Reduction methods!

[Shane]

Loads of good advice.

I know our job is to do what's good for the tree, and what the customer wants...

but they are not always the same (many stories on here about that).

Unfortunately it's the customer and not the tree who pays the dosh - so no matter how carefully you work the customer must understand whats happening and be happy with it.

Once youre in position for the first cut, get the customer to confirm the height.

Then do a bit more and call them out regularly to make sure they are happy with the way its shape is developing.

Some customers will say 'I'll leave it to you, you're the experts' and then at 4:00 they come out and say 'oooo it needed to be about 3ft lower than that'

 

Regular checks save aggro and most customers are happy to be involved.

 

I generally don't do a reduction unless the customer is there (commercial jobs can obviously differ but you can agree a specification or have an edited photo etc.)

[treeseer]

Fiskars and WolfGarten both good. Pole pruners essential for a good job on most trees I find.

[Le Sanglier]

Loads of good advice.

I know our job is to do what's good for the tree, and what the customer wants...

but they are not always the same (many stories on here about that).

Unfortunately it's the customer and not the tree who pays the dosh - so no matter how carefully you work the customer must understand whats happening and be happy with it.

Once youre in position for the first cut, get the customer to confirm the height.

Then do a bit more and call them out regularly to make sure they are happy with the way its shape is developing.

Some customers will say 'I'll leave it to you, you're the experts' and then at 4:00 they come out and say 'oooo it needed to be about 3ft lower than that'

 

Regular checks save aggro and most customers are happy to be involved.

 

I generally don't do a reduction unless the customer is there (commercial jobs can obviously differ but you can agree a specification or have an edited photo etc.)

 

I do it differently; get a height from the client, talk about it then just do it, do not consult during the work (if poss) as they will only fret and put you off.

I do not ask the groundy either as they cannot really see from under the tree. Don't do it by commitee as it becomes a dog's dinner.

Just my thoughts on it.

[Dr.Green]

ancor into the centre of stem , spin round in a circle with the rope set at perminant desired length . get cutting = lollypoptreeshape , seen a few recently

[Chopper-Gooders]

Its a right pain in the bum when you have to either go back down to unhook a branch or when yon smash the bugger out of a lovely growth point you have left, top downwards everytime!

[Rupe]

I agree top first, leaving a high anchor point it you are going to need it. BUT I did one this week that I couldnt see where the top should be cut to, so I did the sides first and then back to top to match it in. Worked fine but thats an exception.

 

Also I prune where the tree wants, not where the shape wants and the shape will sort itself out, if its onesided shape wise then thats fine as long as the cuts are right, it can look as though it grew like that as apposed to lookign like it was forced into a shape.

 

Its not what you cut off, its what you leave that is important, because that is what will dictate how the tree looks in 2-3 years time. So dont prune for today prune for the future, and sell your self on that point in the first place!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I agree top first, leaving a high anchor point it you are going to need it. BUT I did one this week that I couldnt see where the top should be cut to, so I did the sides first and then back to top to match it in. Worked fine but thats an exception.

 

Also I prune where the tree wants, not where the shape wants and the shape will sort itself out, if its onesided shape wise then thats fine as long as the cuts are right, it can look as though it grew like that as apposed to lookign like it was forced into a shape.

 

Its not what you cut off, its what you leave that is important, because that is what will dictate how the tree looks in 2-3 years time. So dont prune for today prune for the future, and sell your self on that point in the first place!

 

Thats some good advice:thumbup1:

 

Route planning is probably the thing most have trouble getting to grips with, working in a way that suits the trees form and makes the climb as efficient on your energy as possible is something time will give you. It will be the thing that distinguishes your work the most because a tired climber loses patience and the work quality goes down.

 

Big wide trees such as Oaks with broad crowns with many branches and limbs will test you line of approach choices to the maximum, getting it wrong will make reaching the ends of those long limbs much harder.

 

Always work in a way that means you dont have to go back to a position or place in the canopy you have already worked, so work from the top down, several times if needs be working in a line from top to bottom in sections as the orange peel terminology implies it is possible on such trees to spiral around the periphery of the crown. Limbs will stop your rope angle being optimal in this way and make the work so much harder.

 

Try to leave all the internal growth if possible, these growths will help the next climber years down the line, and also act as retrenching points in the future as the tree ages and reaches over mature stage when it becomes essential for retention because of inevitable factors that come with late maturity such as basal decays. we should always be considering the gradual retrenchment of trees we manage we should see every time we work a tree of any size and age as an opportunity to turn the clients wish for a smaller tree into a beneficial retrenching operation for the trees long term future, this client might not always own the tree, think of the trees future as well as the clients objective, even if the client has no interest in the trees next 300 years, you SHOULD HAVE.

 

ALWAYS start the operation at the points that look the hardest, most folk I have ever worked with tend to go for the easy jobs first, this is a major error, you need to do the tricky stuff first for two reasons. Your energy is at its peak and will make that hard work easier, later or last your energy will be waning and make a difficult task 100% more tricky frustrating and worst of all dangerous! Doing the tricky bits first and working through the difficult jobs first and then the next trickiest will mean as your energy starts to fail towards the end your finding the work left is not such a chore and even motivates you to the finish line.

 

Take a spare tape sling up with you, when going out on long long thin horizontal limbs they can be used to create a foot hold at the working position. rarely needed but when you need it and your tired youll thank me!

 

Reductions are an art form, and the most rewarding of all arb work, you cant beat working a mature tree that you know is benefiting from the work and appeasing the gripes clients have about owning a large tree in an urban context. Most people will say trees dont need the work, but this kind of management is a controlled growing down that has been helping reduce limb drops and failures of mature trees in the urban context for a long time.

 

Trees grow up, then they grow down, its a fact and there is nothing wrong with being a part of that proscess and doing it in a way that makes the whole proscess more controlled, more asthetic and healthier in the long term than allowing it to keep going till a limb drops and creates a panic to fell.

 

most importantly, enjoy it, its a great way to work and will keep you ripped for life!

[Pedroski]

Just enjoyed reading your post Hamadryad. Re leaving interior growth, on the ones that I've done (which isn't many - it's usually someone more experienced than me that does them!) I try and remove just enough to make a route through the tree and think about useful foot and hand placements, and places to chuck a rope over so I can reach where I need. Almost like making an organic ladder! And on my route through I just remove dead/decaying wood and really cluttered stuff. Unless I'm properly opening up a fruit tree.

[Czlowiek Drzewo]

start from the top.

[RobRainford]

This way works well for me