Fredward

Cool, thanks for the input, I didn't notice any pruning in the upper canopy, and I wouldn't expect to see any based on the local councils approach to tree work, but I will have a closer look next time I'm there.

'Scuse my ignorance, but in the OP, what is the tool being held up against the trunk? Looks a bit like a reistograph, but not the one I've used!

Hmm, interesting, not the response I expected.. Do you really think that 3 stubs could cause such an unusual trunk flare? I would have thought that they wouldn't have been pruned all that long ago, else they would have sprouted, or decayed, no?

Looks pretty normal to me, a bit of lawn mower damage and some basal suckers. Did you probe around the base/root flare? Tony, would you care to enlighten me as to your thoughts on the Dawn Redwood post earlier on?

Great video, love the time lapse! Amazing you can find the time to muck around with one camera let alone two on a job, I can barely keep up when I'm in a big tree haha! It's nice doing rigging when you have the extra height, rigging isn't so fun on low spreading trees which are almost touching the garden fence!

There is a good Mattheck book which is also availbe as an ipad app, Stupsi explains the tree, great start to understanding tree body language (cracks etc). As for I.D it's handy to go for a walk with someone knowledgeable in a park or national trust/rhs garden.

NZ rough guide would be $22-25 p/h (gross pay) and $150 per person accomodation and bills p/w most places, Auckland is more pay but more costs. Not too bad if you wanna save to buy a house in N.Z but I don't know about saving up to buy a house back in the UK. I think our rent worked out at $14k a year, so yeah it's not easy to save when you are renting. Maybe you should look at moving back in with the olds!

Fantastic, whats the plan for the dead oak? How you gonna stop the guy in the tractor running over the saplings, or are they pretty good? Over here you'd have to cone and tape it off to stop someone mowing those over! Haha

Brilliant! I wonder if it would pass T/R?!

Fair play thats good going everything considered! Doesn't look the easiest to get out to some of those pruning points.

Sorry, I now realise the problem. Only kidding - by the way the cracks look normal, just appears to be growth marks from the photo you provided.

Has there been any construction around the base of the tree? i.e driveway or footpath etc.

Yeah very very tidy job, can be almost impossible without good eyes on the ground. Keep up the good work! How long did it take just out of interest?

Yeah make sure it's not a female tree, they aren't fun to have outside your house!

Yeah probably a Corylus avellana Corylus avellana

Well they look happier than the Walnut!

Don't forget juvenile leaves or leaves in the shade can look different, but it definitely looks like a birch, what did you plant?

That was so funny! You are meant to wee on a lemon tree, not a walnut!

Yeah I've noticed some people have a very staunch view on woodchip mulch, I had one nursery owner turn down a free woodchip drop off - he wouldn't use it on his field grown tree because it 'robs nitrogen'. I actully find it quite hard to give away locally. I'm in N.Z and there is a fair bit of studying you can do, I did a level 5 diploma in Hort. at Merrist Wood in the UK, and that was easy compared to what I'm currently working on..

I like the ergonomics of my DMM's but do seem to have more problems with them than the Petzl's.

So all we have to do is make a rope which is green,black, white and yellow so that it is dynamic, hardwearing and soft on the hands?! Surely the colour of the rope and the percieved characteristics are coincidental or is there really some science behind this?

I'm also not the fastest, but I'm a fir bit cheaper (and finish the job to a high standard), so it usually works itself out.. Don't forget, they might have taken your quote to the other firm and they went 'Bugger, okay, we'll do it for a tenner less'. Sometimes what goes on behind the scenes is the reason for not getting a job, you will never know, so don't beat yourself up. You have to think of a price and stick to it.. Too often I think about reducing the price for whatever reason, but once you starting doing that you get into dangerous territory. It hurts us more because every job counts, but you have to value your services accordingly. Did they come back to you to say you didn't get it or just no call back?

That's fair enough, I've always had my doubts when people harp on about woodchip mulch and nitrogen levels, as only a small amount of chip is in contact with the soil, although when it's incorperated into the medium itself there may be more nitrogen depletion, in theory. It all depends on the state of decomposition in the woodchips though, in my understanding anyway. It would be interesting to take samples of the 'ameolirated' soils vs the untouched, to ascertain moisture and nutrient levels. Do you ever perform bulk density tests? So overall would you say the condition of the tree is better now or back then? It's fantastic to see how you are documenting your work and I'm very jealous of the projects that you work on and I'm always impressed by the quality of work produced. Thanks again for posting, it is very interesting for me as I'm working and part time studying a lvl 6 Diploma in Arb, but the practical work I do rarely reflects on, or builds on my classroom work!

I think Petzl need to read 'the face of failure' by Mattheck! It looks like a case high notch stress and an unoptimised notch! Listen to me trying to sound like an engineer

The leaves on the inside and outside of the canopy photosythesise different light, the inner canopy photosynthesises the diffuse light, which filters through the outer canopy. This is useful, but when the weather gets very hot or the conditions become dry, it is very important. The outer leaves 'shut down' to a certain extent by closing stomata to reduce moisture loss, then the leaves on the inside of the canopy (cooler, in the shade) are the only onesstil functioning, providing carbohydrates for the tree, so if they aren't there, the tree begins to go hungry! Also by removing the inner (lower) leaves you are lion's tailing, which has other repercussions, but this is more to do with branch taper (the branches can become hyper extended and thus less healthy and safe), but this is a whole other matter, and probably not that relevant in a cherry tree. Also letting large amounts of light through is not particularly desireable for the tree, but it may be for the client. The extra light can 1. cause sun-scald on the delicte banches which have up until now been shaded. The sun basically cooks the cambial layer, causing it to die. 2. Promote epicormic growth from dormant/advanticious buds. Which will eventually make the tree more dense anyway. In an ideal world you carry out a thin by removing first the dead, diseased and dying portions, then a bit of formative pruning (crossing braches, inward growth), and then if that wasn't enough then each branch should be thinned by 10-20% (or prescribed amount) by taking foliage from the tips, and the inner canopy at equal rates. I understand that in smaller trees it can hard to even move around, so you need to reduce more inner canopy, but if you can get it right on the samller trees, you know what to do on the bigger ones. I've done this to big(er) trees, seen the amount of brush on the ground and thought 'oops', then come down only to realise it looks like I've done nothing! This is were the problem lies with some clients beacuse if you do the work properly it should look lie you've done not much. This is easier to see if you have before and after photos but you get my drift. Sorry if this came across as a lecture, I realise it's only a cherry tree in a back garden, but if you are armed with the right knowledge it can give you a different perspective on work. It will be interesing to see how this tree responds, and if other posters agree/disagree with my thoughts.