Just found out from an old timer that most pruning cuts are actually bad for the tree

I was talking to a retired arborist at the local coffee shop, and he told me that over 70% of pruning cuts create wounds that never properly seal or heal, which blew my mind since I've been doing it for years. Has anyone else run into this or know what the actual best cut shapes are for long term tree health?

2 comments

2 Comments

grayb641mo ago

70% sounds kind of high, I mean trees seal wounds fine if you cut at the right spot.

-1

reese_bell1mo ago

Oh COME ON, @grayb64, are we really gonna pretend like chopping into a tree is no big deal? Trees don't just "seal wounds fine" - they can rot from the inside out if you mess up the cut or pick a bad time of year. I've seen plenty of huge branches fall off trees that looked healthy from the outside but were completely hollow inside from bad pruning years ago. 70% might be on the high side, sure, but it's not like people are just gonna stop hacking at their trees for no reason. Better to overestimate the risk than have your tree split in half during a storm.