Green Horizons

Volume 3, Number 4
Autumn 1998

Less is more

When selecting crop trees, it is desirable sometimes to girdle competing trees instead of cutting them. Large trees can be allowed to deteriorate slowly, thereby causing less damage when they fall piece by piece. Wildlife also can benefit from the dead standing trees.

Experience in the field is proof that this is a case where less is more. Cutting to a depth of one inch with a chainsaw is sufficient to kill the tree, especially when coupled with a herbicide application. Deeper cuts may defeat your purposes. Cutting deeper than an inch may leave the tree, especially smaller trees, vulnerable to falling during high winds and create a hazard to workers or visitors.