Realized after 3 years I was topping my Norway maples wrong

I was up on a big Norway maple in Green Bay last Tuesday, doing a reduction cut on a heavy limb, and my ground guy just stopped and stared at me. He said "you know you're leaving too much stub right?" I looked down and yeah, I was leaving like 4-5 inches every time because I was scared of cutting into the branch collar. Been doing it that way since I started, never had anyone call me out. Any of you guys have a moment where a simple thing you did forever turned out to be the wrong move?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver225d ago

Buddy of mine Pat had been pruning his family's oaks for like 8 years before his old timer neighbor came over and pointed out he was making flush cuts right into the branch bark ridge. Pat thought he was being careful and clean. Turns out he was basically leaving a big open wound every time. The neighbor showed him how to find the collar on a red oak and Pat said the tree literally looked healthier the next season. Still gives that neighbor a christmas six pack every year for that one tip.

simon71714d ago

A clean knuckle cut is the way to go, (or so I've found). It's one of those things where you need someone to actually show you because the written descriptions never quite make it click. Three years of stubs is rough, but at least you found out before the tree started showing real problems.

margaretm2325d ago

My buddy Mike, who's been climbing since the 80s, called me out on the same thing back when I was doing crown reductions on silver maples. I was so focused on not damaging the collar that I left stubs like crazy. Once I watched him do a few cuts, it just clicked - you aim closer to the collar but not into it, like a clean knuckle cut. Night and day for the tree's healing.

-1