The city park in Springfield is butchering their oaks with flush cuts

I was walking through the park on Tuesday and had to stop and stare. The city crew had clearly been through and 'pruned' about a dozen mature white oaks. Every single cut was a flush cut right up against the trunk, leaving huge wounds. I counted at least seven trees with these massive, oval scars where branches used to be. They've basically removed the branch collar entirely, which means those cuts will never seal properly. It's an open door for decay and disease. I know municipal budgets are tight, but this is basic stuff. It's worse than doing nothing at all. How does a public works department still not know about proper pruning cuts in 2024?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren65227d ago

You're so right about it being worse than doing nothing. I saw the exact same thing happen in my town last fall. They butchered a whole row of maples along the main street, just hacking limbs off flat against the trunk. Those big wounds are just sitting there letting rot straight into the heartwood. It makes me so mad because a proper cut just outside the collar is not even harder to do, they just need to train their crews. It's like they're paying for work that actively kills the trees.

cameronrivera10d ago

I get what @wren652 is saying, but sometimes a quick, safe cut is all a stretched-thin crew can do.

oscar_schmidt4627d ago

Municipal crews have to manage thousands of trees with very little time and money. A fast flush cut gets the job done and removes the hazard, even if @wren652 doesn't like how it looks. Isn't public safety more important than perfect tree biology?