Pruning sealants, also called pruning paint, are products that claim to “help heal pruning cuts or “minimize sap loss”. In most cases, these products are based on petroleum, but some even contain asphalt. Alternatively, there are natural tree sealants with ingredients such as collagen and aloe gel. Scientific research has shown that pruning sealant is not necessary.
Much more important is the proper pruning technique. Knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the tree allows us to prune a tree and allow the tree to use its protective mechanisms to protect itself. It is also advisable to minimize pruning on landscape trees by training a tree when it is young. Cutting small branches when the tree is young avoids the need to cut larger branches later.
The large wounds that occur when removing large branches create greater difficulties for the tree. In reality, paint pruning can prevent healing and encourage the growth of rotting organisms and insect infestation. Instead of sealing the infection, wound dressings often seal in moisture and decay. In most cases, it is best to let the wounds seal on their own.
For millennia, trees have developed effective mechanisms for this. Unlike humans or animals, woody plants cannot heal damaged tissues. Instead, they compartmentalize wounds with layers of cells that prevent the damage from spreading further. A properly pruned tree or shrub will seal wounds and prevent spoilage organisms from entering the trunk.
Naturally, small wounds seal much faster than large ones, which is a clear argument for pruning and training plants when they are young. In addition to being potentially harmful to humans, pruning sealants are believed to hinder cell regeneration and wound healing of trees. It is possible to see scars (compartmentalized damage) caused by fires 50 and 100 years before the tree was finally cut. One of the most important areas of a tree that helps prevent decay and insect damage is the area called the branch protection zone.
Tree pruning can be an important deterrent to pests and prevent potentially harmful infestations and tree diseases. Certainly, some of these cause problems to the tree, but in many cases the tree has the natural defense mechanisms to handle the problem. Shadywood Tree Experts is a Minnesota family-owned business providing professional services to Twin Cities residents since 1968. In the natural environment, branches break from trees in windstorms and must have a mechanism to defend themselves without a gardener entering the forest and applying a wound sealant for each injury. Wound paints and pruning sealants are not only unnecessary for the healthy and safe healing of a tree cut, but can also be counterproductive and potentially harmful.
Compartmentalization is a self-healing process in which trees form a series of walls around the rolled wood. By making the final cut just outside this area at an angle of 45 degrees from the tree, the branch protection zone will remain intact and will be able to perform its main function of closing the wound. Before we get into the question of the treatment of tree branches, it is worth summarizing the benefits of pruning, which are many. It is stationed in Austin, Texas, where the wilting of oaks is so worrying that pruning oaks from February to June is discouraged.
The idea is that the application works as a kind of “bandage”, which once painted allows the tree to heal underneath it. .
