Total Tree Care's picture gallery

RC1 · 18th July 2007, 11:59 AM

Trev

That is a beautiful example of the species.

I must have worked on dozens of them when I was in Oz some years ago but never really took the time to appreciate them.

What is the life expectancy and also growth rate in terms of potential height and trunk diameter of the citriodora?

It does appear in this instance and from what I can remember, that they have a pretty sparce and open canopy. If a potential client is conerned about the size/safety of such a tree and can't be convinced otherwise, what type of pruning works would you recommend? Thanks

Reg

Ekka · 18th July 2007, 01:13 PM

A lot of euc species dont lend themselves to reduction pruning very well.

In many instances the target cut would be to another branch just as long as the one you are removing.

What is recommended a lot is thinning. However care must be taken not to lions tail the tree.

In my experience ideal thinning has to be done on the tips, thinning out the volume of foliage and smaller branches that comprise the foliage head of the branch. This usually has to be done out of a cherry picker as climbing to these tips is near impossible.

The idea being that the parachute on the end of those long lever arms is reduced, meaning less force in wind on the branch. Downfalls are that the tree replaces that foliage approx 3 to 5 years so has to be a regular practice, trees also only grow on the tips so those lever arms continue to extend. It's a tough call pruning eucs, sure the DDD part is easy but knowing what an appropriate dose of pruning is if req'd at all is another matter, in many instances nothing is OK!

Up here you can expect a good lemon scented gum to get 30m tall and trunk up to 1m dia. However they are not as abundant as other species and not that many around in suburbia.

TrevMcRev · 20th July 2007, 01:43 AM

The sizes ekka mentioned is about the same as down here, yet totally different climate, interesting.....

Pruning wise its a hard one. We do a lot of Weight Reduction Pruning of major lateral branches on Eucs and in most cases it can be done well if done right. Eucs structure & form amongst its many species varies greatly though, and the citriodora is i'd say the most difficult of all to achieve this on without the problems ekka mentioned. THe species tends to develop very over-extended laterals with small diameter/length ratio in maturity and often have failures in such branches due to the resultant leverage/end weight.

If you have suitable secondary branches closer in to shorten back to then you can make a difference but have to accept the secondary branches as not really been reduced in risk of failure themselves, but the major scaffolds have been.

Other Eucs, such as nicholii lend themselves quite well to Crown or Weight Reduction Pruning.

Hili · 20th July 2007, 04:01 PM

Was the tree there prior to the building of the house. Its a beautiful specimen (Minus the bad cut, what a shame). From the pictures it looks like it is in good health, but being so close to the house i am wondering how damaged the root plate got during the construction of the house. It looks as if the house is reasonably new and the rubbish skip in one of the pictures makes me think construction work had been done recently. They obviously built so close as they loved the citrodora, but have they dramaticly endangered the health of the specimen by building so close?

Ekka · 21st July 2007, 03:08 AM

I vote Trev drops in and gives them the link to this thread so they get the bloody shipping container off it's roots!

Hili · 21st July 2007, 06:00 AM

Ill second that vote Ekka!

TrevMcRev · 7th August 2007, 03:52 AM

I got out with the boys today and had a bit of a climb myself.
I Deadwooded a Tulip Tree while Brad (new guy) took a few branches off the neighbs Plane Tree. We also removed a small damaged Prunus.

Next Job was a quickie, just some formative pruning on some small ornamental pears.

Then Removed Mistletoe & deadwood from a Silver Birch, Weight Reduced a few major laterals on a Lemon Scented Gum, and took a damaged leader out of a Liquidambar.

Pics of the trees at the 1st job inc my view of the Melbourne skyline from the office in the Tulip.

TrevMcRev · 7th August 2007, 04:09 AM

And ground out this bugger the other day. Took about 40 mins just to access it - thru 2 adjoining properties fences including a steep climb thru a vacant lot.

No prizes for guessing why it fell over...
Storm...NO
Act of God...NO
Gums are bad...NO

Homeowner excavated a 1.5 deep terrace into the soil profile only 1m away from the tree!

Roots and base had plenty of decay on that side!

Ekka · 7th August 2007, 06:07 AM

Great pics, nice work.

I like the fallen tree, just brilliant, they dont need all those side roots everyone knows they got a tap root!

TrevMcRev · 9th October 2007, 04:08 AM

Heres some of what we did today.

Back at one of our fave customers after a major failure in a poplar during strong winds on friday.

A large co-dom stem failed not at the union but midway due to decay.

We have already removed several closer to the house and this was due to go soon anyway.

When it came down it just hit her Flowering Cherry and split it at its little co-dom union.

So we put humpty back together, frankenstein style, with 3 rod braces and some cobra cable brace (without shock absorber) then took down the rest of the poplar.

Ekka · 9th October 2007, 05:06 AM

Crikey

People go to that trouble and expense to save that tiddler down there ... I'll be damned.

Cost a lot more than cutting it down, good on you!

Sean Freeman · 9th October 2007, 05:14 AM

Yes I second that Trev well done saving that little sweetie

TrevMcRev · 9th October 2007, 05:23 AM

It was a small part in the scheme of things. Taking down the big poplar was the main work, but about $350 was to save the cherry.

It only would have taken a minute to cut down, and if that were the case it was so small i wouldnt have even charged to while doing a $2.5K tree.

But what was important to the client was that the tree be saved if possible.

It had been split for about 5 days and no sign of foliage wilting. I think it will live and with support the structure should hold up. This makes it retainable untill decay from the wound becomes extensive. Which isn't a big concern as it will never be of the size or have a target to be a hazard tree.

We luurrve trees down here ekka!

pomme · 9th October 2007, 03:02 PM

some nice work there trev even recognised a few species. did you find the staff you were looking for. liked the melbourne view hope to see it myself before too long

Ekka · 10th October 2007, 12:34 AM

Hey Trev, pick me pick me .... just kidding.

18th July 2007, 01:13 PM	#77 (permalink)
Ekka Eric Frei Administrator - Brisbane L5 (Dip) Hort Cert III Arb + some Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,943	A lot of euc species dont lend themselves to reduction pruning very well. In many instances the target cut would be to another branch just as long as the one you are removing. What is recommended a lot is thinning. However care must be taken not to lions tail the tree. In my experience ideal thinning has to be done on the tips, thinning out the volume of foliage and smaller branches that comprise the foliage head of the branch. This usually has to be done out of a cherry picker as climbing to these tips is near impossible. The idea being that the parachute on the end of those long lever arms is reduced, meaning less force in wind on the branch. Downfalls are that the tree replaces that foliage approx 3 to 5 years so has to be a regular practice, trees also only grow on the tips so those lever arms continue to extend. It's a tough call pruning eucs, sure the DDD part is easy but knowing what an appropriate dose of pruning is if req'd at all is another matter, in many instances nothing is OK! Up here you can expect a good lemon scented gum to get 30m tall and trunk up to 1m dia. However they are not as abundant as other species and not that many around in suburbia. __________________ Remember to use the "search" function, if you have answers/questions post them so everyone can benefit. Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding and Stump Removal Brisbane Brisbane Tree Care, Consultations, Developer, Tree and Arborist Reports Forum Sponsors

20th July 2007, 01:43 AM	#78 (permalink)
TrevMcRev Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 734	The sizes ekka mentioned is about the same as down here, yet totally different climate, interesting..... Pruning wise its a hard one. We do a lot of Weight Reduction Pruning of major lateral branches on Eucs and in most cases it can be done well if done right. Eucs structure & form amongst its many species varies greatly though, and the citriodora is i'd say the most difficult of all to achieve this on without the problems ekka mentioned. THe species tends to develop very over-extended laterals with small diameter/length ratio in maturity and often have failures in such branches due to the resultant leverage/end weight. If you have suitable secondary branches closer in to shorten back to then you can make a difference but have to accept the secondary branches as not really been reduced in risk of failure themselves, but the major scaffolds have been. Other Eucs, such as nicholii lend themselves quite well to Crown or Weight Reduction Pruning. __________________ Melbourne Arborist, Total Tree Care, Pruning, Tree and Stump Removal

21st July 2007, 03:08 AM	#80 (permalink)
Ekka Eric Frei Administrator - Brisbane L5 (Dip) Hort Cert III Arb + some Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,943	I vote Trev drops in and gives them the link to this thread so they get the bloody shipping container off it's roots! __________________ Remember to use the "search" function, if you have answers/questions post them so everyone can benefit. Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding and Stump Removal Brisbane Brisbane Tree Care, Consultations, Developer, Tree and Arborist Reports Forum Sponsors

7th August 2007, 06:07 AM	#84 (permalink)
Ekka Eric Frei Administrator - Brisbane L5 (Dip) Hort Cert III Arb + some Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,943	Great pics, nice work. I like the fallen tree, just brilliant, they dont need all those side roots everyone knows they got a tap root! __________________ Remember to use the "search" function, if you have answers/questions post them so everyone can benefit. Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding and Stump Removal Brisbane Brisbane Tree Care, Consultations, Developer, Tree and Arborist Reports Forum Sponsors

9th October 2007, 05:06 AM	#86 (permalink)
Ekka Eric Frei Administrator - Brisbane L5 (Dip) Hort Cert III Arb + some Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,943	Re: Total Tree Care's picture gallery Crikey People go to that trouble and expense to save that tiddler down there ... I'll be damned. Cost a lot more than cutting it down, good on you! __________________ Remember to use the "search" function, if you have answers/questions post them so everyone can benefit. Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding and Stump Removal Brisbane Brisbane Tree Care, Consultations, Developer, Tree and Arborist Reports Forum Sponsors

18th July 2007, 11:59 AM	#76 (permalink)
RC1 Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Macclesfield England Posts: 154	Trev That is a beautiful example of the species. I must have worked on dozens of them when I was in Oz some years ago but never really took the time to appreciate them. What is the life expectancy and also growth rate in terms of potential height and trunk diameter of the citriodora? It does appear in this instance and from what I can remember, that they have a pretty sparce and open canopy. If a potential client is conerned about the size/safety of such a tree and can't be convinced otherwise, what type of pruning works would you recommend? Thanks Reg

20th July 2007, 04:01 PM	#79 (permalink)
Hili Sappling Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 47	Was the tree there prior to the building of the house. Its a beautiful specimen (Minus the bad cut, what a shame). From the pictures it looks like it is in good health, but being so close to the house i am wondering how damaged the root plate got during the construction of the house. It looks as if the house is reasonably new and the rubbish skip in one of the pictures makes me think construction work had been done recently. They obviously built so close as they loved the citrodora, but have they dramaticly endangered the health of the specimen by building so close?

21st July 2007, 06:00 AM	#81 (permalink)
Hili Sappling Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 47	Ill second that vote Ekka!

9th October 2007, 05:14 AM	#87 (permalink)
Sean Freeman PDF King & Arborist Extrodinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 1,671	Re: Total Tree Care's picture gallery Yes I second that Trev well done saving that little sweetie __________________ Sean Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness. - Kahlil Gibran

9th October 2007, 05:23 AM	#88 (permalink)
TrevMcRev Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 734	Re: Total Tree Care's picture gallery It was a small part in the scheme of things. Taking down the big poplar was the main work, but about $350 was to save the cherry. It only would have taken a minute to cut down, and if that were the case it was so small i wouldnt have even charged to while doing a $2.5K tree. But what was important to the client was that the tree be saved if possible. It had been split for about 5 days and no sign of foliage wilting. I think it will live and with support the structure should hold up. This makes it retainable untill decay from the wound becomes extensive. Which isn't a big concern as it will never be of the size or have a target to be a hazard tree. We luurrve trees down here ekka! __________________ Melbourne Arborist, Total Tree Care, Pruning, Tree and Stump Removal

9th October 2007, 03:02 PM	#89 (permalink)
pomme Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: england Posts: 220	Re: Total Tree Care's picture gallery some nice work there trev even recognised a few species. did you find the staff you were looking for. liked the melbourne view hope to see it myself before too long

10th October 2007, 12:34 AM	#90 (permalink)
Ekka Eric Frei Administrator - Brisbane L5 (Dip) Hort Cert III Arb + some Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,943	Re: Total Tree Care's picture gallery Hey Trev, pick me pick me .... just kidding. __________________ Remember to use the "search" function, if you have answers/questions post them so everyone can benefit. Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding and Stump Removal Brisbane Brisbane Tree Care, Consultations, Developer, Tree and Arborist Reports Forum Sponsors