Question
An arborist recently pruned our huge Dogwood (early april) and the tree is weeping profusely after 2 weeks...i have read that there is no need to apply a wound dressing but what else can i do to stop the weeping? Should i wipe down the branch? When will it stop? The arborist did say that it will weep after pruning...

Answer
Bleeding of pruning wounds can be heavy on certain trees,
such as birch, dogwood, sugar maples and elms. Bleeding
of susceptible trees can be minimized by making small
cuts--less than 3 inches in diameter--and pruning in
summer. Bleeding is much more likely if severe pruning is
done just before growth begins in the spring. Bleeding
doesn't harm the tree, but if it's heavy and persistent,
it may injure the bark below the pruning cut and cause
slow callusing of the lower wound. Trees subject to bleeding should be pruned in the late spring or early summer when leaves are on the tree. Actively growing leaves tend to reduce the amount of bleeding from pruning cuts and allow the cuts to heal more quickly.

In the early spring the trees are transporting the "sap" form the roots to the leaves and this time of the year the pressure is the highest. Any prune during this time will bleed some. The bleeding will stop when the weather warms up in late spring or early summer. No need to apply anything to the wound or wipe the oozing off. I would bet your arborist is not certified or he would have known not to prune at this time of the year. Here is a site for certified arborist. http://www.isa-arbor.com/findArborist/findarborist.aspx