Shoutout to the old timer in Eugene who caught my flush cuts from the ground

Karen Campbell · 2026-10-19T02:10:03.707312+00:00

For about six years I finished every pruning cut flush against the trunk and figured I was doing clean work. Then a retired climber named Walt watched me on a maple job in Eugene last spring and asked why I was cutting off the branch collar every single time. He grabbed a stub I had just left, pointed at the little swelling I had shaved right off, and said the tree was already closing that wound before I touched it. Now I leave the collar and my cuts close way faster, so how do you all judge where the collar ends on thin barked stuff like birch?

Free To Speak

Loading…

Shoutout to the old timer in Eugene who caught my flush cuts from the ground | Arborists - Free To Speak