20 years of pruning and I just learned I've been cutting branches wrong

I was out on a job last week in Portland and a homeowner came out while I was trimming their maple. She watched me for a minute and then asked why I was leaving such long stubs. I told her that's just how I always did it, leaving a little bit to avoid damaging the branch collar. She pulled out her phone and showed me a video from some arborist workshop about proper pruning cuts, showing how you should cut flush to the collar but not into it. I had been leaving half inch stubs on every single cut for my whole career thinking I was protecting the tree. Now I feel like an idiot every time I look at a tree I pruned 5 years ago with all those dead stub ends sticking out. Anybody else have a moment where you realized a basic technique you learned was completely backwards?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesfox1mo ago

You ever wonder how many little tricks we pick up early on that just get passed down without anyone checking if they're right? I had the same wakeup call about deadwooding a few years back, where I learned that cleaning out every tiny dead twig actually stresses the tree more than leaving it be. It stings at first but now I just double check every new method before I make it a habit.

blairtaylor1mo ago

The deadwooding thing is a perfect example. It reminds me of how people used to swear by painting pruning cuts with tar or sealant back in the day. Turns out that actually traps moisture and decay inside, making things worse instead of helping. Same with that old advice about staking every new tree you plant. In my experience most trees do better if you just let them sway a bit and build up their own strength from day one. The real trick is figuring out which of these old school rules actually have science behind them and which ones are just habits nobody bothered to question.