Driving to work this morning revealed the impact of this heavy, wet snowstorm. Young trees are bending under the weight of a foot or more of the white stuff. Larger, older trees remain upright - thanks to stout trunks – but are lowering their branches.
NEVER APPROACH A DOWNED LIMB ON A POWER LINE.
Caring for trees on private property is the responsibility of the owner but if your trees are overloaded from the snow there’s no need to panic. Some people are suggesting you grab the branch or tree and shake it, but that might add to the stress on the wood. A better approach is to use a broom to very carefully knock off snow. Use the broom in an upward motion to knock the snow from the branch instead of sweeping down onto the limb and adding more weight.
1. Twelve inches away from trunk or from where you want the prune to be, make your first cut on the underside of the branch, sawing upwards through one-third of the branch.
2. One-inch outward from the undercut, saw downwards through branch. At the point of no return, the weight of the branch will snap the limb, but the undercut will stop bark tearing of the tree.