Tree "care" vs. Tree felling

tinyplanet · Apr 21, 2016

As someone who is outside of the tree care industry, but is interested in switching careers, I'd be interested in hearing from tree care professionals about this issue. Approximately what percentage of your work is spent doing tree care, maintenance, and preservation, versus taking trees down? I feel like most of the arborists I see working locally, and much of the discussion on this forum, is focused on felling trees, however, I'm sure my perspective is very limited. As arborists, how do you handle being asked to remove a tree that you feel shouldn't be removed (because it's structurally intact, an important/rare species, it's beautiful, etc.)? Are trees only ever removed if there's something structurally unsafe about them, i.e. disease, wind damage, old age, etc?

Please note that I'm not asking this to start a flame war or incite a heated discussion or anything like that. I just am trying to gain some insight into what an arborist really does on a day-to-day basis. Thanks!

ATH · Apr 21, 2016

That is a little like asking a group of MDs what they typically do...

While the field is not as diverse or specialized as the medical field, my point is the is no "right" answer to your question...it varies.

The largest field of arboriculture is line clearance. A lot of people started there, but not many of the regulars on this forum seem to do that full time.

Personally, I am close to a 50/50 split between pruning and plant health management (pest control, soil improvement... heck I'd even include a lot of the pruning I do in plant health management). I also do a handful of removals, tree planting, and consulting-type visits (appraisals, tree risk assessment, etc...).

Some great arborists no longer touch a chainsaw...they do all consultation, or planning, or pest management, or diagnostics, or soil work, etc...)

Others do nothing but removals.

Etc..,etc...etc...

I haven't refused a removal "on principle". My principle is that if you own the tree, you get to decide what to do with it. I have talked a lot of people into keeping trees they thought they should get rid of and failed to talk others into it because they already have their mind made up and aren't looking for logic. I have also talked plenty of people into removing trees they wanted to keep...even when it cost me money (they would have paid me a lot to maintain it, but I referred the removal to somebody else).

Note: you may see more removal operations because it is hard to miss a crane, dump truck, and giant chipper blocking the road then see that a large piece of the landscape is missing. If somebody spent 4 hours in that same tree pruning it while you were at work, you probably don't know that it happened. Even less so if they applied a systemic insecticide to control bugs eating it...

If you want to get into the field, work for a decent sized company with a good reputation who emphasizes safety. You will likely learn all aspects and like some more than others. Then learn as much as you can about those and strive to get better and more knowledgeable about what you want to specialize in and you will have good opportunities in an enjoyable career...whether you stay at that first company, work for another or start your own.

tinyplanet · Apr 21, 2016

Thanks! Just the kind of insight I was looking forward. I've been thinking on this for a while, but I was inspired to post this question today in particular because I just drove by a crew with a big-name Tree care company removing a monstrously huge (and gorgeous!) Doug Fir from the front yard of a private residence. To my totally uneducated eyes, that DF looked pretty healthy, but I have no idea what issues may have been associated with it. Anyway, thanks so much for the response!

JeffGu · Apr 21, 2016

A lot of removals around here are the result of the homeowner becoming paranoid that it will fall on their house. Often, it's because a friend, neighbor or relative had a limb fall on their house, and they suddenly want it removed after decades of barely even noticing the thing. I find that elderly homeowners are very prone to this, and as @ATH said, once their mind is made up, there's often no changing it.

The other side of the coin is the homeowners who believe trees are like dandelions, and require no help at all. They'll leave the most horrible, storm damaged, diseased and half dead trees in their yard until it actually does fall on the house, or drop a hefty limb on it, then call. If you politely explain to them that trees like Silver Maple, Ash, Elm and Cottonwood have soft wood and should be pruned every few years or at least looked at... the answer is nearly always the same... "Well, it's been there for 50 years and never fell over, before!" as though their current demise was the act of vandals, or something.

Geography often dictates which kind of work you end up doing the most of. Here in the midwest farm country, at least the rural parts, removals are the bulk of the work. Prunings are more likely to be in the larger cities and non-agricultural acreages. Tree care and management tends to be limited to commercial and local government properties. Everyone else pretty much waits until their trees only have a few leaves left on them and are full of holes, fungus, insects and rot before they notice that it might be a little sick. Then they call and ask what they can buy at Earl May's or Walmart that will cure it.

Oldmaple · Apr 23, 2016

About 50% tree care (pruning, insect and disease control) and 50% removals. Most of the new calls are for removals since most people think there are 2 things you do with a tree, plant it and cut it down. I do ask people why they are cutting the tree down if it isn't obvious and give people my opinion on removals. Ultimately it's their tree and I will do what they want.

Conquistador3 · Apr 23, 2016

This may not apply to your area, but what I do for friends and relatives here (not a full time job, I am not a professional but I used to work in the field) is about 70% felling and 30% care.

Honestly I've never run into a tree the owner wanted felled that was truly worth keeping. In fact on a few occasions I actively suggested trees to be removed: typically around here are trees that were planted too close to homes and boundaries by unscrupulous gardeners with the assurance "it's a dwarf species/cultivar, it will stay small" but which then turns into a full sized monster. Better and cheaper remove it while it's still in the 20ft range instead of waiting until it's well over 30ft high and the roots have started playing havoc. You can then suggest a true small tree or large bush for the job.
Arborists here have earned their bread for years felling Himalayan cedars that were planted in the late 60's/early 70's with the assurance they'd stay small. Right. :laugh:

Another area where I've suggested felling are high maintenance trees, especially fruit bearing ones. You have to make people understand these trees cannot be simply left to fend for themselves, but need yearly pruning, fertilizing, watering etc, all of which are time consuming/expensive. If they can afford it, good, otherwise it's better get rid of the tree: an untended fruit tree not only looks like junk, but it can also become a disease/pest breeding ground. Untended ornamental almond trees here are the main vectors of leaf curl, which is playing havoc on the commercial peach operations in the valley the other side of the small pass here.

ScottinAK · Apr 23, 2016

Everything ATH said. My crew does about 75% removals, 25% pruning and toping. We remove alot of cottonwoods and Aspen because they're a pain in the ***. We've fell a couple of big cottonwoods that seemed as old as time. On trees like that I always take part of it home. My coffee table is a 3' cottonwood round and I have a few pieces of gnarly bark hanging in the house. Its all up to the land owner. If we take down some nice spruce or Birch I'll sometimes bring some of the wood home for firewood, I hate seeing the wood go to waste. I love what I do, and to truly love this job I think you have to respect the trees which it sounds like you do. I feel pruning is more rewarding, once you step back and look at the change but felling is more fun.