Pruning
Pruning can be good and pruning can be bad. It depends on a number of factors. Proper pruning should start early in the trees life and should be done sparingly. It does say in Proverbs 22:6 that you should train up a tree in the way it should grow and it will not depart from it when it is old (unless a big ice storm comes along). I may be paraphrasing, but I remember it saying something like that.
Pruning to develop a good structure is a great thing to do. The tree will have that same basic structure for the rest of its life, which may be well beyond yours.
Improper pruning often lasts the life of the tree also, especially if severe. Topping a tree is a practice that will probably never go away, but neither does the effects. Over thinning may in many cases be just as deleterious, but may not take as many years to overcome.
Pruning is a large part of the work that Tree Loving Care does and it is most often done because of people reasons. Raising the canopy for clearance on roofs, drives walks and more light, side pruning and heading back to clear utilities and other objects are all valid reasons to prune.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed several standards for maintenance of trees that cover everything from transplanting to pruning to fertilization to safety. Tree Loving Care adheres to these standards.
Tree work is dangerous when everything is done right. Tree work from ladders, without proper knowledge and proper safety equipment can be downright scary. Our climbers regularly receive safety training and some compete in or judge the Texas Tree Climbing Championship.
02.12.2008. 08:00
Cabling & Bracing
There is one completely inescapable fact about the High Plains of West Texas, the wind blows. Chicago just thinks it is the windy city.
Sharp branch angles and co-dominant stems are weak branch unions that are much more susceptible to failure in a windstorm. Some trees have an inherent tendency to have sharp angle crotches. Many of these can be avoided by properly training young trees.
Multi-trunk trees have been widely planted over the last 40 years. Multi-trunk have, by definition, co-dominant stems.
As the branch or trunk increases in girth, bark becomes trapped and eventually becomes included in the wood. As weight, leverage, and wind sail increase, there comes a time that the amount of joined wood is not sufficient to withstand the forces. That is why Tree Loving Care tends to be pretty busy for the couple of days after every spring thunderstorm, doing storm clean up.
Cabling and bracing systems can add strength to trees and preserve the integrity of the tree for many years. They should also be inspected annually. Trees grow.
TREE LOVING CARE may, in many cases, be able to add many years to the life of your tree with appropriate cabling and bracing.
02.02.2007. 01:00
Removal
Removing a tree in West Texas is considered by some to be unthinkable. However, trees do have a limited life. In the urban environment, trees tend to have a considerably shorter live expectancy than in the forest. The reasons are many.
Insects, disease, wind and other weather phenomenon take their toll, trees are planted or allowed to grow where they never should be; places such as 3 inches from a building or under utility lines. Many people just don't realize how big that tree will get. Since almost all of our trees are planted, proper placement to allow for future growth is critical.
The first objective of TREE LOVING CARE is the preservation and care of your trees. When it has been determined that a tree should be removed, we do that with the same degree of care.
Removing trees can be complicated and difficult. It is certainly easy to see that a large tree in a small enclosed backyard, overhanging a house, patio and flower beds, with 3 utility lines running through the canopy will be much more difficult than the same size tree in a large open front yard.
TLC has the experience and equipment to safely remove any tree regardless of the difficulty.
02.01.2007. 23:33