So, how do I trim these things?

[NebClimber]

Client wants height of these poplars reduced. The base on most of these has some moderate to serious decay. So his concerns about failure are credible. He wants them "topped". I told him the hazards. I told him if he does top he should plan on doing so every 3 years or so to avoid bigger problems then he has now. He understands the problems with topping and is willing to live with it.

Is there an alternative to topping with these trees?

Or just tell me how to trim them.

Please don't turn this into a "topping is bad" thread. We all know that. And we all know there are exceptions to every rule. Is this situation an exception?

Steven

 

[MasterBlaster]

Pics?

 

[NebClimber]

Pics:

I have been unsuccessful in adding the pics. Don't know why. I'm working on it.

 

[okietreedude1]

Did he mention trimmed height? If they are topped at 6 feet, its going to take them a long time to reach 'hazard' potential.

 

[NebClimber]

OK. Problem is file is too large. MB, how do I fix this real quick?

 

[Old Monkey]

My boss has folks sign sheet informing them of the long term effects of topping. You might consider the same. In my experience weak poplars that get topped die. Probably on their way already. Sounds like you'll be doing the first installment on a removal. You can tastefully drop crotch the top but it won't take much height out--probably not enough to satisfy the customer.

 

[clearance]

Cut them down for feks sake. Replant with a suitable species. They will remain a hazard, topped or not. Problems at the butt are a bad sign.

 

[jason j ladue]

OK. Problem is file is too large. MB, how do I fix this real quick?

butch, igot this one...
neb, use photo shop. open the file of the pic. select "image" on the tool bar. go to image size. click on the pixel field and set the width@ about 1000. the height will adjust automatically. save as... the program will display a field w/ the pic quality in it-move the the indicatorto 4 or 5. and click o.k. the file size will be displayed in the bottom of the field. try to get it somewhere about 100k. try that. if you dont have photoshop there should be some kind of other layout software on your hard drive that will be suitable for the task. this should be a pretty straightforward process for you. there are lots of others here who will help you too. good luck. we all wanna see the pics, not the words-jj

 

[Lumberjack]

You can also post in paint (more common than photoshop i would think). Go up to image, then stretch/skew. Reduce to whatever size you think is good. Change the percentages equally or the pic will get distorted.

Then save the pic as a .jpg (option on a drop down window below where you make the selection of the save as file name).

Hope it helps

 

[NebClimber]

Here is a pic ... maybe.

 

[NebClimber]

OK. The pic worked. So, how do I trim these things?

 

[Old Monkey]

Those are pretty standard looking poplars not too big, so probably have some years left in them despite my earlier post. Thin the tops using pole pruner size cuts. Are you familiar with drop crotching? For me, pruning is about looking at a tree and seeing how it grows. I don't know the correct term for this, but in this tree the second highest branch keeps becoming the new top. Look where last years growth was put on and trim it back a year or two, leaving a good leader to assume the role of the new top. I don't think these things need a major height reduction as much as just an overall thinning, especially the suckers around the base as they tend to hold leaves and promote composting and rot at the bases of the spars. The wood on these trees, as you probably know, is very brittle, don't trust it too much, stay on the center spars and use a pole pruner as you will not be able to climb very close to the top. Have fun, Off to work with me :blob5:

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

LOMBARDY POPLAR'S are alway's best prunned very hard ie to about 6'' from the ground ,they are absolutly trash tree's

 

[begleytree]

I agree, Lombardy Poplars are best gone. They really only have a 10-15 year life span, then start falling apart and dying. You can cut them as hard as you want, they're on the way out already, IMO
-Ralph

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The first thing to ask is what is the height range the homeowner is looking for. Then look below that height for a nice large lateral branch and do a proper pruning cut.
You won't be topping because you are making selective cuts, it won't be what's best for the trees, but what the situation calls for.
I drew some lines to show what you might do, and give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
The yellow line is the height we want the trees to end up, the red lines are cuts.
The basic idea is to leave a natural looking tree, that is much shorter. As others have mentioned, these trees are short lived, make sure the homeowner knows this. That said, this should be an easy way to get some more years out of the trees.

 

[NebClimber]

Mike Maas:

Great reply. Exactly what I needed.

Thanks to others as well.

 

[jason j ladue]

i thin maas is right. those things need to be reduced by about a third. about like this...the cut in the green circle will be the one that guides you through the rest of the job. from the photo, it looks like that is the biggest tree of the bunch. while you're @ it, makesure and go through all the lower canopy , focusing on the shoots around the trunk. even though i'm sure the parties on either side of the row like those there as a buffer from one another. you might suggest they plant something else betwwen the trees to serve that purpose- photinia? of course now we will be expecting during and after pics too... anyway, good luck w/it.

 

[Ekka]

We don't have many poplars here, I think in all my time I have cut down 2 and they were both rotten and dying ... what a terrible looking tree, why do you guys have so many of the darned things?

Do they have some value I don't know about or were they just the con job of the century like our Cocos or Queen palms?

Just curious as I've never heard anything good said about them.

 

[topnotchtree]

People plant poplars because they grow so darned fast! I try to explain to people to plant them inside their property line a bit and also plant nicer trees farther out. Explain to them that soon the poplars will get big and give the privacy they are looking for but wont last long. By the time a few years go by you can remove the poplars and have to permanent privacy of the other trees. Did I word that right?

 

[WMTP]

We have alot of poplars around here and they suck they are sort of a pain cause they die so fast and the wind blows like crazy here I mean bad. They break about half way up and are crap climbing them sucks to not much to work with I thing the client should just remove them now and save the time to have to do it in a few years.