Old timer told me to stop babying my oak tree pruning cuts

Guy who's been climbing since the 70s said I was making too clean of cuts on a red oak in Denver and that a little tear out helps the tree compartmentalize faster. I thought he was nuts but tried it on a big lateral last spring and the callus rollover is way ahead of my other cuts. Any of you guys use a rougher cut on purpose or is this just old school thinking?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin62825d ago

Jesus, really? Tear out on purpose? That goes against everything I was taught. I'd be worried about the bark peeling back too far.

charlescraig25d ago

Swear to god @robin628 I had the same reaction when a guy at the local garden club told me to do it. He was like just rip the sucker clean off the branch, don't even use snips. Felt totally wrong but I tried it on a big dead limb on my maple last fall and the tree healed up way cleaner than when I'd cut it before. The bark actually sealed tight right at the collar instead of leaving that little nub that rots. Still makes me cringe thinking about it though lol.

the_lee25d ago

Honestly that "bark sealed tight right at the collar" part is what gets me. When you tear it instead of cutting it, does the bark actually pull back into the wood or does it just kind of fray around the edges? I've always been told a clean cut heals fastest but your buddy's trick sounds like it might work different for different trees. Like if I tried that on a cherry tree versus a live oak would I get the same result or is it more specific to certain types of wood?