Too many tree surgeons?!

[Richard 1234]

I'm not against pruning of trees, or thinning or reducing of them for that matter. I'm against the removal of large healthy trees unless there's a very good reason and the topping of trees advertised as a reduction. When we crown lift or reduce a tree we've done work on it to prevent its removal, that to me is conservation work in an urban environment.

Serious question as I really don’t know.
What’s the difference between a crown lift and topping?

Surely they both take stuff off the top?

I think it’s good saving trees from looking like they have been chopped in half if possible as they look better.

I’ve had people ask me to chop small trees down because they don’t want to pay someone the going rate to prune them properly to look good in the place they are in

[Matthew Storrs]

56 minutes ago, Richard 1234 said:

 

 

Serious question as I really don’t know.
What’s the difference between a crown lift and topping?

Surely they both take stuff off the top?

I think it’s good saving trees from looking like they have been chopped in half if possible as they look better.

I’ve had people ask me to chop small trees down because they don’t want to pay someone the going rate to prune them properly to look good in the place they are in

 

 

Crown lift it taking branches off the bottom of the canopy not the top hence the 'lift'. Perhaps it should be called a canopy lift actually as a crown indicates the top???

[Marula]

Serious question as I really don’t know.
What’s the difference between a crown lift and topping?

Surely they both take stuff off the top?

I think it’s good saving trees from looking like they have been chopped in half if possible as they look better.

I’ve had people ask me to chop small trees down because they don’t want to pay someone the going rate to prune them properly to look good in the place they are in

Crown lifting is the pruning of lower limbs, the tree is designed to seal these wounds and contain any infection, this will depend on wound size and the number of wounds in relation to the trunk size obviously.
Topping takes the top of the tree off and exposes the heartwood of the tree, it has no way of containing an infection and will ultimately die, whether this is in one year or 50 years it will die, a particularly dry season or any other wound which stresses the tree will accelerate this process.
The problem is people measure the affects of pruning in human years, they'll give you the old "see it made it", when in fact what should have been a 300 year old tree will now only be an 80 year old tree.

[Marula]

I toped these trees, do you fink there gunna dye?

 

Are those maples Mick? Looks like they've been had at a few times in the past. I don't think any one would miss those things if they were to go, if they are maple they're not exactly known for their polyphenol "prowess", so yes, they'll limp along until a tree officer decides they're just ragged half crowned monstrosities and has them out.

[Ty Korrigan]

3 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I toped these trees, do you fink there gunna dye?

Vivre la France!

  Ty

[Mick Dempsey]

27 minutes ago, Marula said:

 

Are those maples Mick? Looks like they've been had at a few times in the past. I don't think any one would miss those things if they were to go, if they are maple they're not exactly known for their polyphenol "prowess", so yes, they'll limp along until a tree officer decides they're just ragged half crowned monstrosities and has them out.

No they're Limes, lapsed pollards that I hammered a year ago, here they are today, "limping along" 

They'll  be fine and they can be redone as hard, in 5/10/20/50 years till to no ill effect.

 

Sadly no tree I know has ever read BS 3998 or whatever.

They don't know they're supposed to die.

[flatyre]

Not sure if this is relevant, but its easy to judge a job on the drive by without knowing what the customer wanted, condition of the tree, etc. I know I've been asked to butcher trees by customers who don't know the science, and reluctantly done it, at the end of the day if that's what they want then they'll get it, at least if I do it the cuts will be clean and the maximum amount removable won't be exceeded.

[Marula]

No they're Limes, lapsed pollards that I hammered a year ago, here they are today, "limping along" 
They'll  be fine and they can be redone as hard, in 5/10/20/50 years till to no ill effect.
 
Sadly no tree I know has ever read BS 3998 or whatever.
They don't know they're supposed to die.

Limes are an exception and they were initially pollarded, that's not the same as topping a mature tree is it?

[Ty Korrigan]

I tried a couple of years ago to persuade this client that if they wanted cherries lower down then it would be better to plant a low grafted tree.

However the client likes the cherries off this tree and thought I was being daft as in his words "trees like being cut"

So someone else got the job, twice by the looks of things and no doubt the cherries are now supermarket bought...

  Ty

[Marula]

I tried a couple of years ago to persuade this client that if they wanted cherries lower down then it would be better to plant a low grafted tree.
However the client likes the cherries off this tree and thought I was being daft as in his words "trees like being cut"
So someone else got the job, twice by the looks of things and no doubt the cherries are now supermarket bought...
  Ty

I had the same thing with a fairly old Malus, someone else took the top off to "reduce" it and it looked like that a few seasons later, a real waste.