Got told my crown reduction cuts were all wrong last month

A guy from the local ISA chapter watched me prune a red oak and said I was leaving too many stubs, like half-inch nubs all over. He showed me how to cut flush to the branch collar instead and now my trees heal way cleaner. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from old-timers who did it a different way?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin_foster11mo ago

Man, old habits die hard. A buddy of mine spent years topping trees for a landscaping company before someone showed him proper pruning cuts, and he said it felt like learning to write with his other hand. Now his work looks way cleaner and the homeowners don't call back about dead branches.

terrymitchell1mo ago

We had a guy like that where I worked, three years in, and when we finally switched him to proper three point cuts instead of the old flush cuts, he said the first week he kept catching himself reaching for the saw wrong. It's wild how much muscle memory gets baked in, even when you know better. Did your buddy ever notice a difference in how fast the trees healed, or was it more about the look of the final cut for him? I'm curious if the homeowners actually pointed it out first or if he just saw the dead wood tell on his own.