Just realized my pruning cuts were all wrong after talking to a retired guy at the nursery

Ran into an old timer buying loppers at the garden center last Saturday and he pointed out I was leaving 3 inch stubs on all my branch collar cuts. He said I was basically making it harder for the tree to seal over, which explains some of the rot I've been seeing on my maples. Anyone else get shown a basic technique way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_patel17d ago

Wait, you were leaving stubs too? I did the same thing for years until my neighbor yelled at me over the fence.

noran2116d ago

The neighbor yelling part is funny but you actually want to cut the stubs shorter than you think. Garden shears work way better than pruners for getting a clean close cut. Leaving even a tiny stub gives bugs and disease a direct path into the plant. I learned that the hard way when half my rose bushes got cane borers from my sloppy cuts. Make the cut right at a 45 degree angle just above a node or leaf joint. Your plants will thank you with way better growth next season.