crown thinning on my neighbors sycamore

stirmantrees

crown thinned my neighbors Sycamore tree. first time i trimmed this tree a year or so ago i targeted necessary limbs to improve structure internally and those growing into the house. I also subordinated 3 limbs competing for dominance in the top., oh teah i did a little reduction over my houseno extra charge for that one
this time i focused on continuing to leave my internal scaffolding branches and create spacing out past the 3rd branch out on each lead. some reduction more as a form of creating space within the already chosen form of the tree. thinning to allow light in on the lower branches, removed one more branch from the lead going toward my house to just manage weight and wind resistance. it really is beautiful to see it up close. man i love trimming like this. time consuming, but the tree is guaranteed to be better off from my hand.

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Sean Freeman

Delicate and subtle, fwiw imo (given that the owner was insistant on a reduction) you got the dose just right.

In colder climates where ice storms are possible I suppose you might well be quite concerned about the potential of mass loading on extended or rather elongated limbs.

Generally I would not be thinking about the weight of a limb being a critical factor where the structural integrity of the wood is not significantly compromised, and other indicators in the tree lead you to conclude growth patterns are normal.

Managing wind loading on a lever arm requires much less reduction in lever length than we generally believe, and of course the complexity of load dampening within even the simplest canopy form throw all of our mental models in the bin.

I do think that applying the subordination of limbs and branches is not utilised enough in managing tree growth, partly ofcourse because tree owners desire instant results it takes patience and a willingness to spend time with people to bring them to a point where they understand more about the cycles running their tree's life, and how a skilled arborist can help them manage their tree not just for their life time (often just a couple of months in tree time) but long into the future.

stirmantrees

last year the only reduction i did as far as length was concerned was the competing leaders in the top. I should have said subordinated the competing leaders last year. i was trying to get the trunk to branch ratio more favorable as the top 4 branches are the same diameter.
i did selective branch removal this year starting about three structural branches out on each lead. some interior scaffolding branches receive a sorduf reduction because they tend to crowd the other branches and i like to stage branch removal where possible. no overall height reduction has or will be done to this tree as long as good health remains.
no overall reduction - ie crown thinning

Sean Freeman

Both your descriptions and the visual evidence makes me think that you are giving the tree the best care you can.

Have you found any opportunity to apply similar approaches with other clients?

Galbee

nice one very subtly and well done

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stirmantrees

just wanted to clarify that i had not done reduction and was showing what a truly thined tree looks like. sean your insight is always excellent. around here thinning consist of removing every structural branch out to like the last poof ball on the end.
yes i have done more work like this but it is all to rare. how do you guys thin your crowns. i make a habbit of continuing past interior branches before i start my saw.

devo

hay there gotta say well cut , nice work !!

keep it up

stirmantrees

thanks, Sean, Galbee, and Devo. The encouragement is much needed and appreciated.
So Devo, how do you thin?

Galbee

these are some that i have done in the uk. galbee's day post number 8 on.

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In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king

Eric Frei

Very nice work.

With pruning pictures can rarely show the true workmanship and effect, in person that would look heaps better.

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stirmantrees

thank you eric. I am very proud of my work and to see approval from 1st class arborist such as yourself and those that have already commented on this thread encourages me to push my clients further to do what the tree really needs. people can be impossible to understand that a little more money and alot more work removing alot less foliage (in most trimming circumstances, thinning, deadwooding, etc) can bring about the best long term situation for the tree. I firmly believe that good practices from nursery to mature tree can leave the client with a tree that only needs to be deadwooded every couple of years(given no other situation arises), thus saving the client money in the long run.
Older, poorly structured trees provide a good portion of my income unfortunately, but i suppose if every tree was able to reach its max potential, there would be an ever growing number of maintenance schedules available, removals would almost always be large in nature thus more money when it had to go, there would be more cabling/lightning protection installations/much more consultant work and root collar inspection would be a banging business.
I really desire to have a better understanding of the rhizosphere and all that goes on underground. this is an area i am lacking in.

Galbee, nice job on that willow.
what does it look like now?
what tree was that in 17. nice job as well

Galbee

a type of Cotoneaster horribly entangled trees thankfully small.

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In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king

kiwi_tree_steve

Nice work Stir!

would have been a rewarding job!

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stirmantrees

Thank you Steve

axe

Great job, love sycamores and you really did a wonderful job trimming that tree, like you say its a shame so many people think topping is the only way. once again great work!

stirmantrees

thanks axe

TrevMcRev

Stirman you did a great job on this tree, well done

Selling this work to clients is every bit as much of an art as performing this work is. Work on your presentation and you will get more of it.

A good idea might be to send a link to this thread to prospective clients.

Sure you can just show them before & after pics, but here they can see the positive reviews of your work from peers within the industry. You cant get better testimonials than that!

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stirmantrees

thanks. great idea trev.

TrevMcRev

No worries, while you're at it, tell the neighbour to have a look too, he'll be re-assured that he got quality work done, not quantity work.

Unfortunately, too many customers judge value by how much is missing from their tree.

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stirmantrees

hey guys whats the best way to do that. tree world link, this thread link? send an email?

windthrown

Pruning sick o' mores is a PITA. I had a huge one in my yard in California. It had been pollarded (stump pruned) years before, and it was a lot of balls of long spindly branches growing from 30 foot high stumps. It took me 2 pruning sessions a year for 4 years to get it back into the shape of a real tree again.

At least someone in Florida is pruning sycamores right. Pollarding should be banned!