"Soft pruning"

[Ty Korrigan]

Is what the French call 'Taille Douce'

I thought I practiced this until recently when I found out that pruning as I have been taught is frowned upon by a movment of French arborists with their own views and methods.

It started with me recieving the odd weird message via instagram of FB criticising my pruning work.

A little searching around found a French group on FB devoted to pruning.

I have been accused of selling a service just for the $$$ and not working with the health of the tree in mind.

I am accused of destroying trees with my methods.

I've had several messages so far from as far away as Belgium.

Seems that target pruning is frowned upon as it destroys apical dominance.

Only thinning or deadwooding is permitted.

The actual exteriour of the crown, all those apical buds may be very lightly pruned with secateurs but once this is done must be repeated every year for decidious and every 3 for conifers and it is very expensive.

No actual crown reductions are permitted.

Branch removals in case of lines or buildings etc are permitted only grudgingly.

Curiously very few when asked have heard of Matteck or Shigo and this includes my current subbing climber who is French.

I posed questions time again, "What do you do if the tree has outgrown it's station?"

Only to be told that trees do not outgrow their situation and should not be treated as urban furniture.

It is better to remove the tree than adopt any reduction pruning as this leaves open wounds blah blah blah CODIT.

A pruning method they have adopted is that of effectively tickling the corona of the crown which is very time consuming and so expensive.

Yes, the trees often look, well, nice and clean with a good shape but at an eyewatering cost.

It also changes nothing, virtually nothing in terms of volume.

You never reduce, never change the volume of the tree, never reduce the height.

I asked about hyper-tropic limbs (apologies if this term is incorrect), branches that are long and gangly with all their weight at the ends.

Those branches in danger of fissuring or perhaps already done so.

Cable bracing is the answer.

I asked what if 4 neighbours write a petition to have a local tree pruned because it overhands their properties and they are afraid that should it fall it would land on their house?

Answer was 'remove the tree but again no reduction permitted'

These guys will simply refuse to do pruning work if it does not conform to their strict ideas.

YET!

 They are fine with pollarding techniques such as used on lime or plane street trees.

Now a great deal of my work is either pruning or removing trees which are in some way a problem to the owners or neighbours.

95% of my clients are French and seem very happy with the results certainly when compared to the many urban trees attacked by travellers, gardeners and home owners.

Also, people have a budget in mind and tree work usually comes last after mortgage, new car, holiday, night out etc.

However if I am missing a new trick in pruning techniques I'd certainly like to learn about it.

However, these guys certainly do not appreciate being questioned or challenged, I find them pompous, self congratulating, arrogant, they are like a sub cult of arborists, religious extremists, fundamental vegans or eco warriors.

Personally we are doing very well with 70% of quotes accepted on average and our clients also seem very happy with my teams methods, results and advice so I'm not unduly worried by unsolicited criticism from far away French arborists.

Any one aware of an alternative arborist movement in the U.K who is against tree pruning in general?

  Regards

    Stuart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by Ty Korrigan

[Mick Dempsey]

Arb fundamentalism.

 

There’s a few councils in the UK (well at least one) that will not approve any pruning on any of their trees.

 

What you have to understand is that customer satisfaction is irrelevant to the arb fundamentalist, clients are to  be ‘educated’ as that’s our job according to many.

 

Trees are trees, no variation of approach regarding pruning is to take species into account.

 

Regarding any stick you may get on social media, this ain’t your first rodeo Stu is it?

 

[Ty Korrigan]

Rodeo is uninvited.

I find it very strange to recieve unsolicited messages from people criticising our work who then barely respond and even then shut down when questioned further.

  Stuart

[Mick Dempsey]

Have a look on Arborists Online, classic case going on as we speak.

[The avantgardener]

What credentials, experience and knowledge have these people got to back up their criticism of your work? 
I would personally just tel them to go F**k themselves, in French if course.

[Ty Korrigan]

Well, aside from my NPTC, experience and horticultural certificates (none of which are recognised in France)

I'm hardly an expert on paper but do have an avid enthusiasm forall aspects of our trade.

I dare not ask these guys, they have already told me that I am no arborissssttttttte and am merely an English gardener wannabe faux arb.

 Seriously, I'm not suffering butt hurt, just surprised that such an acidic group of extremists has focused their ire upon me.

Thinking we have pinched too much work from some-one...lol!

   Stuart

[Mick Dempsey]

Never post reductions on FB, there’s always someone fresh outta college ready to tell you your job.

[carlos]

not really sure how a fell can be deemed better for the trees health than a careful reduction???

also tree are very good at recovering for harsh pruning either by humans or storms.... they want to grow!

[Ty Korrigan]

1 minute ago, carlos said:

not really sure how a fell can be deemed better for the trees health than a careful reduction???

also tree are very good at recovering for harsh pruning either by humans or storms.... they want to grow!

Ah, it is exactly this that the group seem to be against.

A horror of reaction growth and a belief that trees cannot occlude except where dead wood is present.

As far as limbs ripped ou by storms, if I ever get the minerals together I might ask them about coronet cutting, something I have only once sold to a client but the apprentice was so horrified by the idea he cut the the material off instead. 

(Mick was right about college kids)

  Stuart

[carlos]

crown reducing a mature tree with secateures.... annually!!! cant really see that being to popular outside of japan.

and they accused you of pruning just for the money?!

i dont think much tree work actually benefits the trees health?? maybe iam wrong.