Used to strip all my cuts clean until I saw the damage it was doing

For years I would strip every single branch back to the collar, no stubs left at all. Thought I was being precise and clean. Then a buddy of mine in Savannah showed me a removal he did on a live oak where the homeowner had someone do that years ago. The whole branch union was rotting out from the inside because water got in through the stripped cut. I started leaving a 1/2 inch stub on bigger limbs, especially in wet climates, and the trees heal way better now. Saw it myself on a red maple I trimmed three years back, the stubs callused over clean while the collars on my old cuts still looked rough. Anyone else shift from clean cuts to leaving a small stub for better healing?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_chen8111d ago

I saw something similar in an article from the Arbor Day Foundation. They said leaving a stub on bigger limbs helps the tree seal off the wound better because the collar can dry out and callus over faster. On my oaks here in Houston, the stubbed cuts heal up in one season while the flush cuts stay wet and slimy for years. It goes against everything I learned starting out, but the proof is right there in the bark.

brooke_jones11d agoMost Upvoted

Same here! Stubbed cuts heal way cleaner in my yard too.

evan_davis11d ago

Wow @brooke_jones, have you noticed any difference on smaller branches versus the big limbs with stubbed cuts?