Crazy how many guys still top a mature oak without thinking about the branch collar
I was doing a removal out in Fairview last month and watched the crew next door leave 6 inch stubs on a red oak they were trimming. The homeowner was standing right there smiling too, had no clue that those stubs are basically an open door for decay to move straight into the trunk. I get it, cutting flush looks cleaner from the ground and it feels faster when you're up there with a saw. But that branch collar is the tree's own seal, and when you slice it off the tree can't wall off the wound the way it's supposed to. Came back to that same property 8 months later to look at a maple job and half their oak cuts had rot starting in. The weird part is their climber had 12 years in the saddle, he just learned it that way from his old boss and never questioned it. So how do you even bring this up with another crew without sounding like the guy who thinks he knows everything?