The guy who told me to stop painting wound sealers on pruning cuts was right

I lost two mature oaks to decay after sealing the cuts for years, finally stopped last spring after a retired arborist from Michigan called me out on it and now the trees are actually healing on their own, has anyone else had a hard time dropping that old habit?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanef341mo ago

Actually it's the wound sealers themselves that cause the problem, not just the act of sealing. They trap moisture against the cut and give fungi a perfect place to set up shop. Most trees do better when you just let them be.

jessej231mo ago

My neighbor used that stuff once and his oak got all mushy and gross.

claire_davis311mo ago

I've seen so many trees get all black and weepy from that stuff. Just leave the cut clean and dry, mother nature's been handling tree wounds way longer than we have been.