Tree Surgery
Tree surgery is a specialised field involving the care, maintenance, and removal of trees to ensure their health and safety in residential and commercial environments. As trees play a critical role in our ecosystem, providing oxygen, improving air quality, and enhancing the beauty of landscapes, proper care is essential.
Tree surgery is not just about cutting down trees; it encompasses many services designed to maintain their integrity and longevity.
What is tree surgery?
Tree surgery refers to the process of diagnosing and treating various issues that affect tree health and safety. It involves everything from trimming and pruning to complex removal operations. Tree surgery aims to ensure that trees are healthy, aesthetically pleasing, and do not pose any risks to nearby structures, pedestrians, or vehicles. A tree surgeon (an arborist) is trained to handle various challenges associated with tree care, using specialised equipment and techniques to perform their duties safely and efficiently.
Why is Tree Surgery Important?
Healthy trees contribute to the well-being of our environment and provide essential ecological benefits such as improving air quality, reducing soil erosion, and offering shade and shelter to wildlife. However, diseased, damaged, or overgrown trees can become hazardous. Dead or weak branches may fall, potentially causing damage to property or injuring people. In some cases, trees may develop internal rot, become infected with pests, or grow too large, which could impact power lines or nearby structures.
Tree surgery addresses these concerns by ensuring that trees remain healthy and safe. Through proper care, tree surgeons can prevent trees from becoming liabilities and extend their lifespan.
Pruning
Pruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure. Pruning is often necessary to maintain safety, improve tree structure and health. At Fergal Colbert Tree Care we understand the biology and basic requirements of trees to undertake pruning that will optimize tree health and structure.
Improper pruning can cause damage that remains for the life of the tree. Removing leaves reduces the tree’s overall photosynthetic capacity and may reduce overall growth, which can create a dwarfing effect. At the same time, growth following pruning takes place on fewer shoots, so unpruned parts tend to grow more than they would have without pruning. This is called shoot invigoration (Rapid sucker growth resulting from topping). Reasons why you should not top a tree include:
1. Starvation: Topping removes too much of the tree’s leafy crown, affecting its ability to make food.
2. Shock: The tree’s crown shields the bark from direct sunlight, and removing it can cause sun scald.
3. Weak Limbs: Topping leads to the growth of weak, upright branches.
4. Rapid New Growth: Lethargic buds are activated, resulting in fast development of shoots.
5. Disease & Decay: Topping puts stress on the tree and can lead to disease and decay.
6. Higher Cost to Maintain: Topped trees require more maintenance.:
Pruning goals must consider tree growth and development and the effects on the tree over the long term.
Objectives for Pruning include:
• Reducing the potential for tree or branch failure
• Providing clearance
• Reducing shade and wind resistance
• Maintaining health
• Influencing flower or fruit production
• Improving a view
• Improving aesthetics
Crown Reductions & Thinning
This procedure is the opposite of topping a tree. The reduction of the crown of a tree may be carried out by either lifting the crown or lowering it. Lifting the crown consists of removing some of the lowest branches of the crown or removing parts of branches to shape the tree. Lowering the crown is known as dropcrotching and comprises the cutting back and shortening of the branches which form the crown's perimeter. See the pictures below of Crown Reductions by Fergal Colbert Tree Care