Pruning Pines

[M.D. Vaden]

The landscape industry in Oregon will probably change dramatically in the next 10 years.

The unknown factor is maintenance, which is currently unregulated.

The landscape contractor exam, currently is passed by about 1 out of 10 people. Its like taking 5 college finals all at once. It requires 2 years experience to apply.

The landscape board is also looking for a way to provide an arborist license, to allow most arborists to plant trees as well as the pruning and removal.

The arborist associations out here made a boo-boo when they stuck themselves under the construction contractors board, when the landscape contractors board is what they needed.

What backfired, is they tried to be sneaky, and slip their bill through unnoticed without communicating with various facets of the industry. If they had talked about it, they would have learned that the CCB was not the best option.

Most of the better landscape companies out here are the mid-size ones, where the original principle person is still overseeing the whole operation. Many of the award winning companies are questionable, especially in light of who is dishing out the awards - their own association that makes them pay to enter the awards program (OLCA).

The description of yellow page ads in Portland, indecates that to a significant degree, landscapers are moving into arboriculture, and tree services are advertising irrigation and landscape maintenance.

Pesticide spraying is being eliminated by many small companies, and referred to a few tree or spray services that either specialize, or are big and have a division for spraying.

20 years ago, 1 in 2 landscape people used to offer spraying.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Since we wandered into the landscape realm of discussion, do any of you folks have landscape contractors in your area like Kurisu International (Portland):

They have about a $100,000 minimum for installation. And they don't touch landscape maintenance accounts for less than $600 per month.

Check this guy out:

www.oregoncustomlandscape.com

In his ARTICLES, left side, look at the one for the Oregonian - the $100,000 waterfall thing. I thought that stuff was for Beverly Hills.

I never heard of this guy before last year. He's in the suburb next to us. I have no idea what his hort skills are. I was mainly intrigued that some landscapers are getting into these size of projects.

(There's the hardscape)

 

[wysiwyg]

I have removed branches as high as 4 feet on about 20 red/scotch/austrian pines in our yard that were harboring a bunch of nasty buckthorn and honeysuckle seedlings under them, some right up against the trunks. This allowed me to cut and spray the seedlings and get rid of them for good. So far in the 3 years since doing this I have not noticed any negative effects to the pines. I keep the areas under the trees sprayed dead, it doesn't look that bad.

 

[ORclimber]

RobinM, I know nothing about pine trees in Kentucky. But here we have a some species of pine that are very susceptable to Sequoia pitch moth if pruned during the summer. The moth larvae don't usually kill the tree, but make enough of a sticky unsightly mess that it's worth waiting until winter to prune them. Lots to consider, as you can see from the other posts, when deciding if your going to whack off a few branches.


MD, I'm one of the 9/10 that flunked the landscape contractors exam. Didn't pass the irrigation or turfgrass sections, now I'm not even qualified to sit for the test. So I'm licensed by the state to build a house(something I know nothing about), but can't legally plant trees .

 

[M.D. Vaden]

There may be another way to qualify.

The complications are one reason I applied to be appointed on the board.

Then I called a bunch of companies in the tree industry to get the word out about another board position open.

The man that was the director for the Pacific NW chapter of the ISA heard of it that way, applied, and was appointed.

Now instead of all 5 industry board members being contractors with membership in the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association, there are only but 2 or 3. And 2 of us that are heavily involved in arboriculture.

A board like that can't function right without eyes and ears in multiple facets of horticulture.

I'd like to see a 9 member board rather than 7 (now). 3 public representatives, 2 landscape maintenence, 2 landscape contractors, and 2 arboriculture.

Things move very slow. But one needs to be on the board, or come to the meetings to understand why things move slow.

At least things are moving.

If arboriculture is added to the landscape board, I don't think tree workers will face the immensity of the full landscape exam to practice planting and pruning.

If I recall our trend the past 1/2 year, the board wants to allow people that are Certified Arborists with the ISA to qualify for sitting for exams. Don't quote me on that exactly, but I think thats an avenue being opened.

I think our last rule making hearing was to move in that direction.

The board has a site up now:

www.lcb.state.or.us

It has sample test questions, and much information.

The minutes of meetings may be posted too. Not sure how far back.

I think I'll try a search myself tonight:

www.google.com

Certified Arborist, Landscape Contractors Board, minutes

There is always the "possibility" for a board like that, to change form to a horticulture board, which serves neither landscapes, nor arborists, nor irrigation installers, but, all the green industry at once.

 

[geofore]

pines

What kind of pines are you wanting to prune? Different pines react in different ways to pruning. What size are the pines? DBH? How old are the pines? Are there other trees around to protect the pines from winds? What bugs are in the pines in your area now doing the most damage to pines? We need this kind of information to answer your question before this thread gets hyjacked by thoses guys trying to make up their minds if they are construction contractors or arborists or lawnscraper. I want to get this back to pruning pines because I was asked to trim a spruce to 40' or remove it. The customer started with he would like it removed but then switched to can you remove all the limbs to 40' which will leave 60'+ untouched. This will he hopes get it off his roof, off the three caddys parked in the driveway and out of the street it overhangs and it will be off the ground. It is trimmed to 15' now but the limbs touch the roof, hang over the cars and trucks on the street hit those limbs hanging on the street side. He has five other pines( red), an apple and a walnut he wants gone as they hang over his house on the other side and the street on the other side of his house. He lives at a Y in the road and if any of the trees fall in the wind it will take out the power lines, the house or the cars.