Heard a guy at the ISA chapter meeting say pruning cuts don't matter on oaks

I was at the local arborist meetup in Austin last Tuesday and this older guy claimed that decay from a bad cut on a live oak is just cosmetic. He said he's seen 20 year old stubs that are solid inside. Is there any truth to that or is he way off base?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_joseph18d ago

Man, that guy is way off base. I've been doing tree work for about 15 years now and I've seen plenty of live oaks with stubs that rotted all the way through. Had a big one in south Austin a few years back where a bad cut from a construction crew turned a solid branch into a hollow mess in about 8 years. Sure, some stubs might stay solid if the tree seals them off fast, but that's more luck than skill. The oak wilt stuff alone makes clean cuts worth it, even if it's just for peace of mind.

reese55018d ago

Read a Texas A&M study that found stubs increase oak wilt infection risk by 40% in live oaks.