Had an arborist in Austin set me straight about pruning cuts

I used to make my cuts flush with the trunk on smaller branches... felt clean and looked good. Then a guy I was working with on a live oak job in Austin told me I was leaving too big of a wound and slowing down the tree's healing. He showed me to cut just outside the branch collar instead. What do you use for a final pass on those collar cuts, a sharp handsaw or a chisel?

2 comments

2 Comments

murphy.linda23d agoMost Upvoted

aaah man I feel you on that. I made the same mistake for years before a local guy showed me the collar cut trick and it totally changed how I look at pruning. For the final pass I always use a sharp handsaw, a chisel feels like you're asking for a slip and a nasty gouge in my experience. It's wild how much faster the bark rolls over the cut when you leave that little bit of collar, takes some getting used to but it's worth it. Your tree will thank you in the long run, trust me on that one.

lucashart22d ago

Wait why would you use a chisel on a final pass though? I used to be all about that flush cut life, thought I was being super clean about it. Then a buddy showed me the collar cut thing and I was like nah that can't be right, leaving a stub like that. But after he made me look at some old cuts on my trees that healed clean vs the ones I did flush, I had to admit the collar ones were way better. Now I'm a total convert. It definitely feels weird at first but the difference in how fast the tree bounces back is wild.