Gavint

Hi all,

There are tons of good books on various tree related subjects out there, I've got a few myself. But, I'm looking to drop a few bucks on one meaty, possibly expensive, comprehensive tome on the subject of Arboriculture.

There's Shigo's Modern Arboriculture and there's Arboriculture Integrated Management of Trees, Shrubs and Vines. Which of these, or another of your books on the subject are falling apart because you go back to them over and over again?

Cheers,

Gavin

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm planning on taking part in the booming economy of Nova Scotia. The winters there aren't nearly so brutal as you get in the prairies, or even the midwest or Ontario. I expect that there would be many days through the winter that would be good enough to work through there, and on the days where it is below minus 20, that's when I'll park myself at Timmies and forget about working.

But, for the days it's, say, minus five to minus ten, can you get away with pruning without damaging the tree? The maritimes get very changeable weather at all times of the year, which can be hard to predict. Can freeze-thaw action screw up a tree after it's been pruned?

All this talk of winter after a 15 degree sunny day today...

Cheers, Gavin

Yes, but was that pruning cut harmful to the tree?

Hi Jamesd,

All our AS mowers are baggers, with 4-stroke Briggs and Stratton motors. Why are you looking for a side discharge mower? When the grass is short enough that you don't need to bag it, mulching is a better option. You don't have to rake or blow afterwards, and the clippings are forced down onto the ground where they can be quickly broken down, as opposed to blown across the top of the grass, where they sit and dry off and look bad. The Toro Commercial came in a 2-stroke version (not sure if it still does) which was great on banks, and did a nice job mulching. I haven't looked around for a 2-stroke mower lately, are you limited in your selection because of this?

Hi All,

Does anyone have experience doing tree work in extreme cold or snowy conditions?

I'm fairly new to tree work, having started since I moved to Germany from Canada in 2011. I'm planning on returning to the Great White North in a couple of years time, and the plan is to continue on as an arborist there, because I'm loving this work.

As a landscaper in Canada, there is the perennial problem of Winter (with a capital W) to deal with. What to do? Clear snow? Go on pogey? Starve in the dark a little? Generally it involves a little of all of the above, I never found a good solution in ten years working as a landscaper there. Since I've never done tree work in Canada, I don't know exactly how the season works there, and whether it can be a good bridge over the winter.

My question is, how much can be done in extreme cold and/or snowy conditions? Tree felling is an obvious go, so long as you can get your fingers to work, but is there a cutoff temperature where it becomes harmful to the tree to prune? Are there any considerations with regards to climbing gear not working properly in cold conditions? What are the particular hazards associated with climbing/felling/crown bracing that should be taken into account with very cold weather and snow.

I appreciate all your comments!

Cheers,

Gavin

Hi Jamesd,

We've got a bunch of AS mowers at work, apparently they're pretty common here in Germany among professionals. I'd never seen them before moving here, and after using them, I was seriously unimpressed. They are slow, very heavy, hard to manoeuver, the self propulsion often doesn't work, and when it does, not very well, they don't bag clippings very well and are hard to start, even when warm. Picture pushing a 65 kilo mower uphill because the drive wheels aren't working again... no fun. At work, I call them the Ass mowers, but of course none of my coworkers get it because none of them speak English.

After lots of coordinated whining to the boss, we finally got him to cave on some newer Sabo 54 Pro mowers. They're really nice mowers, get the job done, but are also very heavy. However, we had a Honda HRH 536 HX as a trial, and it was the best mower I have ever used. The hydrostat control is really nice for turning around and going through different grass heights, and the half-mulch-half-bag feature saves an incredible amount of time emptying the bag and carrying clippings. Back in Canada, we used the Toro Commercial mowers, and they were great. They did a great job and were bulletproof and fast, you could run behind them, and get about 15 suburban lawns done alone in a day.

Perhaps TMI, but I'd go for the Honda, or a professional grade Toro.

Cheers,

Gavin