Trees Killed: Why?

[Guy Meilleur]

What % of your removals are of good trees, and done only to get dumb people's money?

I'm not claiming 0%, but I know that the less I can do, the more I'm advancing.

 

[wiley_p]

Most people are dumb Guy, I am down with educatation of a client or for that matter the average putz on the street, again though lets be fair, maybe have a poll on making payments, keeping a crew employed and sober, all the while practicing good tree care. regardless of the lofty position we place ourselves in we take big peices of wood from a client, cut it and chip it and haul it off site. lets address the fundamentals then over a pint we could go into semantics, philosophy etc. It would seem that you and Tom are making an effort to get my goat. I'll save ye the trouble, I'm a dumb cracker, but watch it I;ve stuck around long enough and gotten just enough education I might just suprise you. A holier than thou tude makes a poor environment for teaching sir. I read what you and Tom say frequently, but lets remember we are all different, live different lives and make choices based on the variables we encounter, One thing I have surmised is it must be way different on the East part of the country. I still beleive pruning is a concept which few grasp. I can see the beauty in an unmolested tree where some will talk lateral unweighting, cabling etc. I've been in forests and towns all over tyhe West and the nicest trees were those that were allowed to be trees without our twsisted perception plkaced upon them.

 

[wiley_p]

Guy, I'll be back I have to go do a bid for a potential client/headache that wants some pruning done, when in reality she wants "shaping of her palmatums because they look uneven" So I will explain to her that I dont do the sort of butchery she is asking for but there is the off chance she will listen to me but its way outside. See ya.

 

[OutOnaLimb]

What is your definition of a "Dumb Reason"?

I have heard the whole line, that its killing my grass, I dont want to rake up the leaves in the fall, the crab apples stick to the kids shoes and they track it all over the house. The cotton from the cottonwoods make a mess, yadda yadda yadda. And I agree that it is a dumb reasone to remove a perfectly healthy tree. On the other hand I have seen leaning 65ft cotton woods that were all over the house, trees with serious root upheavals leaning over thier childrens swing set and club house. Trees that were busted up by Ice storms and Hurricanes, that even if you just removed the busted portions 75% of the canopy would be lost and the tree probibaly not survived.

I have done a lot of work in the Breckenridge Colo. area that was fire mitigation work. The lodge pole pine forests up there are seriously over grown, and a major fire hazard. Do you know how many homes were destroyed after the Hayman fire two years ago? Is it unethical to clear defensible space around a 3 million dollar log home? Or should we say to the customer that no, these little pecker pole pines that are infested with dwarf mistletoe and are growing as thick as crab grass around your property, are more important than your home and family?

I am all about tree preservation, but unfortunatley there comes a time when a tree must go. There was a good article a few months back in the TCI on the subject. I tried to go back and find it but I think I may have given that issue to my groundie.


:Monkey:

Kenn

 

[Toddppm]

Originally posted by OutOnaLimb
What is your definition of a "Dumb Reason"?

I have heard the whole line, that its killing my grass, I dont want to rake up the leaves in the fall, the crab apples stick to the kids shoes and they track it all over the house. The cotton from the cottonwoods make a mess, yadda yadda yadda.
Kenn

Hahaha , looked at a job last week where the guy wanted to remove the only 2 trees in the front of his house, his reason= They're nice trees but they make a mess in the spring and the fall. I just looked at him with a poker face, wasn't sure whether to bust out laughing or roll my eyes. Some people are beyond help.

I'll try to talk people out of a removal if they seem to have any sense and are looking for a reason to keep it , otherwise I'm not that much of a tree hugger, whatever, it's their trees.
I WILL NOT top or otherwise butcher a tree, business wise butchering can make us look worse than a removal for no other reason than the owner wanted it gone.

 

[wiley_p]

Just got back from a free 45 minute consultation, customer wanted 15 45'-50' Doug firs limbed up on one side as well as on Acer M. I told her no deal, explained why, told her that she would have no problem finding someone to do it in this area. provided her with several options she is dealing with a difficult neighbor. Then she showed me the 3 removals (remember all this work is needed because of the "mess') Locusts are by far my favorite city tree here When I saw the trees I spent 20 minutes talking her out of removing them, still no dice. Gave her a quote of 2700.00 hopefully she will say no, also gave her Hushagens number since he has his shop right around the corner, hoping he can talk some sense into her, she amitted she hates trees. But if she calls me to do the removals I will do them with respect, and in a proffesional manner keeping the crew busy for another day. This is a normal proposal trip for me. It's amazing to me so many people move here for the perceived beauty of the landscape then they spewnd thousands oif dollars to trash the very thing that drew them here in the first plkace. Raking leaves each year BIG DEAL suck it up and do it lazy*&%#

 

[ORclimber]

50-75% aren't a hazard yet. Mostly, trees planted in the wrong spot, and making room for new construction. Plenty of people tired of leaves in their gutters and wanting more light. A few who think the trees are too big, and worried they will get squished in their sleep. I'll tell people if their tree is an asset, but it's their call to cut it. I'll walk from topping, but don't have a problem with property owners removing their trees.

 

[rumination]

How can anyone hate trees?!!

 

[OutOnaLimb]

Trees planted in the wrong spot or planted to close to gether is another problem that leads to the eventual need for removal. I always try and tell my customers that when they plant a tree, they need to stand where they are gonna plant and then look up. A lot of the times people dont realize that this little 4 ft sapling is going to grow. and they plant the tree about 2 feet away from the house, or under power line, or they plant a row of spruce trees spaced out about 8 ft apart. Eventually these trees do grow up and need to be removed.

Kenn

 

[ORclimber]

Another reason some of my customers have removed trees is to get them down before city ordinances prevent it. 6 big firs in Lake Grove earlier this spring. Over 20 in Raleigh Hills 2 years ago on the same block, 3 over 4' dbh. Most of those trees would still be up, without the impending rule changes.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by OutOnaLimb
its killing my grass, I dont want to rake up the leaves in the fall, the crab apples stick to the kids shoes and they track it all over the house. The cotton from the cottonwoods make a mess, yadda yadda yadda.

These, plus "I hate acorns", and "the roots might hurt my foundation-driveway-sidewalk", or "it makes hot shade", my personal favorite, spoken about pines. I was asking about what the contractor considers good reasons, RJS, so I guess there's less point in subs responding.

No need to feel shame tho, bro; hold your head high or you'll lose sight of Bullwinkle!

 

[OutOnaLimb]

I have a lot of people wanting trees taken down because of the locust pods, crab apples, cottonwood catkins so on and so forth. When I can I try to advocate snipper treatments, or if its a massive tree I try to get the home owner to go the cambistat route. Unfortunately Cambistat doesnt work well with poplars. There goes the aspens, cotton woods and lombardy's. There are treatments around these excuses for home owners to remove their trees, but the bottom line is that if the home owner is bound and determined to remove the tree. All I can do is give my advice, and if they dont take it. Well then, I have a few more cords of fire wood to sell this winter.

Kenn

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's almost like working in some crisis situation. You do your best, and try to stay detached, when it's called for, so you can do your best job.

Whatever that may be.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Originally posted by wiley_p
It would seem that you and Tom are making an effort to get my goat. I'll save ye the trouble, I'm a dumb cracker, but watch it I;ve stuck around long enough and gotten just enough education I might just suprise you. A holier than thou tude makes a poor environment for teaching sir.

You can choose to take different things, different ways; and in so doing, can adjust the way it affects ya. i really don't think anyone is being baited with the simple question, Mr. Coyote! i think especially perhaps the parties mentioned generally seem to have better, not bitter things to do. In fact perhaps just offering mentorship in this important area.

i really don't think either expects an over-knight change; but if they are looking for a higher impacted change to a more appropriate balance; presenting the strongest, most dramatic 'arguements' would give greatest adjustment to views; especially 1, 2 or a few taking on the rest. The most lever-aged position of pull to center is once again the farthest away; a lil oversteer can be good. i'm not saying that we are being oversteered, just that if it seems too much, you can just take it that way and allow it to pull you to a better place with all this. i'm sure the Evil-Tom daze did not melt away in one day; and more info and keeping these things forward is the best way perhaps to bring anyone along. That is how it has been for me at least.

Also, i think the effort is being made, to impact deep enough; to be remembered as we each deliver these ideas to those that have trees; arm with knowledge and retort to maybe not always win every battle, but modify many requests. Quality Identifiers Thread was my view of what i learnt from some of these folks and how we might be the ones that are supposed to let folks know, and give them new ways to appreciate their trees and the way they grow.

Orrrrrrrr something like that...
:alien:

 

[geofore]

dead trees

Most of the tree removals this year are dead or nearly dead and trees blown over in the high winds. It's difficult to say it is stupid to remove a tree that is doing roof damage if the only limbs with green are over/on the roof of a building. The owner wanted the limbs over the roof removed, that left a stem, no leaves, so we took it out.
Today I gave my buddy, Jim the new Husky PP 346 XPG that Dan sent me. Jim is keeping the saw and selling his POULANS at the flea market next week. I got the saw late thursday, took down a dead cherry and a dead locust friday to test the saw. Today I gave Jim the saw to cut up a cottonwood that fell on his fence and the neighbors heard the saw running and called so we tested it out some more by removing the maple tree that blew over and landed on Tucker's barn then went next to the ajoining farm, cleared the trees that blew down blocking Eric's access to his barn, a cottonwood a maple and a cherry across the road. So that saw paid for itself cutting up dead/nearly dead & uprooted trees. Jim's got 20 acres of his own trees to tend to after the last storm so I think I can say that saw will be doing dead trees for a while.