Hamas big reduction/pruning thread!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Shall get into some more pics and the full details in a moment on this but heres some photos of a massive beech I finished today (2 days full climbing) as you can see we halod a LOT, reduced ALOT! and it had a LOT of problems so lots to go over here, this is a good summary for now, shall grab some tea and get to some details after:thumbup1:

 

 

 

 

 

[Tom Cook]

 

Tony throwing tops out of today's beech reduction

[James Atkinson]

thats a pretty cool beech, but looks a little poorly haha you not get up it tom?

[Tom Cook]

Yeah was an awesome tree, na I wasn't allowed:(

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Yeah was an awesome tree, na I wasn't allowed:(

 

Tom, ive been doing this 25 years, im at the top of my game and that was a job and a half even for me, john would have had you up that but your not ready for that kind of job, a lot could have gone wrong on that.

 

I know how keen you are, and your brave enough to have a go, of that there is no doubt. I want you to be the best too, it takes time and experience to do that kind of tree, your time is going to come, Im getting long in the tooth!

 

I know it looked like an awesome tree, and awesome to do, and it was a lot of fun, but it also took every single minute of those years ive got on you to ensure it went well and was complete on time.

 

When were done with you young padawon you will be an awesome arb worth your weight in every situation, be glad not sad that I have your back, cos no one had mine when I was your age, i just had to get on, and learn the hard way.

 

I promise that next time we have a job like that youll get your chance, it will be upto you to decide if your gonna be a bigwood boss then!

 

Climbing the big plane on campus is one thing, but knocking big lumps out from a 100ft while in the tree is quite another, as youll find out!

[swinny]

My problem is when i come to do reductions its the peeling down if you get me? Once you've decided at which height your going to carry it out at, its that point at which you go over the edge so to speak and pull in the top part of the canopy to achieve the shape, so sometimes gives you a wider top so to speak.

 

 

Also, just thinking about that lime reduction albere did...... if it wasn't for the fact that there was so much dead in it, and imagine it as a healthy tree, it would not be advised to reduce after root loss as to reduce would slow down root growth? assuming the crown was ok......

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

My problem is when i come to do reductions its the peeling down if you get me? Once you've decided at which height your going to carry it out at, its that point at which you go over the edge so to speak and pull in the top part of the canopy to achieve the shape, so sometimes gives you a wider top so to speak.

 

 

Also, just thinking about that lime reduction albere did...... if it wasn't for the fact that there was so much dead in it, and imagine it as a healthy tree, it would not be advised to reduce after root loss as to reduce would slow down root growth? assuming the crown was ok......

 

being a lime its no issue really, but yes and no, the roots and leaves are intertwined, one feeds the other and vice versa, one will struggle without the other. foliage last MUCH longer than roots without the other, cut the cambium and the phloem loss is slow to reveal itself as the zylem still functions as normal.

[swinny]

Any help on my first bit? if it made any sence... lol

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Any help on my first bit? if it made any sence... lol

 

The tree really dictates the shape that it wants to be, its normal for some trees to seem broader when done than when started out. The trick is to go light in the tp and hard on the sides, you get a better result from this usualy and also is in keeping with structural modifications as the lower limbs tend to be the ones under high mechanical loading.

 

It took three peels, top down to do that beech, three anchor points.

 

I could get away with an awful lot on this beech because retrenchment had already begun, it was already shooting from the inside of the crown and was prone to secondary growth. That always makes things easier because you can rely on the tree to make growth points where there was little at the time you reduced the limb. The age of the tree is a factor too, as an old over mature tree is often prepairing for a new life of less stature and crown dieback, so there is usualy a second inner crown forming to work with.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

This oak must be over 400 years, thats two trees this week with a combined age of 700! beech 300+ and this Oak 400+

 

have advised halo, but not in budget, but open to maybe doing so next year.

 

Obviously L. sulphureus and G. applanatum in attendance