Crown
Cleaning and Thinning
Crown Raising
Drop-crotching and Shaping
Crown Restoration
Removal
Crown Cleaning
and Thinning
Crown cleaning and thinning involves the removal of superfluous
branches as well as accumulated deadwood. Branches that cross and
interfere with each other can be selectively thinned to promote
desirable growth patterns within the tree. Dead branches should
be removed regularly to prevent injury to people or damage to property.
Dying and decaying wood also serves to attract insects and pathogens
that are harmful to the tree. Thinning of a tree’s canopy
serves to allow light to reach the under story plants or lawn area—allowing
the other landscaping elements to flourish. A word of warning is
in order here: proper selective thinning generally means removing
no more than one third of a tree’s branch structure or biomass.
Eliminating more than one third often compromises the tree’s
health, its aesthetic value, and promotes the growth of undesirable
shoots called “water sprouts” or “suckers.”
At its worst, drastic thinning or lion’s-tailing (a condition
where much of the inner canopy is removed) can lead to structural
failure of individual limbs and effectively destroy the tree’s
ability to recover to its natural form. Trees pruned in this manner
have been shown to have their life span reduced by more than half.
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Crown Raising
Often all that is needed is to get more room for working in the
yard or create more light or space for other trees or shrubs in
the landscape. Removing several lower branches can accomplish this.
Raising the canopy also can prevent rodents such as squirrels and
rats and insects such as carpenter ants from gaining access to your
home. Preventing damage to your roof, gutters, and house service
lines can all be accomplished by removing lower branches and side
trimming as needed. Branches that droop into the driveway, sidewalk
or street can be eliminated to allow for the free movement of pedestrians
and vehicles
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Drop-crotching and
Shaping
Trees whose mature size is larger than desired for a given location,
but which cannot be removed and replaced for whatever reason, can
be kept smaller by a technique called reduction or “drop-crotching.”
When a tree is pruned by drop-crotching, its branches are shortened
by cutting back to laterals that are large enough to assume the
terminal role. Usually this means cutting back to branches that
are at least one-third the diameter of the branch being removed.
This type of pruning preserves a tree’s natural form and leaves
wounds small enough to close-over or compartmentalize. In addition,
pruning to reduce or maintain the size of a tree in this way provides
the opportunity to re-establish symmetry or balance to a damaged
or misshapen tree. A tree that is simply too large for the space
in which it has been planted should be removed and replaced when
possible rather than cut back severely. Continual heading-back or
topping causes significant permanent injury to a tree. A topped
tree will never regain its original form. Some of the consequences
of topping include:
- Removing the majority of the leaf-bearing surface
of the tree,virtually halting its ability to produce food.
- Creating stubs with wounds that either don’t
close at all or close very slowly, allowing decay organisms to
enter and move through the rest of the tree.
- Destroying the branch structure of the tree
and forcing rapid growth of multiple shoots below each cut, leaving
the tree a dense ball of foliage.
A topped tree is not only an eyesore, but can
become a hazard in later years as it rots and falls apart. A professional
arborist will never recommend topping as a preferred practice.
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Crown Restoration
Trees that have suffered significant damage either due to storms
or from improper pruning practices such as topping require a technique
called crown restoration. Crown restoration is a pruning process
which attempts to restore branch structure to a damaged tree by
selective thinning. Trees that have lost a majority of their branch
structure usually will respond by sprouting profusely along their
trunk below the break or topping cut. Left alone, this growth will
turn into a tangled mass of crossing and interfering branches with
little shape or form. The process of crown restoration involves
the selective thinning of this mass of growth. By cutting out the
weaker and less desirable branches and removing dead stubs, the
tree is gradually restored to a form which approximates the original
tree. It is a process which can take many years to accomplish.
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Removal
When it becomes necessary to remove a tree, we can do so with minimal
impact to your property. Years of experience and all the latest
in modern rigging equipment allow us to make a nearly impossible
job seem routine. We will chip all the branches, cut the wood in
firewood lengths, and clean up to make it look like we were never
there. In especially difficult areas and to further minimize impact
to your property, we can use a crane to remove your tree when necessary.
Wood chips are also available on request at no charge.
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