I hope to take down these 3 trees... or at least not kill myself....

[PUclimber]

Treeser,
You can obviously look at the leaves and tell they are mulberry trees. Especially the close up of the leaf. That's how the plants have been identified. I retract my previous statements after seeing the pics. In my advice I'd call a professional with the lines that close. Does anyone know what phase those lines are? If they're high enough voltage legally that brooklyn you can't even get close enough to them to cut your stuff away.

 

[Canyon Angler]

Looks like mulberry to me too. They can be pretty weak and brittle IME...not sure I would risk climbing in them, esp. with a chainsaw!

I don't think all mullberries (males?) produce fruit, BTW.

 

[brooklynhome]

Thank you everyone

I appreciate your patience... I have tried to provide as much info as possible about my situation, for your amusement and expertise.

As said... power is underground. Wires are cable and phone.

I didn't know what type of tree it is, however most here just call it a weed tree. As I know it's fast growing, I assumed it's shortlived.. and I was right, it's well past it's half life.

Not that it's a vote but knowing that mulberries seldom live past 25 years, these have been abused, and these mainly over hang other peoples property... Who here advises keeping them?

 

[Adkpk]

hatred

Hatred? That seems like a strong word here. First of all mulberry is not what you want in your back yard if you live on a postage stamp in Brooklyn. Rats are a problem, here. Fruit trees of any kind create a problem with vermin. If you have 16"x what ever this guy said he has with expensive cutivars on their way I would think in order to plan ahead cut down the nuisance fruit bearing, fast growing invasive ugly a-- tree. Give the guy a break and just get on with the, how to do it.

 

[Adkpk]

I appreciate your patience... I have tried to provide as much info as possible about my situation, for your amusement and expertise.

As said... power is underground. Wires are cable and phone.

I didn't know what type of tree it is, however most here just call it a weed tree. As I know it's fast growing, I assumed it's shortlived.. and I was right, it's well past it's half life.

Not that it's a vote but knowing that mulberries seldom live past 25 years, these have been abused, and these mainly over hang other peoples property... Who here advises keeping them?

We crossed posted there, brooklyn. I really don't don't care, keep um, cut um. I don't care if anyone responds to your, how to, question either. Just want my two cents entered. In the case of danger to your person it is always better to go with the guy in the know. But as for mulberries. In their place they are a nice tree, (I often see people stop under them and eat those berries, not for me thanks) but they are invasive. They also in my opinion never have an attractive branch structure. So if your can only have a few choice trees mine is not a mulberry.

 

[treeseer]

Dan thanks for the help w ID. Mulberries can live over 50 years. Very tough and decay resistant wood; I've climbed them all my life and don't recall having a branch even crack on me (190#). I had not heard about the fruit nuisance; not mentioned by poster. If fruit falls, yes it's an aggravation to clean up after, but buying a blower would be a whole lot cheaper than cutting the trees down.

"Who here advises keeping them?"
Based on what you've said and shown and what I know, I do. Pruning reduces sprawl as well as reducing litter. Tell us what the pro says when he gives you an estimate on pruning.

Dirr's Manual says "excellent color, texture and form...withstands drought and urban conditions" A low-maintenance shade tree. Would you rather have high-maintenance tree that gives you no shade?

 

[Bermie]

OK, first I think you need a pruning type saw, maybe a bow saw would do. Take out all the branches that that saw can handle that way you won't be up a tree with a chainsaw. The tree will look different at this point less threatening maybe. Clean that stuff up so it's not in the way. Then, I, would rent a small pruning saw, one that is used with one hand to take out the larger branches.

If you're going to buy a pruning saw get a Silky Zubat or Gomtaro, forget bow saws they're useless. As for the small pruning saw, they are NOT supposed to be used with one hand unless absolutely necessary at the extremity of a branch with all your body parts out of the way and NOT to be used by homeowners for groundwork at all! A small rear handle chainsaw is more appropriate.

I can tell you want to have a go with this job, but be careful, pay attention to the guys who are telling you about the species, how strong it is, what happens to branches when they are dropped, etc. also if the trees have been hacked about before, how strong is the regrowth? Are you sure you are confident which bits will take your weight if you climb them? If you fell them do you know how to put in a proper notch and felling cut? If you start asking more questions than you have answers for, think again about doing it yourself.
If you are bound and determined to have a go, think, think again, look, look again, ask yourself what can go wrong, what are the consequences if the branch or trunk doesn't go where you think it will, weigh up your life and limb, your value to your family, then think again. Yellow pages under arborist comes to mind.
Good luck, and well done for having the courage to post!

 

[beowulf343]

Ok brooklyn, rent a gas powered pole saw (they have them for rent at home depot here.) Like adrpk said, just cut small. You may want to be careful of the phone drops coming off the left side of that pole, they break pretty easy, but the heavy line you won't have to worry about (you could drop all three of those trees on it without a problem), just don't nick it with your polesaw (tends to piss off the phone company.) Start with the tree on the left and just keep cutting and dropping into the neighbor's yard. Looks like a fun little job. And don't let the guys scare you into not taking them down-it's your choice.

Is that barbed wire on top of that fence? Ha Ha reminds me of my row days in backyards. Get downtown in the cities and you are constantly climbing over fences this bad or worse. The fences and attack dogs were two of the reasons I ended up getting out of row.

 

[trevmcrev]

Dan thanks for the help w ID. Mulberries can live over 50 years. ?

Have pruned and cared for a 140 year old Mulberry at a National Trust Heritage property here and we have a far longer growing season than you guys.

My advice is keep the trees and have them pruned by a Professional Arborist.

If you must have them removed, your life and family is worth more than the cost of having a Professional Tree Srevice do the work. As someone else mentioned, if your really tight to save a buck get a price just to put it on the ground and you take care of the clean up.

 

[Ekka]

Trev

Can you get a pic of that old tree please .... just dont get much like that around here

 

[nitwit dolt]

Just answer the ?

The trees are in his backyard, and he would like them removed. He would like some advice on how to do this. What type they are, how long they live, and what their future potential are is not part of the question. I agree with the other people who have answered your question. Tree work is not for weekend warriors. The amount of problems that can occur is staggering. I was working with a buddy of mine last month. The guy has over twenty years of experience and he looks at my and says never saw that happen before. It's not that you will save money doing it yourself, it's that you will save money not replacing the hole in the roof, putting the phone lines back up, and so on.

 

[treeseer]

What type they are, how long they live, and what their future potential are is not part of the question.

Signed,

Nitwit Dolt