Those that bloom later in the spring or summer should be pruned during the dormant season in January or February. Q. I have some large limbs on a tree in my yard which need to be removed. Please outline the procedure which I believe involves making several cuts per limb rather than just one straight through the limb to be removed. Tree limb removal is no different. When shortening a branch or twig, the proper procedure involves cutting it back to a side branch or make this cut one-fourth inch above a dormant bud.
Dormant buds are at the bases of all leaves.
When removing large branches, three or four cuts are necessary to avoid tearing the bark. Make the first cut on the underside of the branch about 18 inches from the trunk. If the stub is small enough, hold it with one hand and use the other hand to cut the branch stub. The cut should be made just beyond the branch collar swelling. This collar contains chemicals that inhibit the invasion of decay organisms.