Exposing another shame file

dov

I don't talk about Australian Standards to the customers - they generally couldn't care less, but I do talk about the growth habit of the tree, how the tree would look ugly with the regrowth you'd get from that kind of pruning, the structural integrity and health of the tree etc.

Then, while looking at the tree with the customer I show them the branches I can take. Phrases like 'even up the canopy' 'see how the shape of the tree will draw the eyes upwards' 'that will be quite beautiful' 'if I prune this just back to there it will look very natural' etc. are handy here. Only ever known it to fail once.

In the end the customer feels I've cut the branches they want cut, their gutters are clear, they are happy that they have an attractive tree and, more importantly, the tree is healthy.

On the odd occasion that I get fruit trees, I explain the shape that the tree should be AND WHY, what will happen with too drastic a prune (vertical shoots going up to the sky with lots of foliage and hardly any fruit and the fruit they do get being too high to get at etc.) and then try and arrange a two or three phase reduction. Only one person has actually gotten me back for the second prune, but at least the others didn't have trees going AWOL on them after too hefty a prune.