To top or not to top.

[Paul Barton]

Gee thanks MB.

 

My qualm is not with Shigo's good work (although he was just a man, not the God of trees) - more with some people's refusal to swap ideas and points of view.

 

Whatever.

[Husqvarna King]

Dr. Alex Shigo.

 

I think in the picture of him he is telling the two guys how to maintain a guidebar judging by that crappy cut!!

[David Humphries]

Dr. Alex Shigo.

 

 

 

 

So if General Sherman was topped out (all be it naturally) by lightning, would you fell it because the late great Dr S said it wouldn't conform to his "groundbreaking biological idea" of CODIT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[Peter]

So if General Sherman was topped out (all be it naturally) by lightning, would you fell it because the late great Dr S said it wouldn't conform to his "groundbreaking biological idea" of CODIT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

Dont be silly, a light lionstailing, some brown paint and some cable bracing and it would be fixed real good!

[benedmonds]

Mattheck has apparently got or had two conifers (pines of some sort I think) which have been "topped" in his garden.

 

IMO If the customer understands what is the "best practice" and what are the issues of "bad practice" it's their tree and should be able to do as they wish. You do the best you can when your in the tree. If the customer wants standing dead wood, Great! If he wants his lombardy poplars reducing by 50%, tell him what's going to happen in 10 years but it's his problem if he ignors your advice.

[MattyF]

Mattheck has apparently got or had two conifers (pines of some sort I think) which have been "topped" in his garden.

 

IMO If the customer understands what is the "best practice" and what are the issues of "bad practice" it's their tree and should be able to do as they wish. You do the best you can when your in the tree. If the customer wants standing dead wood, Great! If he wants his lombardy poplars reducing by 50%, tell him what's going to happen in 10 years but it's his problem if he ignors your advice.

 

exactly we are in the buisness of tree care ,reducing is a necesary evil to care for some trees if we wish to retain them..... to be honest i find no challenge in felling a tree ,rigging can be but doing light tip reductions is by far the most rewarding and difficult work ive come across in this game.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Just to put a spanner in the works

 

What would be the ethical stance if someone had moved into a house and the next day decided he/she would mutilate a magnificent 300 year old Oak at the bottom of their garden.

 

The Oaks been there hundreds of years and some pr1ck comes along who doesn't take a fancy to it and lobs the top off it.

 

If the tree were such a good example and worthy of it, I personally, would walk away and phone the LA immediately to put a TPO on it.

[MasterBlaster]

I think it looks beautiful. You guys ROCK! We need more trees topped in the UK. Then, people would have more room.

 

(the New MasterBlaster)

[Husqvarna King]

I think it looks beautiful. You guys ROCK! We need more trees topped in the UK. Then, people would have more room.

 

(the New MasterBlaster)

 

HAHA that made me LOL:001_tongue:

[MattyF]

I think it looks beautiful. You guys ROCK! We need more trees topped in the UK. Then, people would have more room.

 

(the New MasterBlaster)

 

This might sound stupid and i cant quite work out why no one has pointed this out already but we dont top trees,They are reduced to targets like those shown in the shigo books...i bet every arborist on this site adheres to the british standards set by the goverment for tree work and topping aint one of them!