That thing with oak tree collar cuts keeps bugging me

I see so many guys making flush cuts on oak limbs, right at the trunk. I spent 3 years working with an old forester in Michigan who showed me the collar is there for a reason, you leave about an inch and the tree seals way faster. Has anyone else had a customer argue about the flush cut look?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery7216d ago

Honestly, does it really matter that much for the average homeowner? I've seen trees get flush cut all the time in my neighborhood and they're still standing and growing like 5 years later. People act like you'll kill the whole tree if you don't leave a perfect collar, but I think a lot of it is just old school arborist lore that gets way too hyped up. I get that it helps the tree heal faster, but unless you're doing this for a living on like ancient oaks, who cares? Most people just want the branch gone and don't want to stare at a stub sticking out. The tree will survive either way, it's not like it's gonna die tomorrow from a bad cut.

josephb356d ago

Sort of agree, but you're mixing up flush cuts and leaving a stub. A stub is where you leave a chunk of branch sticking out. That's actually worse than a flush cut because it can rot back into the trunk. A flush cut cuts right up against the trunk, which also causes problems but more slowly. Trees can survive a lot of bad cuts, but it's not just about living. It's about how long they live and how healthy they stay. That 5 year timeline you're seeing might turn into a split or decay issue in year 10 or 15 when a big storm hits. Most people just don't keep watch that long.