

gary foxton":1fgqw3j0 said:
but sounds like u know best

Far from it, there are as many opinions on this subject as any other, but current forestry good practice errs on the side of do your best to minimise damage and let nature do what it does best.
 
Thanks for the information Chas (and others) - confirms what I thought,not best practice (I'll just put my name down for them if the whole tree gets felled.. :wink: )

Andrew
 

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