Pruning Trees after Storm Damage

[jhgilliland]

My father is working in Ft Lauderdale, Fl doing storm Cleanup. He has been working around the landscape industry for years. My brother and I now run the landscape division (my father is semi-retired). Moving forward, he has been working with commercial properties. In florida he has seen many "Professional Arborists" taking various species of trees the broke off on the central leader 10-15' off the ground and cutting them off at eye level (6') My questions is, is this something that is common after storms. My general understanding of tree pruning and "topping" would lead me to beleive that these trees will not only be weaker but also far more prone to future storm damage. Living in pennsylvania, i know this would most likely kill a tree here, but is this something you can get away with in a climate like that of florida.

 

[treeseer]

6' is the height the average saw jockey can cut at without leaving the ground, Therein may lay the explanation for that procedure.

What species?

 

[jhgilliland]

Havent got any species so far. Just talked to him for about 10 minutes. He said most of the palms held up fine. He did mention some work on a few oaks, although im not sure what species. Im not real educated on southern trees, thats why i thought i ask you guys. Im obtaining a Landscape Contracting degree from Penn State so we learn mostly trees that are hardy in zone 5 + 6