before and after pruning pics

[murphy4trees]

I have always thought that it is very difficult to show examples of proper pruning of trees in photos, mostly just because the pics are so small relative to the tree, it is difficult to see much difference unless the tree has been over-pruned...

I do have a few before and after pics of pruning shrubs on my website, which show the huge amount of brush coming out of a shrub that looks not much different than the before pic. Shrubs are a bit easier to show 'cause they are relatively small compared to the size of the photo.

Here's a Norway Maple that I recently pruned. The homeowner was looking for more light and a more open feeling to the area. I hit it very hard... Walked around the perimeter and pulled down any branch I could reach by hand, and lightly elevated and tipped them back with a hand saw. Then climbed the tree and took a lot of limbs out... almost all 2" and smaller, only one or two larger cuts and only a few cuts on the main stem... Still a huge amount of brush came out of that tree... Might have been 20% of the canopy. Hard to tell that the tree has even been pruned though from the following pics.

Do you like to show b&a pics of pruning to sell jobs or on your website?

I'd like to see good examples of your pruning, so let's see what you all have...
Thanks

 

[Nailsbeats]

They look almost the same in the pics. If that is "proper prunning" I should have been fired a long time ago, lol. I would have taken that low stuff off all the way back to the trunk and painted the cuts. Then I would shape up the sides and thin and branches growing into the canopy. Do it how you want , it doesn't bother me.

 

[joecool85]

They look almost the same in the pics. If that is "proper prunning" I should have been fired a long time ago, lol. I would have taken that low stuff off all the way back to the trunk and painted the cuts. Then I would shape up the sides and thin and branches growing into the canopy. Do it how you want , it doesn't bother me.

I don't paint the cuts, other than that I do kinda like you do.

 

[treemandan]

I don't paint the cuts, other than that I do kinda like you do.

See Nails? I told you you was special. But Daniel? HAhAhHaHa! All he did was move the chair!
No really, it probably looks good on the inside. You can see nothing through a couple big leaves. good to leave large limbs on old bark if you can.
Of course this is a reason why topping became so popular: With proper pruning you can't often tell. A maple is a hard tree to properly prune, it comes down to " dammed if done damned if not." Get a few bigger limbs out of the canopy and clean it up a little.
Its also right that you can see a mega difference in a shrub when pruned if done right, well I guess you would see a mega difference either way but its easier to see.
If I stay low its not to bad, nice canopy work takes a lot more work. you have to be careful of what you are cutting and why its being cut. Sometimes you really have to stop and look, think about the future and what can be done now. Nothing set in stone.
As much as Dan charges I can only bet I would love a tree like that. It does look good, no real low droopers ( get them a little later on).
You have to approach each prune job specically to the needs of the specific tree you are working on. when you say " pruned a maple" Well...
This maple seemed to have a low hardened trunk and it seems the client was OK with how low they were so to leave them was good. Hit the ends.
I swear you just need to go over a tree like that once a season with a set of hedge trimmers.
Now Dan, did your " dancing with lovely women butt" climb that yoself?

 

[treemandan]

Oh and That's all? Two lousy pictures? No close ups?

 

[Nailsbeats]

See Nails? I told you you was special.

They told me that in grade school, I got to take "Special" classes too.

 

[lxt]

whats sad is and Murph there is no doubt you did it proper, most H.O would complain that it doesnt look like you did anything & you want me to pay you???

Did one similar a couple weeks ago and this was the response I got, H.O said to me "I want My Moneys worth, hit her hard!! im not paying for that!"


LXT...........

 

[arbor pro]

Hard to tell without seeing it in person but, it looks like I would expect a tree to look after it's been properly pruned...unbutchered.

 

[appalachianarbo]

it looks like I would expect a tree to look after it's been properly pruned...unbutchered.

The biggest compliment I can get after a pruning job is "Wow, it looks natural." I would have thinned more fine growth out of the top and left some more on the inside, but overall, it's a good job.

 

[Adkpk]

A good job pruning a tree doesn't have to "look pruned". Much better for the tree to do over a course of several years also.

 

[corndogg]

Some classes I have been to say branches and leaves in the inside are there for a reason. They are accustomed to the low light levels in there and also feeding the trunk. If cut off they grow right back. I personally dis like low branches on the trunk, I like to be able to walk around a tree or mow under without being assulted. But we all know large cuts on the trunk are bad so you might leave em. I've been taught paint is bad, only to keep the bugs off if necessary. How a norway maples in PA. Here in MN they are full of frost cracks and cankers, Quite brittle. I don't trust em next to houses. I like to sell reductions on em so they don't break. People love the huge dark leaves, as do I. Leads tend to grow way out, then break easily under load. They don't get too big around here before they fall apart.

 

[corndogg]

I have to covince many customers that I don't prune for asthetics, I prune for health. Sure raising them makes em look good but I'm more interested in removing codoms, rubbers, initerfering branches, large temporary branches low on the trunk before they get too big and stuff like that. I recently attacked a small red maple of some sort with half a dozen trunks sprouting out at about 8 feet off the ground. It wasn't easy but I reduced all but two leaders. I would like to have only one but it already looked pretty bad. The customer comes out and says are you sure?! I explainied it will look better in the future and might have a chance at growing big and not failing early in life. Did I do the right thing?

Also, I see a lot of these new red maples people love to plant full of cankers as well. I don't recommend them for that reason. Anyone see the same?

 

[Thillmaine]

Before and After

Another norway maple..

 

[rbtree]

Why cut low branches? If they're not in the way, they make a tree look great.. As well, the time to take them off is when they and the tree is young and small.

nice lion's tail.....errr... crown clean, Daniel!!



We recently did an eastern maple (sugar, Im not sure?)...similar look before/ after, to Dan's tree. P'haps I'll dig up the shots that I took.

 

[treeslayer]

Dan, do you do the tobacco offering on pruning?

good job, bro.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Landscaping before and after seem great most of the time.

But pruning - I find those to be very limited. Sometimes that's because the before picture looks better with all the green, since folks don't understand very well.

Typically, I think the after photos can seem worse, but if the person could be at the site in person, it would be different.

A few pics look good, but those seem to be the exception.

 

[Adkpk]

Some classes I have been to say branches and leaves in the inside are there for a reason.

I am new to arborculture but am interested in this theory. In the landscape business we prune up these branches in small trees but now that I am up in the trees I wonder about those inward branches, I was thinking they served some purpose. Thanks, corndogg.

 

[Adkpk]

Why cut low branches? If they're not in the way, they make a tree look great.. As well, the time to take them off is when they and the tree is young and small.

Also love the bottom branches. A tree with low main branches has a special association with people to it.

 

[tree MDS]

They look almost the same in the pics. If that is "proper prunning" I should have been fired a long time ago, lol. I would have taken that low stuff off all the way back to the trunk and painted the cuts. Then I would shape up the sides and thin and branches growing into the canopy. Do it how you want , it doesn't bother me.

Nails, do the trees a favor and dont prune, lol.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Nails, do the trees a favor and dont prune, lol.

I go into every prunning job with the same mentality, "I can't screw this up so bad that I can't cut it down." lol.