what would you do ?

[Matthew Arnold]

Cut ivy at base and survey in 6 months. It will then give time for the ivy leaves to fall off and allow time for fruiting bodies (if any) to appear. Then decide what the best course of action would be.

[janey]

... i shall meet with them again to discuss all this so its not doomed to fell just yet !

 

Good call

 

If you've seen nothing that immediately alarms you about the condition of the tree, why don't you ring the ivy and then reasses when you have the opportunity to see it's structure more clearly?

 

If they are long term customers of yours, I'm sure they will appreciate you not rushing in and doing (possibly) unecessary work.

[defenderjack]

why not just reduce it? thats what the customer wants, if you do not want to do the job, just tell them :

. If you genuinely think it should be removed, then not doing this because you will not get future work is very wrong imo.

Its only ivy, severe it at the bottom, cut out the top easy stuff, reduce the tree, job done:biggrin:

 

ive got other work there ,theres two other sycamores , a nice yew and hedges so ive always got work there so its not the case of only doing a reduction to get more work ,i just dont want have to drive past everyday and see a stick of ivy haunting me wether the ivys dead or alive ! it looks naff either way .

[Alinicoll]

so youve never felled a perfectly healthy tree ?? if all the tree surgeons i know could make a living out of just doing reductions and felling dangerous or dying ones then il eat my words !! .... but i dont think i will

 

Sure, of course i`ve felled healthy trees if the client wants them removed and i either can`t persuade an alternative or its not appropriate to keep them.

 

You have stated that the client wants to keep the tree. Therefore if there is nothing wrong with it then it seems odd to talk them into felling it and needing work isn`t really a good reason. Obviously if you have genuine concerns then you have to make a call but its difficult to do that without first severing Ivy and seeing. Just because a tree leans a bit doesn`t mean it will fall over. Just my opinion Give him a few options and let him know the implications everything from cut ivy or reduce of fell.

[defenderjack]

Sure, of course i`ve felled healthy trees if the client wants them removed and i either can`t persuade an alternative or its not appropriate to keep them.

 

You have stated that the client wants to keep the tree. Therefore if there is nothing wrong with it then it seems odd to talk them into felling it and needing work isn`t really a good reason. Obviously if you have genuine concerns then you have to make a call but its difficult to do that without first severing Ivy and seeing. Just because a tree leans a bit doesn`t mean it will fall over. Just my opinion Give him a few options and let him know the implications everything from cut ivy or reduce of fell.

 

i dont WANT to talk them into felling anything . i just want to do whats gona be the best end result and keep everyone happy , if the ivy can be severed and die off to leave a reasonable looking tree then that would great but from past experiences with ivy it clings worse when dead than alive , i will definalty e bringing all this up next week il get some more pictures in better light !

[Pat Ferrett]

Im sure you'll make the correct choice, asking for others opinions shows that your not somebody that takes felling a tree with a pinch of salt, your obviously trying to find a compromise and for that I think you should be commended

[Alinicoll]

Im sure you'll make the correct choice, asking for others opinions shows that your not somebody that takes felling a tree with a pinch of salt, your obviously trying to find a compromise and for that I think you should be commended

 

I fully agree. I hope the input has been helpful.

[defenderjack]

Im sure you'll make the correct choice, asking for others opinions shows that your not somebody that takes felling a tree with a pinch of salt, your obviously trying to find a compromise and for that I think you should be commended

 

thankyou mate much appreciated

[Heads up]

Just stipping the ivy will present a big change for the customer, more light and just a better looking tree. Then if they still want more light, smaller tree etc, just a quick reduction or thin.

live ivy stripping can be quite nice.

[morningwood]

I know you've probs made up your mind by now but thought it was an interesting post and thought I'd put my nose in anyway.

I was just wondering how the ivy has developed so much (nearly reaching the top of the crown by the look of the photo) in a tree which should have an extremely dense canopy when it's in full health.

Could it not be that the Acer is displaying the signs of decline if it has managed to let enough light in to allow the ivy to develop so much?

Have you noticed gaps in the canopy at the height of leaf coverage?

Since you ask I would definitely girdle the ivy at he base and then inspect in 6 months time.

The fact that you have reduced the sail effect in winter by killing off the ivy (well by next winter anyway) you are at least giving the tree a chance and should be able to demonstrate to the customer that you have safety in mind and give yourself a better chance of making the tree look nice if you decide to reduce when the ivy has cleared up.

Reducing it now would make the ivy much more obvious.

A bit long-winded but hope it helps......

If you already have a good relationship with the customer this approach will show some integrity on your part and make them trust you even more.