Often wooded lots command a premium price compared to treeless lots in a nearby location. However if proactive measures are not taken during new construction to protect individual trees, many trees will suffer root damage, and subsequently decline and die within three to ten years after construction activities began. I’ve delivered the bad news to […]
Dynamic Cabling System
Dynamic cabling systems are used to provide supplemental support to leaders, individual branches and/or entire trees. Poly-propylene systems are recommended for: Horizontal installations between limbs of young to middle-aged trees with sound crotches (no included bark growth). Species known for poor compartmentalization of wounds. Trees with leggy structure determined to experience significant flexibility to wind and […]
The Top 10 Reasons for Removing Trees
Removing trees from your property keeps chainsaws revving and brush chippers roaring. But is it always necessary? Why do people want trees removed? The answers vary, but by considering alternatives, objectives can often be met without removing trees. The following list is anecdotal and based on my personal experience. The reasons are in no particular order […]
Static Cabling System
Static cabling systems are used to provide supplemental support to leaders, individual branches and/or entire trees. Steel systems are recommended for: Horizontal installations between stems with obvious bark inclusions. Species known for good compartmentalization of wounds. Stout, tapered trees known to have minimal movement in ice and wind. Situations requiring minimal movement. Vertical support of horizontal […]
The Truth about Storm Damaged Trees
After every local windstorm, there will be no shortage of dramatic footage and photographs of storm damaged trees. News crews will rush to the scene of greatest damage and broadcast the destruction to every tuned-in television in Hampton Roads. But as an arborist with more than twenty years of experience—I’ve worked hurricanes from Florida to […]
The Danger of Codominant Stems
Codominant stems with included bark are responsible for many of the catastrophic tree failures that litter our lawns and damage our homes after a wind storm. By recognizing visible defects prior to inclement weather, we can take corrective actions and preserve otherwise healthy trees. What’s The Problem? Many of our mature landscape trees were not pruned […]
Lightning Protection for Trees
Lightning is a tree killer. Typical strikes generate a current between 20,000 and 50,000 amps at 100,000 volts. Many times when lightning strikes a tree it will travel only partially down the trunk and then side-flash to an object that offers less electrical resistance. That object could be another tree, your home, or even you […]