Tag: tree pruning

It's very tempting to do tree work yourself. After all, you have a saw and a ladder--why not climb the ladder and cut down that limb? Well, here's a comic from today's Sunday Seattle Times that gives you an answer:

One thing we Seattleites have plenty of is water. Many of the homes in this area have stunning water views--or would have stunning water views if the trees and bushes didn't grow so rapidly (another by-product of having so much water!).

The Blooma tree service men are often called upon to help homeowners re-gain the water view that caused them to love their homes in the first place. The two photos shown here illustrate how dramatic a difference we can make with some judicious pruning, called crown reduction. This home is in Ballard (a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

When we see the front yards, we always notice the trees. Sometimes the trees are just right--they are shaped nicely, they're healthy, and they're the right size for the house and yard. In this case, the tree is an asset.

Sometimes, though, the trees really detract from the house, really bringing down the curb appeal. Trees that are unhealthy, or badly pruned, or too big or too small, or just plain ugly are not an asset to a home. They are an eyesore.

I offer you my first photos of Seattle area houses. Are the trees an asset? Or are they an eyesore?

The following photos were taken in the same Mukilteo cul-de-sac.

House #1

Beautifully landscaped yard with a lovely variety of trees and bushes . . . except for . . .

this cherry tree by the front door. What an unattractive pruning job!

House #2

This house is quite beautiful and large. But what is the centerpiece of the yard?

What is that? An umbrella tree? I don't know, but it's far too small for the house. Plus it in unnatural, misshapen, and unhealthy. Time to remove this sad little tree and re-plant.

House #3

What do you think of these three trees? Asset? or Eyesore?

We get out, we walk around, and sometimes we are saddened by what we see. Here is a photo of a prime example of poor pruning. Let me explain.

As you can see, this tree is still alive--or at least part of it is. The pink blooms are lovely, but we can't appreciate their beauty because of the ugly stumps. We're not sure what the goal was with this pruning job, but each of those cuts left a stump. None of those stumps will callus over and heal, thus keeping the tree stressed and inviting fungi and pests.

In addition, the canopy has been obliterated, leaving a lopsided tree. This is very unattractive. The amount of the canopy removed is too much for the tree to bear, and it will now descend into its death spiral.

In this case, the best suggestion is to remove the tree entirely and plant a new one. This tree diminishes the value of the house and the aesthetics of the street. Put the tree out of its misery and begin again. Next time, though, call in a professional to prune your tree!

Our man, Andrew Cheney, just passed his rigorous ISA Certification test--on his very first try! This is quite an accomplishment since only 6% pass it the first time.

Drew has been with Blooma Tree Experts LLC since February 2008, learning the ropes, literally! Drew had years of experience as a landscaper, so tree and shrub identification was a breeze, but he had not worked in the tree care industry before. Blooma owner Martin Macauley saw potential in Drew immediately,  and he began to encourage Drew to prepare himself for the ISA exam.

ISA Certification means that Drew is now a highly trained professional in all areas of tree care. He knows the biology of trees, he knows which diseases and pests attack trees, and he knows proper pruning techniques, among many other areas of essential tree care knowledge.

ISA Certification is valid for three years; Certified Arborists must continue their education by earning 30 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) by the end of each three-year period.

We are proud of Drew and his great accomplishment.

Spotted in a Seattle neighborhood--this man is risking his life and limb to cut branches.

Well, we couldn't quite believe our eyes when we spotted this landscaper attempting to prun a tree, and I had to run to the fence to take a picture. Let's count the ways in which this tree pruning is dangerous:

1. The man is on a ladder. He is not tied in to anything. Ladders are dangerous.
2. He has no safety equipment on. No hard hat (what's with the shower cap?) and no protective eyewear. Limbs fall downward (gravity), and bits fly toward your face.
3. He is cutting above his head, which means he does not have much control over that chainsaw. Now sometimes, even trained professionals will perform a quick cut above their head, but they've got the muscles to hold the saw steady.
4. He is swinging a huge axe at the tree to cut the limb (photo below). This will definitely lead to being off-balance, and again, he isn't tied into the tree for safety. Also, how sharp is the axe? A dull axe is much more dangerous than a sharp one.
5. A swinging limb can knock the ladder out from under him, causing injury.

We have to wonder if this man has L & I. If he gets hurt, the homeowner will be responsible for his injuries.

The moral of the story is if you choose to save money by hiring untrained workers to do dangerous tree work on your property, you should be prepared for the financial and moral consequences. Ask yourself: Is it worth it? Or shouldn't you just go ahead and hire trained, professional certified arborists with proper training and L & I coverage?

Rolling through downtown Seattle are two Metro buses replete with brand new 15-foot ads for Blooma Tree Experts LLC. "We wanted to try something new, something different," said Martin Macauley, the owner of Blooma. "We aimed for an ad that was clean and simple, and hopefully memorable."

The two new ads feature an actual Heritage Tree of Seattle with Martin partially hidden in the branches, hand-pruning to maintain the tree's beauty. "I wanted a real tree that we've actually worked on," said Martin, "rather than some random picture from the internet. That picture shows that the homeowner trusted us to prune his precious Heritage Tree, and that's really special to me."

The rest of the ad includes a soft green background with Blooma's motto: We Make Your Trees Living Works of Art. "Having ISA Certified Arborists in charge of each job is one of the ways we set ourselves apart from the other tree companies around," said Martin.

"Passing the ISA certification test is very difficult, very demanding," Martin continued. "Then we have to maintain it with 30 education units every three years, and that's tough to do. The ISA Certification means we are well-trained in the very latest research about tree health, tree removals, and safety. When we prune a tree, we follow all ISA guidelines, ensuring a healthy, aesthetically pleasing tree."

The tree experts at Blooma are excited about this new move for the growing company. Even Martin's grandson is keeping an eye out for the new buses, asking, "Is Grandpa going to let other people ride his bus?"

Martin Macauley, ISA Certified Arborist, spotted this Hemlock in Lynnwood, WA while giving an estimate. Martin was chagrined to see that a tree service employee—from another company—had used spurs to climb the tree. Spurs should NEVER be used on a living, healthy tree for pruning.

What are spurs?

Spurs are steel shanks that attach to a climber's boot and calf to allow him to easily ascend a tree. Essentially, he climbs by jabbing the spikes into the tree as he climbs.

What do spurs do to the tree?

Spurs make holes through the bark, the tree's protective layer, into the cambium. The cambium is the living tissue of a tree. The way it works is water and elements flow up through the root system through the cambium, which then distributes the sugars (food) from the leaves throughout the tree. It is essentially a pumping system. When the cambium is compromised, the tree is compromised. Spurs compromise a tree.

How does spurring harm the tree?

The holes left by the spurs allow an avenue for pathogens (disease-producing agents). If the spurs were used previously on a diseased tree, those diseases will be passed into the next living tree. This is equivalent to someone inserting a dirty needle into your body. Chances are, you will get the disease, too. Yikes!

When can spurs be used?

For tree removal only! Any other use of spurs is harmful and negligent.

ISA Certified Arborists are trained to understand the circulatory system of trees and the harmful effects of spurring a tree. Be smart: hire a tree service who has ISA Certified climber on the job (like Blooma Tree Experts). You will be happy you did, and so will your trees.

Everyone knows that trees need pruning; the question is, how do we prune correctly? That's what we're setting out to help you discover. Since there are so many different aspects of pruning, today we'll just talk about removing dead stubs.

We often see stubs when someone has simply cut tree limbs indiscriminately. That's pretty common, and besides looking bad, it's bad for the tree (more about that below). Sometimes a limb simply breaks because of wind, snow, or too much weight. Either way, the stub needs to be removed correctly.

Why are stubs so bad? If they aren't dead yet, they soon will be. And the stub will endanger the tree's health because it provides an opening for insects and fungi that will cause decay. You want to close that opening, and that's where pruning comes in.

Imagine that you have a cut on your arm. If a bone is sticking out (yuck!), then the cut will never heal. It will get infected, and who knows how bad it will get? But if the cut is clean, it will scab over, heal, and maybe not even leave a scar. It is very similar with trees. A clean cut will allow the bark to "scab" over and heal (see last photo below). But a stub is like an open wound. The tree will send resources to try to heal it, but it will never heal. Bad news for the tree.

So now that I've convinced you that stubs are bad, how exactly do you fix it? It's important to make your cut correctly. I've included an illustration here from the ISA website, TreesAreGood.com, to show you two different situations and two correct cuts:

To show you an actual ISA certified arborist in action, cutting a dead stub off an actual tree, I asked Martin Macauley (owner, Blooma Tree Experts LLC) to fix our neighbor's tree. Our neighbor was happy to oblige.

The first cut is made below (to prevent bark tearing), and the second cut is made above. The finished cut is close to the tree, and will allow the tree to heal the wound, as the last photo shows.

WARNING: If the stubs are higher than you can reach, please call a professional. Ladders are dangerous and climbing is dangerous--we want you safe! Call us at (206) 714-9835 for a free estimate on removing those stubs and any other tree work you need. We service the greater Seattle area.