Pruning scenarios and ways to maximise your resource

Pruning large conifers presents certain problems for arborists.  One big problem that we encounter is access.  In the past many people who were tasked with removing material from large conifers would use spikes for "safety".  This is a false premise.  Using the Single Rope Technique is a much safer way to access large conifers because when done correctly, the climber always has immediate access to the ground.  Additionally, the use of spikes is damaging to the tree.  

In the following series I am pruning a large Douglas Fir over a house.  It has some dead stubs and some hanging branches.  I again use the SRT setup to safely and efficiently access the tree and perform the operation.

 In the following series I have already pruned the large Douglas Fir to the left of the antenna.  I provided clearance for the antenna and removed deadwood and hangers.  I then descended into the top of the subordinate Douglas Fir.  I cleared space for the little Douglas Fir within the Silver Maple that was growing around it.  By doing this I reduce the conflict for space that was occurring between the subordinate Pseudotsuga and the Silver Maple.  By doing so, I increase the trees' abilities to contribute more substantially to the landscape in the future.  

The following series shows me pruning a small White Pine (Pinus strobus) for structure.  Notice that it's necessary to access the very top of the tree to select an apical leader by eliminating a codominant branch.  The top cut was at only about an inch and half diameter, but it was necessary to assure one main stem.  The little pine was stout enough to support me in its canopy and the time was right for training pruning.

The following series shows me performing training pruning on small Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum).  The small trees were at a great stage for training pruning.  They had started to develop some problems such as multiple codominant leaders.  This is not desireable because it leads to structural problems in the future.  The whole point in training pruning is to invest in the tree's future by reducing the likelihood of developing structural issues as the tree grows.  This is accomplished by making certain pruning cuts at appropriate locations to give the chosen stem the most sunlight at its apex.

 

The following series shows me pruning an American Elm (Ulmus americana) that got beat up pretty badly in a storm.  It may have been tempting to simply cut it down.  However, because it had become established and could contribute significantly to the landscape in the case that it could be fixed, I attempted to do so.  

The following series shows me pruning a mature White Oak (Quercus alba).  I set an access line high in the center of the tree.  I use SRT to move about in the canopy and remove deadwood and prune large branches for structure over the driveway.

Pruning your trees is not only a good thing to do for your trees, it also allows you an opportunity to utilize the material produced from pruning to make compost and grow food.  The plants that contribute to our landscapes could provide so much more for us if they were utilized to their fullest. Look at all of the material that was produced in the pruning outlined here!   Contact Will at verticaltechniques@gmail.com or call 608-279-8394 to set up a consultation.

Oak and Willow Pruning on Green Lake

(February 2012)

The past four days (February 6-9, 2012) were spent in collaboration with Tree Releaf of Green Lake, Wisconsin.  The collaboration was as usual inspiring and filled with great views.  Dave and Nate are terrific people.  We enjoy working together.  We follow strict safety protocol and critique each other on our techniques.  It's a good type of relationship to have in an industry like this one. 

Where's Willie?

 I used the tall Norway Spruce (Picea abies) for a high angle tie-in point.  With the high angle, I was able to drop into the the decayed and hollow Red Oak (Quercus rubrum) without putting as much pressure on the stem as I would have if I had tied in to the oak. 

There he is!

That's why I tied-in to the Spruce.

This Red Oak was too hollow to hold any of my weight and the Spruce was too far away to be of help.  It will be removed using a lift.

You can see from the photos that it was a prudent move to use the spruce for a tie-in.  The other leaner is also hollow like a drum.  We will need to use a lift or set up a high-line if we climb it.  

After lunch we went to work in the back yard.  The Red Oak that I am climbing the picture below had one big shard of an old branch that tore out.  It was dead and ready to fall off.  I rigged it to an adjacent oak limb and it sailed away from me.  I am stoked about the SRT set-up that I am using in these pictures.  I have a Petzle mini-ascender backing up my CMI expedition ascender.  I am tied in to the micro- pulley hanging from the CMI ascender.  I use the doubled rope technique with a shorter rope and the access line is locked off on a porta-wrap.  That way I can lower myself to the ground instantly and can also be lowered to the ground by a ground-person in the event of an injury.  I use a Petzle Pantin on my foot for ascent.

That was a nice rig Nate!

Loving my SRT setup.

Where's the landing zone?

Nate

 Day one concluded.

Day two started off with an interesting project.  The top of a White Oak (Quercus alba) had blown out and laid into an adjacent Red Oak.  It had been there for a while and was not overly decayed so I determined it would be reasonably safe to ascend from the back side of the Red Oak (never directly under the hanger).  I used an SRT setup again.  I used a pulley in the Red Oak that was installed as high as possible to lift the hanger out and lower it using the GRCS.  I rigged the piece at a balanced point so it came up when Dave cranked the winch and then pivoted and Dave lowered it.

Add caption

You can see the setup here.  I am installing the pulley and the rigging line goes down to the GRCS and will be tied off on the middle of the hanger.

The second half of day two was an inspection of a large, tri-stem Red Oak.  This is a massive tree.  It is an old stump-sprout and it's gotten huge.  It has a diameter of at least three feet on each stem and it's about 85 feet tall.  Two of the three stems lean over the house.  We were pretty sure that we were going to have to condemn it, especially since the trees around it were in such rough shape.  We were however happily surprised when, while inspecting we realized that it was not tensioning the cables that had been installed long ago.  This beauty was standing on her own!  We were stoked to be able to recommend a Cobra installation to the upper-canopy.  We also recommended dead-wood pruning and a slight amount of reduction on the stem that leans hard over the house.  Day two happened to also be Dave's birthday.  We knocked off a little early to enjoy some good conversation and spirits in Ripon.

Executing the inspection.

long way down

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Will's view down.

End of Day two.

Day three was a gorgeous and crisp February day!  We had work to do on the shoreline of Green Lake.  The wind was a little stiff, but we were happy to have such a nice view and warm soup to look forward to at lunch.  We pruned willows.  Pruning to produce a vista is a particular challenge in this line of work.  Most people who have "lake property" want a view.  The trees that line the shore are important for soil retention.  Without the roots of trees, the shore line will continue to wash away.  So the trees have to stay.  The problem is how to make them disappear from view when someone is sitting on the deck at the house.  What past tree guys have done is just gut the trees of any foliage below a certain point on the horizon.  This is usually pretty hard on the tree.  We strive to be of benefit to the tree too, so we keep any foliage that doesn't interfere with the vista.  We also direct the growth of the foliage to produce vista corridors.  Here are some pictures of the day.

This final day of climbing was phenomenal!  Thanks to Dave Ryan and Tree Releaf for the opportunity!