In this video, Mike Hartges, who has been doing hinge cutting for deer habitat longer than anyone I know, shows us a tree that he hinge cut in 1995. It is still alive, with a number of robust sprouts coming off the stump and trunk. Here Mike demonstrates rehinging the tree 21 years later.
Recently, I have been hearing from a number of supposably educated sources in the Emergency Tree Service that hinge cut trees don’t survive well. Even the Michigan DNR got into the act recently putting out an article called “Alternatives to hinge cutting” in which they say “a hinge cut tree will soon be just as dead as a tree cut with safer techniques”.
While it is true that some species don’t survive well, and it is true that many practice and teach methods that do not promote good survival, it is also true that most hardwood species can survive indefinitely after hinge cutting, if the conditions and methods used are appropriate. In the video I describe some of the reasons this myth about poor survival of hinge cut trees continues, even in the face of tremendous success by those who are practicing appropriate techniques.
Watch as Mike Hartges rehinges a tree he first hinge cut 21 years earlier.
Encouraging to know some trees last this long. I have a lot of Eastern Red Cedars on my property. Do they survive hinge-cutting? Thanks for your helpful info!
They don’t stay alive but they provide structure for a long, long time.