Finally figured out I was over-pruning my clients' oaks for years

I had a guy call me out on an 80 year old red oak in Portland, said it looked sadder every year after I trimmed it. Turns out I was taking off way too much live wood, thinking I was being proactive. Another arborist showed me how leaving more canopy actually keeps the tree stronger. Has anyone else had a client call them out on something that changed your whole approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan6581mo agoTop Commenter

The whole "more is better" thing is a trap man... my dad ran a tree service in Eugene for 30 years and he always stripped oaks way back. Took a lawsuit from a neighbor whose tree died to make him rethink everything.

finleyl391mo ago

Yeah, I've killed a few trees trying to help them too, oops.

james_bell1mo ago

Whoa, I gotta disagree a bit on that one. Oaks are tough but they really don't like heavy pruning in my experience. I've seen plenty of them slowly decline after a hard cutback, especially if it's too close to the trunk or done in the wrong season. What kind of trees have you been messing with that ended up dead?