proper pruning 75' tulip

[limbwalker54]

Zale, not to rain on your parade but I don't think this thread is about the common name "Tulip Poplar" vs. "Tuliptree". However if you wanna be specific, the "Tulip Poplar" is not really a poplar.....which would have the genus Populus.

Ok I'm done, we are ending this conversation, and Murph, nice vid on the RIGHT stuff.

I have a few friends who's names will remain unnamed that don't give a rats a** about the trees they work on or even the ones in the park....and it pisses me off. I do my best to educate my clients, and anyone else who asks, on proper tree care.

Oh, and next week I have three of those Tuliptrees to "get them tips" on.......and while I'm up there I think I'll eat some lunch.......

You can do them a lot faster if you set a few ropes ahead of time and know how to footlock.....

 

[treemandan]

Yea wikipedia treated ya just fine .....

Oh see, they have a cure for it.

 

[treemandan]

As I see it most customers aren't gonna spend sixteen to two grand on a prune job for one tree. That prune job would have taken a day to do it right if you wre climbing. If I told the custy how much he probably would have either laughed or told me to just cut the ####ing thing down. Hell! I have problems getting 600 bucks for a nice reduction prune on a large bradford let alone an 80' poplar.

Not like im interested in knowing what you charge murph but what ja get for a prune job like that?

that would have to be a very large bradford.

 

[treeseer]

that would have to be a very large bradford.

Right, Dan. Factchecking posts/rants at AS can be a full-time job. :fart: :waaaht:

Other Dan, pheniox may be an uncommon sort of draft animal, but he is right about throwing stones and outing competing companies by name. You belong on a higher road, brother. :smile2:

 

[NCTREE]

that would have to be a very large bradford.

yes it was...up over lines and a house some climbing involved and lots of pole clipping. I like to take my time on reductions like that i mean yeah I could have done for less but then my quality of work will have to go down, it is what it is if price is a concern when pruning trees you get what you paid for.

 

[murphy4trees]

what kind of mats do you use?

I have alturnamats... (10), 3'x8', and (4) 18"x8'.. mostly use the slim ones for the stump grinder..I also scavenge odd pieces of plywood from dumpsters..

 

[murphy4trees]

Dan, pheniox may be an uncommon sort of draft animal, but he is right about throwing stones and outing competing companies by name. You belong on a higher road, brother. :smile2:

Please explain that way of thinking.. there needs to be some accountability for improper pruning.. To the extent this is a self-regulated industry, how is that supposed to work if we all keep our mouths shut about the atrocious pruning we see.. When a customer tells me she has gotten a cheaper price.. I ask "from whom"?.. I'll be honest with her if I know the comapny's work.. If it is Rick and the job involves pruning, I'll recommend strongly against that.. if it is a company that does good work, I'll be honest about that too and assure her that I think they'll do a nice job and that is a good price etc..

 

[superjunior]

I have alturnamats... (10), 3'x8', and (4) 18"x8'.. mostly use the slim ones for the stump grinder..I also scavenge odd pieces of plywood from dumpsters..

I've been looking into the alturnamats, their website doesn't list prices or weight. How much do those things weigh compared to plywood and how much do they run?

 

[Metals406]

Daniel, I sub to your channel and just watched your video. I got a question.

If you have to (or want to) remove a larger branch, or branches, and you cut them back within 1/2" of the collar, can wound dressing or wax help seal the wound (if done immediately), and encourage compartmentalization?

Or are you screwed to remove big branches all together, and rot will eventually inundate the trunk?

 

[Metals406]

Anyone? It was a serious question.

 

[murphy4trees]

Daniel, I sub to your channel and just watched your video. I got a question.

If you have to (or want to) remove a larger branch, or branches, and you cut them back within 1/2" of the collar, can wound dressing or wax help seal the wound (if done immediately), and encourage compartmentalization?

Or are you screwed to remove big branches all together, and rot will eventually inundate the trunk?

To my knowledge drssing a wound does not help the tree to compartmentalize the wound.. dressings are used to prevent insects from spreading DED and maybe oak wilt... I don't use them as I always tell my customers to wait til winter to prune elms and we don't have oak wilt here..

If a customer wants a large limb removed, I always tell them it is better for the tree to leave the limb cut back to a lateral or stub. If they want the entire limb removed I explain that it will inevitably cause stem decay and destabilization, and they usually do what is best for the tree..

 

[treemandan]

I like to put a little of this stuff on when I have to huck a big limb off, its pretty much just for asthetics.

 

[millbilly]

I could be wrong, but I thought branchs were to be removed at there collar. After watching the video I thought I saw alot of cuts that looked like they were stubbed off. I also was under the belief that the only active growing cambium of the tree, was at the collar. To put it in a nut shell I think your misinformed about about removing lower branches is condeming a tree to death with eminate rot,decay and destruction.

Another question I have is whats the difference of removing a 1 1/2" branch with a power saw or a hand saw.

 

[Metals406]

Good info fellas! Nothing wrong with different opinions, especially when they're based on personal experience.

It's my understanding (and I could be misinformed), that the closer you get to the collar with your cut, the harder it is on the tree (talking big limbs here).

The reason I asked about wound sealing, is that by their own design, trees send resin, pitch, sap, to the area and attempt to seal it.

If you seal the wound for the tree immediately, I would think you would discourage insects, and rot from different fungi and other attacking agents.

It's an interesting concept that trimming to the collar is effectively dooming a tree to an earlier than natural death. . . But it would also limit the type of trimming one could offer a customer. I can see many customers not liking a 3' stob being left on the tree, and others that perhaps wouldn't care.

Speaking of Daniel's earlier post on tree trimming ethics, if you made the customer aware that trimming to near the collar could be a detriment to the tree, and they made the decision to do it anyway. . . Does one do it, or stick by your guns and refuse (thusly loosing the job)? Or do you make them sign a waiver that you're not responsible for the health of the tree after the trimming, based on their decision? That would certainly protect you from liability if they called up 5 years later all pissed-off that their tree broke at a leader crotch due to rot induced at a trimming point.

So, the further from the trunk you trim, the better the chances the tree has to compartmentalize.

Is there an acceptable ratio on a large crown reduction, for trims near the collar to branch tip trimming?

Just by reading a lot of the threads started in the tree climbing/trimming section, I can tell that you guys are very prideful of what you do, and the techniques/equipment you operate with. There's always room to learn something new though.

 

[treeclimber101]

I like to put a little of this stuff on when I have to huck a big limb off, its pretty much just for asthetics.

It would be funny if that stuff was called Lam Balsac , why can't these guys think about a joke when making up nonsensical names anyway Just saying

 

[thepheniox]

Wow now we have people thinking that leaving stubs is acceptable practice after watching this video and listening to misinformation about removing larger limbs.

 

[Metals406]

Wow now we have people thinking that leaving stubs is acceptable practice after watching this video and listening to misinformation about removing larger limbs.

Well, put up what you know/have been taught. :msp_smile: I would be really interested to hear about your experience with trimming close to the collar, and whether you've experienced it inducing rot.

What are your thoughts on wound dressing, a "fake sap" if you will.

 

[thepheniox]

I'm a municipal arborist. Our primary function is to maintain trees to allow for proper road and sidewalk clearance. Also minimal trimming for tree structure and deadwood. We are instructed that the grid cycle is ten years. I am completely aware that ten years is not acceptable but budgets dictate what gets done. That being said I have made my fair share of questionable cuts. Ideally these trees would have been trimmed properly for clearance at a young age unfortunately quite often they are not. So I have to remove larger lower branches before a truck rips them off causing serious damage. How the tree reacts depends on a number of circumstances. Species, vigor, size of cuts, cut placement. Quite often trees can handle this without rot being the result. My point is not that you should remove large limbs it's that depending on the situation it can be done. There are arborists out there that would criticize these cuts based on size however it had to be done.

Proper cuts back to the branch collar is recommended as that is where a tree will be able to compartmentalize properly. Leaving stubs will not allow for complete compartmentalization.

I'm not disagreeing with what was said in the video just not agreeing with it all. Because someone took away that stubs should be left tells me maybe the message wasn't properly presented. Also I would question some of the cuts that were made. The first close up of the cuts shows a stub. There are also lots of fire crackers up there.

Ok, with all that said. Ideally if I was going to remove a larger limb I would do it over three years. Cutting approximately a third each year allowing for the tree to start shutting down the branch before the collar cut. In a sense the tree starts the compartmentalization process. I'm pretty sure I learned this at an Ed gilman seminar or arboriculture Canada training. Not sure which one.

As far as using any type of sealant on cuts there has been numerous studies showing that it causes more harm than good. I would not use it.

I am a certified arborist with the municipal specialist credentials. Also I am a certified tree worker climber specialist. I have attended two Ed Gilman seminars, two ISA conferences, various arboriculture Canada courses, two year forestry diploma, seventeen years working experience in arboriculture. I've competed at competitions and I always am on the look out to learn new info all the time.

 

[Metals406]

I'm a municipal arborist. Our primary function is to maintain trees to allow for proper road and sidewalk clearance. Also minimal trimming for tree structure and deadwood. We are instructed that the grid cycle is ten years. I am completely aware that ten years is not acceptable but budgets dictate what gets done. That being said I have made my fair share of questionable cuts. Ideally these trees would have been trimmed properly for clearance at a young age unfortunately quite often they are not. So I have to remove larger lower branches before a truck rips them off causing serious damage. How the tree reacts depends on a number of circumstances. Species, vigor, size of cuts, cut placement. Quite often trees can handle this without rot being the result. My point is not that you should remove large limbs it's that depending on the situation it can be done. There are arborists out there that would criticize these cuts based on size however it had to be done.

Proper cuts back to the branch collar is recommended as that is where a tree will be able to compartmentalize properly. Leaving stubs will not allow for complete compartmentalization.

I'm not disagreeing with what was said in the video just not agreeing with it all. Because someone took away that stubs should be left tells me maybe the message wasn't properly presented. Also I would question some of the cuts that were made. The first close up of the cuts shows a stub. There are also lots of fire crackers up there.

Ok, with all that said. Ideally if I was going to remove a larger limb I would do it over three years. Cutting approximately a third each year allowing for the tree to start shutting down the branch before the collar cut. In a sense the tree starts the compartmentalization process. I'm pretty sure I learned this at an Ed gilman seminar or arboriculture Canada training. Not sure which one.

As far as using any type of sealant on cuts there has been numerous studies showing that it causes more harm than good. I would not use it.

I am a certified arborist with the municipal specialist credentials. Also I am a certified tree worker climber specialist. I have attended two Ed Gilman seminars, two ISA conferences, various arboriculture Canada courses, two year forestry diploma, seventeen years working experience in arboriculture. I've competed at competitions and I always am on the look out to learn new info all the time.

Damn good insightful, information filled post.

Now riddle me this. . . Wouldn't the three-step process also allow you to keep up with the customer? As in, you'd be there once a year to address the specific branch or branches, giving you the opportunity to look at their other trees to see how they're doing as well. It would also show the customer you are committed to the health of their tree, like 3 years worth of committed. This would invest you with the customer, giving less chance for someone else to slide in.

I think that system could be a great thing to add to a business model. Good for you, good for the tree, good for the customer.

 

[ropensaddle]

I see stubs:rant: