Ulmus lobel. thoughts on these specimens

[Taupotreeman]

Part of the contract agreement is that if we (Taupo District Council) are not happy with the stock then we can ask for replacement plants/trees. Obviously, because the landscaper is from out of town he's going to argue that the trees are quality and that we (the arborists) don't know what we're talking about therefore he doesn't have to replace them. I thought it better to get a few opinions on the form of these so that at least i'm not talking out the hole in my backside or, for that matter, making the landscaper replace perfectly fine trees that are supposed to look like this.

[Goaty]

Thats fair enough I think. Probably a good idea to get photos of the exact plants on the nursery before shipping in the interests of all parties concerned, with an item of standard size. A tool or something in the picture to show scale.

[Treemoose]

I'm not sure shigo would like those specimens

[Taupotreeman]

I'm not sure shigo would like those specimens

 

Ha, short, sweet and to the point

 

Thanks for all the feedback so far. Gives me a bit more confidence going in to the meeting on Monday. Myself and 2IC had our queries about them but I was beginning to question those thoughts.

[Treemoose]

Modern arboriculture - page 182

 

Quote-

 

Many trees that should not leave the nursery, do; in grate numbers. Problems are planted: included bark between two major stems (1), multiple stems with included bark (2),multiple leaders (3), low stem unions with included bark (4). Specifications should be written to avoid these common poor forms. Modern arborists should work with landscape designers and developers, and cities, and with the best trees for the correct sites. Some defects may be corrected by early pruning. Most of the time, the poor forms cannot be corrected. Included bark appears to be under moderate to strong genetic control in some trees. Do not buy or sell trees that have flush cut branches, tops removed, pruning cuts that leave long branch stubs or leader stubs, painted wounds, trunk covered with some warping, cracks, cankers, and wounds would you buy a car or any product that had obvious defects? Then, why do we buy trees that have them? (and, let the nursery know you won't buy them!)

 

That is straight out the book.

[Goaty]

How did it go Taupotreeman?The Shigo excerpt said it all.

[Taupotreeman]

Met at 9.30 with the contract landscaper, council landscape architect and project supervisor. Turns out our landscaper/project manager had approved the trees on a photo only then gone on holiday. The contractor was not happy that the trees had been approved and then I come along and tell him they're second grade. Anyway, trees are to be removed and replaced with specimens of my choosing, possibly smaller so we can better correct faults. These trees will be planted in one of our reserves to replace a declining tree. They'll get plenty of protection as its a well treed area. Council is going to pay for the new trees and transplanting so the contractor isn't out of pocket and our project manager is going to get his backside kicked. Thanks for all the input; just gave us a bit more confidence to fight our corner.

[DrewB]

DED is a problem in NZ (sorry bro, it was mentioned at the start) but is limited in areas that it affects. In Auckland no wood can be moved from site, all wood has to be chipped,chip pref left on site, if not taken to designated elm chip areas, trees cannot be transported into neighbouring areas and so on...

[Taupotreeman]

Cheers Drew. Is this specific to certain areas or right across the board and is it limited to only certain species? I know we dealt with Golden Elm in this way in Auckland but not sure of any other species. Apparently, Ulmus lobel is supposed to be resistant to DED.