treeseer

"i think iam going to reduce and balance cat 1 tree,s and lightly reduce cat 2 tree,s and then maybey light thin on the cat 3 tree." Formulating care protocols according to tree condition--the only way to go! a trick i like to use on whippy trees is to pull the next tree/branch toward me using rope or polesaw (perhaps lashed to saddle) to stabilise. "probably do sum tommorrow so may put up sum shots (or not!) depending how they look:lol: as there seems to be some reduction artists on arbtalk..." well this wannabe artiste/artisan/artful codger knows that not all trees can be masterpieces, so i'd go easy on ya. Even those of us who are intimately connected to the infinity in the cosmos are still quite limited on the earthly realm, acknowledged or not. I get a heapin' helpin' of humble pie too often to dream otherwise...

"At the end of the day you can only advice and then at least you have been honest with your client ,... just put across your concerns regarding how the trees will respond to a reduction, either badly or really badly (death) explain what costs are involved with all options and the extra cost involved if its felled for whatever reason shortly after..." Before we express concerns perhaps we should first consider what they are based on. If we have limited experience (and we all have limited expreience) then we do not know what other treatments may lead to. So what seems like honest advice may be biased and might mislead. " One other problem with thinning Gums , they tend not to have even branch formation much of the branch development occurs towards the branch tip making it difficult to leave a good form, Lion tailing could result" true, so reduction may be better. "Branches identified for retention could be damaged while working around the canopy ." true, gotta be careful. " Don't forget those trees look like babys to me and all that they want to do is be massive and bigger than the closely planted mates." true, like most trees. High climbing ability and the right gear (poles if not mewp!) are needed. Again this is commonly done in euc land; i'll try to dig up some details...

Tony is spot on here. How much/many to leave depends on vigor, species, size and condition. The french call them tirants de seve; P. Balie wrote about this in 1933. ! Revue des eaux et Forets. any french speakers help w that? I pollard Lagerstroemia here and leave sap risers according to how well the knuckle is callusing. Just 2 or 3 nodes out can make a difference. We are pruning for lasting tree health here right; the look of a "finger" here and there per need is something gaffers (don't they work in the movies?) have to just get used to.

Jesse maybe this experience came from reducing too hard. In australia they are very commonly reduced 10-20% with no bushy reaction. Objective should be clear first--what kind of shrubs and how much light is required? if trees have adapted to lean then stability concerns seem overblown. Climb ahap and use pole pruner/saw maybe. a little goes a long way. How cold do you expect it will get there? ideal timing may be after the coldest day of the winter.

Good to see most of the cuts to nodes, and none shredded, given that the objective is more tree health than beastie habitat. Having been often on the other end I know it's much easier to critique than to do the cutting, but impossible to critique intelligently without seeing the "before"s and knowing the objectives. So no comment on the severity and the big horizontal cuts (knowing the tree does not always give great choices) until seeing that AA paper, which will have the specs yes? Finally time to subscribe to that rag--when does that issue come out?

Practicing Arborist and Aerial Consultant, as opposed to non-practicing terrestrial consultants who would not know which end of the saw to hold, or what a tree looks like from the top down. iow, speculative theorizers who just confuse matters much of the time.

I'm a big Tigger fan myself, but appreciate immensely the effort to get away from the defect-driven approach. The ISA's BMP, for all its matrices and addenda, is still used to justify witch hunts for defects over exaggerated targets here in the US, and in SE Asia. Utter rubbish and vanity; anti-arboricultural to boot. Carry on, QTRA folk!

"Good machine for that particular environment Though it doesn't substitute getting up close and personal with the old ents" Nothing ever could beat the literal hands-on experience. Felt slippers are far too scuffy; barefootin' is the only natural way, dontcha know...

" As there's little damage likely to result from trying in this case, then why not encourage him to give it a go? If it works i'd be interested to see the trees wound healing response relative to the position of the graft, more generally though it might encourage someone else to consider it as an option in a more critical situation. Similarly if it doesn't work then we might learn from that also." my thoughts exactly--i looked at it as a way to try to get experience at grafting and get paid for it. "TS - what is the purpose of the mulch? Your spec is for h/w chip, at the risk of seeming pedantic, would you not be better with at least a ground contact layer of something fully or part-composted?" Yes exactly, good point; I added "chop leaf litter with mower and"...mulch, to speed the composting process. i would also broadcast gran fert to further speed the process, after mowing. Beating the fencer with the root is also a great idea but 1 i am leery of liability and 2 Beating him/her/it at the wallet may have greater impact.

not that it matters much but how high up is the 2nd reading taken? and does picus show velocity ranges? arbotom shows them in a bar on the right. they tell me these are better to compare with than just color.

Tree controls response to measured reduction.

Falling logs seems like a natural enough event, a slight modification to the TSSE, possibly a beneficial component of TSSM. Speaking of heavy, that mewp looks very light on its feet. I would love to take a ride in one someday!

this was just a quicky report; no arguments with any of the responses here to date, but the chance of serious decay entering trunk makes a program of care reasonable to carry out imo ASSIGNMENT 2/6/13 I was asked by the owner to look at the damage to a beech tree, determine its significance, and if necessary find a way to restore the tree to a reasonable approximation of its previous condition. OBSERVATIONS and DISCUSSION I reviewed pictures of the damage and consulted with experts on repairing this type of damage. If nothing is done there will likely be significant decay with loss of stability, health and value in this tree. Grafting techniques have a reasonable chance of success in making this root functional again. Done in late March, bridge grafting can connect the two sections. SPECIFICATIONS 1. March 2013 install bridge grafts on severed root. Use grafting wax per manufacturer’s recommendation. 2. Control vegetative composition and competitive vegetation by the removal of inferior species. 3. Test the soil and fertilize and/or amend or replace as indicated. 4. Mulch the area with 2” hardwood chips 5. Monitor the progress of the grafts and manage the tree for four years. 6. Minimize insects, disease, cultural problems and risk of fire (Plant Health Care Program) Estimated Time Needed: 3 hours in 2013, 1/2 hour each in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 = 5 hours Estimated Cost: 5 hours x /hour = 5x$ paid by fencing contractor toward tree care

I hear ya--nice looking gizmo!

mewp in there must be quite a production...pole tools would not reach? I do my best rip cuts with a pole saw.

The fence installer did not get the "Do not damage trees" memo. Any way for a graft to bridge? How best to respond?

"no Shigotastic pruning cuts required here." i often wonder what people think "Shigo cuts" are. in all cases to date, their concept is far stricter than what was advocated by Shigo, who endorsed nodal pruning and not just "collar" or removal cuts "One of the primary specifications is to leave stubs (ripped or stepped) of upto 500 mm. No longer? One of my favorite pics is Jason Gairn standing next to a 3m rip. "See forthcoming article 'Restoration of lapsed beech pollards: Evaluation of techniques and guidance for future work' in volume 34 Issue 4 of the Arboricultural Journal" I'll look for that, but what I've seen to date from BB seemed to have a very limited approach to pruning types. O and, belts are in the way for climbers, so my helper also shows the 'plumber's crack'. not an issue unless a camera or client views it. i've gone to a thin nylon belt myself, when i can find it that is.

If saproxylic wildlife habitat was the objective, nice work! If tree preservation and maximizing other tree contributions were the objective, the cuts would have been different, right?

Nope, plumber's tool called a tile probe for locating pipes etc. 1/2" x 4' rod on that T handle. Fiberglass was $30, steel $19. I use it for testing buttress roots; to encounter solid wood > 1m out from the trunk and 1m downis useful data imo. The hollow on the other side of the trunk was chock full of black shoestrings 3-4 years ago. I ran into them crossing the bark around the trunk this time too. I honestly do not know why people react as they do to Armillaria; overblown ime.

It's surprising how much we see when we are looking for them... David yes it does look like holly. Here's some work around a Liriodendron with Armillaria, first seen 3-4 years ago. cleared root crown to get a tomograph reading alap and pruned sgr's in the process. the big one was from a nearby pine.

do you think it is from the same tree or another? either way, not bad to leave, just because they are 1 much smaller than the buttress, so they are likely to be broken as it expands, and 2 well out the buttress, so if they are from the same tree, if they do not breeak, they may well graft.

3rd pic down shows a belted buttress; quite pronounced. still rout how those get to be that way. also in terms of epiphytes have you ever seen one split a tree apart? Removal or not seems to come more from what kind of ecology is the objective.

As well it should; it has every right. That is one of the most beautiful and dignified trees I have ever seen.

good point paul; i do have a lot to pay back for all the habitat removed to date. re your avatar, reminds me of a fun nite--hope you can cross the pond someday! o and re the gloves, i took em back. lots of dryer lint and whatnot for them to add the top layer tho. re HSE, here our ANSI standard forbids brush left in trees, but we're trying to get an exception into the next revision.

As we remove habitat when we prune; it seems fair to leave some behind. Packed in forks and loosely lashed, some bird may take advantage. Is this done in the UK? Is it BS-compliant?