Old timer in Ohio gave me a tip that changed how I do crown reductions

I was working a big red oak in Akron last fall and a retired arborist named Hank watched me from his porch for like 20 minutes. When I came down for lunch he walked over and said 'you're leaving too many stubs on your reduction cuts, you gotta aim for the branch collar every time.' I thought I was doing it right but he showed me how I was cutting a half inch too far out on the bigger limbs. Started aiming right at that collar instead of leaving a little nub and the trees I've done since then look way cleaner and heal faster. Also stopped getting those little dieback patches on the remaining branches which used to bug me. Has anyone else had an old pro point out a tiny thing in your technique that really upgraded your work?

2 comments

2 Comments

danieljenkins14d ago

Used to leave stubs on purpose thinking it was safer for the tree. That collar approach actually makes way more sense now that I've tried it. Definitely a small change that made a big difference.

briannguyen13d ago

Same here man. Didn't realize I was hurting the trees until a buddy pointed out the collar thing and I felt like an idiot for years of bad cuts.