Laurel Oak removal

stirmantrees

was referred to this customer a while back. He had a stand of older Laurel oaks right beside his house. These are notorious for rotting internally(i'm not sure what external rot looks like)or rather in a manner that is not apparent from the outside. A large limb had crashed down on the neighbors house and so started the process in which all but one was removed. Every tree was a liability from many standpoints. 1 was completely dead, and all had an incredible amount of decay either in the trunk, tops or both.
All were clearly a liability for public safety and as it works out. i cut trees for money(what a nice pair we make)
more pics will follow as time is a limited resource.

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stirmantrees

just in case they said i was lying

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stirmantrees

heres the lowering device we have. nothing fancy, i think i got it like 9 years ago from Karl kumerlin or something like that.

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stirmantrees

i gave this gentlemen my recomendations and then i think he had somebody come out when a big limb fell (hmmmmm)and say that the tree would be fine and they would fertilize and inject and both , blah, blah, blah. the tree was over the millionaires house next door(his roof had already been damaged by a different tree limb) this guys roof, pool, etc.
well they say the proofs in the pudding.

heres a perfectly healthy Laurel oak


and after it was cut



Thats why you call the experts that understand different tree species and can give an honest and informed report.

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stirmantrees

i luv lifts. i can do so much work with a straight boom plus knuckle its not even funny. literally
ok a little funny

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stirmantrees

just practising this video thing. i guess it worked.
will call this one handed

Eric Frei

That beeping BS on the tower gets real old after a while eh.

I bet anyone would argue that the tree can be 70% hollow relatively safely.

But rot in unions, large self lions tailed over extended horizontal limbs are a recipe' for trouble.

Trees have a life cycle, like everything, from seed to sawdust I say.

The tree reaches maturity, the next part is the downward cycle, over mature then veteran. In the tail end where targets exist it can be a costly affair to ensure the trees integrity. Not everyone wants to manage this part of the cycle for obvious reasons, some choose to cut it down.

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stirmantrees

i think these trees would be comparable to eucs on your side. very dangerous when large.
sorry about the beeping. i will make sure to edit.
i agree that some and some trees can be safe with 70% hollow. none of those fit the bill. all were falling apart and are one of the exempt trees in certain cities from specimen status.
plus the guy ready to sue next door was a factor.

Gunslinger

This tree is probably more than 70%:

stirmantrees

got me there gunslinger.

not over my house though.

stirmantrees

in the above pictures, the ones with extensive decay up top. what methods have you employed on managing them besides removal. i am interested because i am sure you have probably done something out of the box.

Eric Frei

In a high target situation either remove, remove limbs, reduction prune, fall arrest cable.... some soil treatments to assist and perhaps for you over there Cambistat or Alamo.

You can only offer options with costs, they decide. Often you'll be asked, "what would you do if it were your tree?"

Some will have no trouble answering this, others will. I find people want your recommendation, not a bunch of paraphrased responses from scientific journals leaving them to ponder the future in an environment you work in every day. They want to feel what the future holds, where are we up to in the cycle.

You'll have some carry on about habitat, sure, so when you cut it down move some hollows into healthy trees.

Some may even carry on about historic value etc, well ask them to buy it off you and move it to a safer place. So often these grand hugging schemes come forth with NO MONEY to support them.

The other day we were clearing a residential block of large gum trees. A tree hugger walked past and gave us a serve, "you should be caring for those trees not cutting them down". I responded, "I bet you live in a house not a tree".

To put at risk yourself is to some degree acceptable, but to put others, including family, guests and neighbours is unacceptable. To then manage trees through the decline phase of their lifecycle you need to weigh up the benefits, costs and risks. And in that position if you cannot honestly have an opinion of what you would do and why then maybe you aint the best person for the job.

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stirmantrees

soil treatments
im listening ekka

Eric Frei

If you could improve the defence capabilities of a tree, increase it's root mass but decrease it's canopy growth (more compact) you'd have to say you'd be on a winner right?

As trees mature often people prune out the dead, diseased, dysfunctional and dying. In most cases large trees only have foliage on the tips ... a type of natural lions tailing. Conventional fertilizing compounds the problem with nice long shoot growth.

The secret to sound trees is highten the defence capablities, shorter stronger limbs and a sound root mass. Cambistat does that.

Create a good soil environment, back off the fertilizers, cambistat.

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treekiwi

The question of 'what would do if it was your tree' is always a hard question.... What would I do if there was a large mature specimen with large levels of decay??? I guess as a home owner you get to live with the tree 24/7 so although they are not an arborist, homeowners generally have some idea of how their tree works... Me personally weight reductions and crown rejuvination works and lots of mulch..... my 2 cents... Sometimes as a business owner we are bias towards one or another situation...

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