Trim or Remove?

[treeseer]

Hey Mike

Good points. I figured an 18" chipper would get right up close to that sucker and with a winch she'd be history in no time, also good miniloader access etc.

SLUND, many tree companies/arborists are running a business for profit, there's more money to make in a removal than a prune job.

I went out to a job site here where an unethical company told a lady to remove 12 dangerous gum trees. Of course their "arborist" is quick to make these assessments with eyes like superman. Luckily she called us and we made a better assessment, removing only 3 and pruning the rest ... and also way less money. She was stoked.

Many eucs here do the stag headed thing. In good years they flush up and bad years they retreat. That tree is more managable than any euc.

Forget the fertilizer, that's a bad call. Kill off some of that grass and mulch around the tree.

Do these tests in a couple of place, say between tree and bitumin driveway, and 3 other spots about 10' away from the trunk.

Make a close inspection of the basal area for fruiting bodies and decay. You can tap the tree with a plastic mallet and if it sounds hollow then it most likely is. Look for failure signs, fibre buckling etc. Here's a link to a beautiful colour chart that clearly shows what to look for.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=20996&highlight=vta+assessment+chart

2nd Can you grab a 10" long screw driver and try to stick it into the ground, can you push it in all the way easily or not at all ... it's a simple way of testing for compacted soils. Over here you wouldn't get it in the ground more than 1"!

3rd job, get a spade and cut a small square of lawn out, lift it, dig a small hole say the size of a coffee mug in the soil and fill it with a cup water , time how long it takes to dissappear. This is a drainage test.

4th test, PH test the soil, you can buy these PH test kits cheap, over here $20. Test each spot seperately and record findings.

5th, this one is important, it's a sodicity test. Toward the bottom of the page on this link is the test, simple and effective. http://www.science.org.au/nova/035/035print.htm

So lets assume a perfect world, reasonable drainage, no compaction, no sodicity and neutral PH. Then you can focus on mulching, pruning and soil conditioning

Lets assume a bad response, fix sodicity with gypsum, improve drainage, add lime or sulphur to get PH back in range, use air injection to decompact.

A crown reduction and dead wood would make large improvements to windthrow. Mulch and soil condition.

http://www.yates.com.au/Products/Fertilising/OrganicBased/DLseaweedconcentrate.asp

These kelp and seaweed products are great.

Geez Eric I can't believe you wrote all that for free.:jawdrop:

 

[TreemanFJR]

here you go

http://www.arborilogical.com/articles/deep_root_fertilization.htm

You picked the first site off of google.

Myth #9 on ISA's site.

http://www.treesaregood.com/pressrelease/press/top10myths.aspx

 

[arboralliance]

Ha!

Geez Eric I can't believe you wrote all that for free.:jawdrop:

He prolly got one of the girls to write it...

Slund, any (and I mean ANY) movement of soil even the slightest slither anywhere within the crown spread and possibly twice the dia of the crown spread will have definetly affected the root zone particularly the critical hair like fibrous roots that do all the work out there just inside and beyond the drip line of the crown, at a guesstimate one could presume the refurbishment of the driveway affected considerably more than 30% of the root zone initiating the decline of the crown and activating secondary stressors prompting the crown decline etc, etc...

The thermal activity and the affect it has on both the houses particularly your neighbors weather board shack will far out wiegh the cost to remediate and retain the tree and should be communicated clearly and succinctly with your neighbor in relation to the affect removal of said tree will have on the cost of cooling the house/s in summer etc, etc...

Slund, amenity value in its own right surely brings some emotional force on your neighbor to retain and manage this awesome specimen?

(Karn Ekk, yud spend a year returning that lawn (yawn) to original condition if you felled tha baby in there moit...)

 

[Mike Barcaskey]

You picked the first site off of google.

Myth #9 on ISA's site.

http://www.treesaregood.com/pressrelease/press/top10myths.aspx

So what????
I even posted the info on Myth #9, but it seems that someone deleted the post.
I SAID to test the soil and fertilize if needed.

 

[dakota]

Hey Slund -

Don't let these guys scare ya into the easy solution of removal. It comes down to whether or not you want that tree. Silver maples seem to have good times and bad times. This year around me, they didn't fair too poorly, other years they looked horrible by late summer. You don't have to spend a fortune to save it. Prune it. Aerate the soil. Maybe have soil tested. Mulch under it. See what happens next year.

By the way. Depending on how long ago you called for quotes, don't be so quick to give on #3. If they're not showing up twelve minutes after you call, it could mean that they're busy. And busy arborists this time of year are usually the better ones.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

So what????
I even posted the info on Myth #9, but it seems that someone deleted the post.
I SAID to test the soil and fertilize if needed.

The myth he was referring to was the depth fertilizer should be placed. The optimal location is at the surface, because thats where the roots are, also gravity and capillary action move it down.
Feeder roots and grass roots occupy the exact same area of the soil, grass may be a bit deeper.
If you apply fertilizer at 8" depth, you're already below most of the tree roots, and it will then tend to move down from there.

Another myth is that deep root fertilizing aerates soil. Unless you're taking out a plug of soil, and slowly applying the liquid at very low pressure, all you're doing is compacting the soil. You're forcing a certain volume of liquid into and area of soil. Once the soil reaches a high level of compaction, it will fracture along weak spots in the soil and lift plates of soil to allow more water in. You can actually feel the soil lift up at times. This tells you the soil is effectively compacted to the point that there is no more air pockets in the soil and it is forced up.

 

[SLUND]

I certainly appreciate all of your comments and suggestions. I was concerned that I was missing something major when the company strongly recommended just removing it. I'm glad that I wasn't!

We have discussed it and done some of the soil tests. I think that it is more likely than not that the tree is fine and suffered a little in the last drought. We're planning on just having the first company come back and trim out the dead branches. I think the tree will do fine.

Thanks again,

 

[(WLL)]

I had never heard of a tree dying from "the top down" and hence turned here to see if anyone else had. I was kind of surprised that they second company didn't leave an estimate for trimming even if they didn't recommend it. They must really want $1445!

We have had problems with roots in our pipes (we get someone to come in and break up the roots every year). Of course, they aren't able to identify which tree is trying to grow roots in there. So, I thought maybe the tree was ailing because of whatever septic waste it might be getting in its system. The tree does seem to have sound roots and trunk though.

Actually, the blue house in the picture isn't mine. I live in the brick one off to the right that is hardly in the picture. We just moved in three years ago; so, I don't know how long ago the neighbor had his driveway redone. I can say that he probably hates our maple. It seems to drop a lot more sticks on his driveway then in our yard. The roots also compromise his driveway. Wonder if he'd be willing to chip in on the removal costs;-)

This tree is suffering from root loss and soil compaction . I would prune dead and aeroate roots and soil. I would also buy some organic food like dry roots with mycrohazze and feed tree in late winter or just before early spring. You should just hire a certified arborist. Do a search on the comp. Find a aborist in your area.