The day I got called out for using a pole pruner wrong after 20 years

I was working a massive live oak in Austin last Tuesday when this younger arborist from another crew walks up and asks why I'm making my cuts so far from the collar. I told him I've been doing it this way since the 90s and nobody complained. He pulled out his phone and showed me a study from Texas A&M about decay rates with improper cuts. I was pretty embarrassed honestly. Has anyone else had a younger crew member teach them something that made you rethink your whole approach?

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richard_mason7d ago

Honestly I was the same way for years. I learned tree work from my uncle back in the early 2000s and he swore by cutting flush to the trunk to make it look clean. Took a younger guy showing me a few rotting stumps on some old jobs to realize I was making things worse for the tree. Now I leave a proper collar every time and my trees heal way faster.