That pruning seminar in Asheville changed how I read branch angles

I sat in on a two day workshop last month and the guy running it kept saying that most of us cut to the collar like we're scared of the branch, but we should read the bark ridge first. He showed us a red oak where the ridge was almost invisible and told us to go by the branch's natural angle instead of the collar. I tried it on a big maple in a backyard yesterday and the cut sat so much flatter than my usual work. The tree was right against a deck and I avoided butchering the union, which saved me from a call back. My old foreman would have laughed at me for trusting a seminar over muscle memory, but the wound size difference was obvious. Has anyone else switched to reading the ridge over the collar and seen better callusing?

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david3722d ago

Honestly, you're right about reading the ridge first, but I'd still keep a quick eye on the collar after the cut. The ridge gives you the angle, the collar just helps you close the wound faster, so don't ditch it completely.