Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

Trimming Limbs

Video, Lawn and Garden, Trees & Shrubs Published 09/30/2006 by Danny Lipford

Removing limbs from trees and shrubs is a necessary part of gardening, but you must do the job correctly. To avoid splintering the cut, make a relief cut a foot or so outside the branch collar. This will remove the weight of the limb so you can make a cleaner final cut. The final cut should be just outside the collar or wrinkled area where the branch and the tree join.