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Watching a crew in Portland cut a big oak branch flush to the trunk
They left a collar of maybe half an inch, which is way too small for a cut that size. A proper branch collar cut for something that big needs to keep at least the full 1 to 2 inch natural ridge to seal right. I've seen three trees on that same street get decay pockets from cuts like that over five years. What's your go-to method for sizing up the collar before you make the final cut?
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taylor.mary6d ago
Last summer I watched a crew in my own neighborhood make that same mistake on a maple. Honestly, my go-to method is to feel for the ridge with my hand first, then score a line with my saw about an inch outside of that. Tbh, if you can't clearly see the collar, you have to peel back a little of the loose bark to find where it really swells out from the trunk. It feels slow, but it saves the tree.
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