Hey mike: what part of CT you from??
I have never seen much topping/hatracking in my area, litchfield county...until recently. theres this one guy running around doing roundovers (sort of like a light hatrack/shaping) and straight up racking (he cut these two sugar maples in half like a laser went across em). It really stands out where he's been thats for sure. The strange thing is he's actually licensed! I guess I have had people ask me for things like this over the years and declined, but it almost seems like he's gotta be selling this "service". I have to think to myself: now here's a real hacker, he goes about this knowing fully that he's destroying these peoples tree. hmmm...
So I look at the ctpa website and I see where you can download the form to turn in unlicensed guys doing arborist work...but what about this :censored: head?? They should really have a form that you can download called something like a "turn in a licensed hacker form". Makes me wonder if its even worth going for the license. Its been my expierience that most of the guys that finally got licensed just went aboout doing whatever hackery they were doing before anyway......
Rant over, sorry guys. :angry2:
I grew up in Brookfield and yeah, I too, rarely saw topping. Probably all the examples I noticed were from homeowners on immature trees. I wonder what that guys' reasoning is for mutilating trees despite his education. Maybe his license is illegitimate?
Although pollarding is considered to be so wrong, why do we still see professionals doing it? Why do guys like this one in the ad think that this is OK?
Out here it is very common and even many licensed tree services advertise topping. I see it practiced on mature trees in even large commercial shopping centers like Walmart and many apartment buildings. My conjectured reasons for this are as follows:
1. The vast majority of tree trimmers in Los Angeles appear to be first generation immigrants from Mexico and Central America who are trying to support their families. Most of these guys have landscaping routes (though they are called "gardeners" around here, not landscapers) and do tree work for their clients. They have little or no education in the field and, because topping is so common, assume that it is proper pruning etiquette. Most of them drive beat up pick-ups with plywood sides and are extremely cheap because they have so little overhead. It is very difficult to compete with them. In some sense, I don't blame them because they are trying to support their families, whom in some cases, they haven't seen in years. My heart goes out to these guys.
2. Because these gardeners do so much topping, your average clients assume that topping is acceptable and even a recommended practice. Many of my clients request topping and even after I educate them on how horrible it is for trees they still want it done. Usually I recommend removal after a tree has been severely topped (and many are SEVERELY topped. It's unbelievable the things people pay for. There is a Chinese elm near my house that has stubs that are probably 10 inches in diameter. The person who performed this mutilation left no leaves on the tree- but did leave spur marks!). However, most homeowners don't want to pay for removal so they hire someone else to top it again- and end up paying more in the long run.
3. In CA, there are 2 classes of contractors licenses, the C class and the D class. The C class license (such as plumbing, electrical, excavation, etc) requires two exams: a law exam (detailing how to run a business, proper tax etiquette, and contractors laws) and an exam that tests knowledge on ones trade. The "Tree Service License," however, is a D class license and ONLY tests on law, not trade. This is because the state board assumes that because tree work is so specific, contractors should be able to learn their trade without a trade exam. As a result of this I see even large licensed companies with beautiful trucks and chippers mutilating trees everywhere. Believe it or not I even saw guys from Davey topping liquidambars and jacarandas under utility lines. Leaving them the benefit of the doubt, however, this may have been the cities' directive rather than Davey's recommendation.
Ultimately what SoCal needs is education, not just for those working in the trade but for homeowners as well.
