Do limbs get higher

[Birdman]

from the ground as the tree grows? I stopped at my brother's the other day and he was cutting grass. Kept struggling to mow under some Pin Oaks he planted a few years ago and the limbs are about 5' above the ground. I asked why he did not cut the low limbs off to make mowing easier. He said they are higher than last year and it is easier to mow this year, in a few more years they will be completely out of the way. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I don't think so. In fact I keep trimming higher limbs, about every year, as they grow longer and hang down into head smackin range. I think lil bro has been smacked in the head once too often, but thought I would ask the experts on here.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> I keep trimming higher limbs, about every year, as they grow longer and hang down into head smackin range. </font>

I'm with you, if it touches my canopy the chainsaw comes out and the offending branch is promptly eliminated.

 

[thcri]

My trees and I have come to an agreement. I trim them the way I like and if they don't like it they can leave. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

murph

 

[woodchuckie]

No the limbs don't get higher, eventually the lower limbs die and rot off and you keep getting new limbs at the new growth in the top. If the limbs moved higher you couldn't nail a fence to a tree. It would be off the ground more every year.

 

[Dargo]

Ha, since I've planted several thousand oak trees over the last 20 years, I can answer this question with a reasonable amount of certainty. They do only get "lower" over the years as they grow. Especially the pin oak variety. Their lower limbs hang down and their upper limbs ascend on the horizontal plane. I mow around roughly a thousand or so oak trees every week. I can tell you, each year, I have to trim the trees to keep from getting belted off of my mower. I gave up long ago trying to get my cab tractor anywhere close to them. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Those darn oak branches will leave a mark!

I'm stalling right now so I don't have to go out and trim a few hundred of mine. Do you know how heavy my chainsaw gets after an hour or two of holding it up over my head?! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I still have one pin oak tree that looks lopsided. When I was having my pool house bricked, one of the bricklayers got stuck in his ear by a branch from one of my pin oaks. Apparently he took particular offense to it. He went to his truck and got a hatchet and went after my tree! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif He did a fair amount of damage before they could calm him down and fire him. Oh well, it's growing back now. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[DKinWA]

I took a college class in botany and on the first day, the instructor came in and introduced himself. Right after talking about what to expect in the class he asked us one question. If he drove a nail into a fir tree exactly 4 feet from the ground and the tree grew 2 feet per year, how high would the nail be in 6 years? The answer..............4 feet. Trees don't grow out of the ground, the growth is at the terminal bud.

 

[Birdman]

Thanks guys for confirming what I was pretty sure I already knew /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Now that you brought up the " how high would the nail be" question, I do remember hearing that before. I don't know what it is about my brother, he gets these crazy ideas and will not listen to reason, will argue for ever about it, and never let you hear the end of it, sometimes I think he should of been a woman. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[DKinWA]

Is he a bettin' man? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif If he is, it might be a good time to lighten his wallet.

 

[turnkey4099]

My brother stopped when I was trimming branches. Said they would be too high later. Never did figure if he was joking or really meant it.

My pruning equp comes out as soon as I have to retrieve my cap.

Harry K

 

[cisco]

No, limbs don't get higher, but when you trim off the lower limbs, the upper ones start putting out shoots, and pretty soon they're hanging down in the space where you trimmed the lower limbs.
Anyhow, I've trimmed the limbs of all trees on my property of anything hanging closer than 10 feet to the ground. That's the "critical distance" (to me, my tractor and ROPS) wherein I get slapped in the face when mowing.

 

[Junkman]

Time to flip this question over. Last summer I planted some flowering cherry trees and they were about 20' high. Since we had such a bad winter, some of the branches haven't survived. So far, I haven't cut any of them off hoping to see some new buds before I do so. Most of the upper limbs appear to be dead. How do I deal with these? In some ways, it also appears that the upper part of the trunk had died. I am fearful to cut off too much, and don't know if leaving it alone is better than pruning it. I also have the same problem to a lesser extent with some of the flower crab apple trees. At least some of those are starting to come back. I lost 3 totally that were just dead this spring and now I can't find the same type to replace them with... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[MossRoad]

If the stuff is truly dead, you should trim it off to avoid diseased wood later. If the trunk has died up high, you can sometimes train a branch to start growing vertically. It is fairly easy with fruit trees. I've never tried it with hard woods like oaks.

 

[EastTexFrank]

<font color="blue"> </font><font color="blue" class="small">( he gets these crazy ideas and will not listen to reason )</font> </font>

Shoot, he should meet my S-I-L. They sound like two of a kind. What a pair they would make. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that. I don't know your brother and bear him no ill will. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I mean, I love her to death but she can make life difficult and frustrating at times. Family .... what can you do with them?????? Love them and go on.

 

[Junkman]

Not sure which is worse...... the S-I-L or the wife. They both take after the mother who is a Royal Pain.... I can't wait till Tuesday when she leaves the house and goes back to work. I hate holidays and weekends.. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Hondo]

Maybe your brother is getting shorter?

 

[hobbyfarm]

No!