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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?
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gray_patel3mo ago
Wait, you were leaving stubs too? I did the same thing for years until my neighbor yelled at me over the fence.
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noran213mo 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.
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