Had a landscaper tell me my pruning was too clean

Was showing a new guy how to trim a maple near a house in Boise last week when this old landscaper walks up and says I'm cutting too smooth. Said trees heal better with a little bit of rough edge, something about how the bark rolls over a jagged cut faster. Never heard that before in 15 years. Anyone else run into advice like that from non-arborists who actually made a point?

3 comments

3 Comments

fisher.thomas2d ago

Oh boy, here we go with the old timer wisdom again. I swear every retired landscaper has some secret ancient knowledge that nobody else has ever heard of. Next thing you know he's gonna tell you to only prune during a full moon while wearing a specific color shirt. But hey, maybe he's onto something. If rough cuts heal faster, then my lawn guy must have trees that recover in record time with the hack job he does with those dull blades. Might be time to start throwing my pruners at the tree instead, really get that jagged look going for maximum healing. Either way, sounds like a good way to get more work fixing other people's "advanced healing technique" disasters. Keep cutting clean, man.

anthonynelson2d agoTop Commenter

Funny how the moon phase thing applies to everything... @cameron_hernandez69 you're right about insects latching onto rough edges though.

cameron_hernandez692d ago

That old timer might have something, though it sounds like old wives' tale stuff. Trees don't have nerves or feelings, they just seal off wounds with callus tissue and the shape of the cut probably doesn't matter much. A clean cut from a sharp saw leaves less surface area for disease and that's what matters most in my book. Rough edges just give insects and fungus more places to grab hold of. Seems like he's confusing how bark heals with how a tree actually responds to a wound biologically.