Just caught myself doing a stupid pruning cut I always tell others to avoid

I was up in a red oak yesterday in Austin and without thinking did a flush cut right at the branch collar. Caught myself halfway through and felt like an idiot. I see this mistake on like 3 out of every 5 trees I get called out to fix. The wound still hasn't closed right and it's been 8 months - anyone else find themselves slipping into bad habits even when they know better?

3 comments

3 Comments

williamw753d ago

Red oaks never let you forget a bad cut.

richard_young803d ago

Jaw dropped when you said it was a red oak. Those things are so touchy about that sort of thing. I swear they hold a grudge longer than any other tree I've dealt with. Made a similar cut on one in my own yard back in '19 and it still has that dark weeping spot like it's keeping score. You probably already know this but hitting the branch collar on a red oak is basically asking for a fungal invitation.

alice9283d ago

Oh man, red oaks are absolutely that petty. I had one in my old neighborhood that got a little nick from a lawnmower and it oozed sap for three straight summers like it was sending me a bill. You know what's funny though? I've seen people baby a sugar maple with the same cut and it just shrugs it off like nothing happened. Makes you wonder if trees have personalities or if that's just us reading too much into it. But yeah, your point about the branch collar is spot on - once that fungus gets a foothold, you might as well start planning for the removal bill down the road.