Old forester told me to stop using chainsaw oil on pruning cuts. He was right.

About 8 months ago I was doing a big cleanup job for a lady in Oak Park. This retired arborist, maybe 70 years old, was walking his dog and stopped to watch me work. He saw me drizzle some bar oil on a fresh oak cut and he just sighed. Told me I was basically inviting fungus to a buffet. I laughed it off but later I googled it. Turns out petroleum based oils can mess with the tree's natural healing. Now I just use clean water or nothing. Those cuts I treated back then are still looking dark and kinda slimy. Anyone else get bad advice early on that took a while to shake?

2 comments

2 Comments

milaw1411d ago

Yeah, learned that one the hard way too.

taylor.hayden8d ago

That old forester did you a solid. I had a similar wake-up call about five years back when a tree service guy told me painting wounds with that black goop was a waste of money. Turns out trees are pretty good at sealing themselves off if you just leave them alone. Now I carry a sharp pocket knife to clean up any ragged cuts and just walk away. Those oily cuts you mentioned might take a couple years to dry out but they should eventually callous over if the tree is healthy.