A Guide to Tree Surgery

What Is Tree Surgery?

In short, the meaning of tree surgery is ‘the pruning and treating of old or damaged trees in order to preserve them’.

Tree surgery is often thought of as a one-off remedy when a tree is at risk of damaging humans or property, or when it already has.

Tree surgery involves a variety of techniques to care for and keep your trees healthy, such as pollarding, pruning, and stump removal to prevent the spread of disease. These tree surgery techniques all form part of a tree maintenance plan and help the landowner to maintain their tree duty of care.

What Is a Tree Surgeon?

A tree surgeon, also sometimes known as a tree climber or an arborist, is a professional who specialises in the care and maintenance of trees.

Tree surgeons often work at height and use specialised equipment, so their job requires significant training, knowledge of tree biology, and a strong emphasis on safety.

What Does a Tree Surgeon Do?

A tree surgeon will provide an expert opinion on the way to deal with trees. A good tree surgeon will also be able to advise you on ways to make your trees more aesthetically pleasing and allow growth on the floor below them.

Part of tree surgery is also about preventing future accidents. Thanks to expert training, tree surgeons can identify dead, infected or at-risk parts of a tree, and remove them before they become a hazard. This is part of the the tree duty of care that property owners are required to fulfil.

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When Should a Tree Surgeon Visit?

In reality, a tree surgeon should regularly visit your site as they can not only advise on prevention but can ensure your trees are protected, safe, and benefit your environment.

Making tree surgery a regular part of your grounds maintenance plan will not only benefit you but also generations to come.

When Is It Time To Prune a Tree?

There are many times when pruning a tree may be apt. It can help to create long-lasting cover, ensure the safety of a building or person and improve its appearance.

Density

If a tree is getting very dense, it will be time to prune a tree. As well as increasing light let through, removing density increases the safety of a tree by ensuring no branch is too heavily laden.

Dead Sections

“Hanging like dead wood” is a famous idiom, but in tree surgery, it’s a literal problem!

Dead parts of a tree are liable to fall at any point. They could have also died due to infection or invasive animals like caterpillars, which could mean long-term problems. Therefore, removing dead parts of a tree is important to keep it alive.

Dangerously Placed Branches

If a tree is growing too near a telephone wire or building, then it’s time to prune it back to guarantee safety.

Why Is Using a Tree Surgeon Important?

Tree surgeons don’t just remove dead tree parts, they are paramount to ensuring a tree grows and also benefits the biological landscape you’re trying to cultivate.

Careful and strategically planned decisions about how a tree is cared for can also improve the quality of the stems and cultivate an attractive appearance of a tree. Choosing which stems are staying and which are going will also improve the light below the tree, all of which can be used to create a biodiverse environment.

Tree Surgery Techniques

Tree surgeons have a number of expert techniques at their disposal to help keep trees healthy and under control. Below we have listed the most common and effective methods used:

Tree Pollarding and Pruning

Pollarding is a traditional term in tree management, but in recent years, pruning has evolved to mean the same thing.

Pollarding is an important and historical part of tree care, having been around since the Roman times, pollarding involves trimming the crown of the tree.

Pollarding is only suitable for certain types of trees, mainly deciduous broad-leaved trees, although some conifers can be suitable. The key aspect to pollarding is that the tree must be able to produce epicormic growth, or water shoots (fast-growing tree shoots).

How Can Pollarding a Tree Help?

Pruning and pollarding involves removing all excess branches aside from the main limbs and the trunk of the tree itself. Then, as the tree grows back, it looks maintained and orderly. There is also the added benefit of the tree only growing from live branches, with all dead wood removed.

Tree Crown Reduction 

The crown is the top part of the tree, starting from when the trunk beings sprouting.

Tree crown reduction involves pruning individual branches or removing dead wood. Tree surgeons may also remove overlapping branches in order to give every branch an equal opportunity to be exposed to light, and therefore promote healthy growth.

Tree Crown Lifting

Similarly to crown reduction, crown lifting involves removing excess branches. However, lifting removes only the lower branches to allow the tree to gain height, and increase the amount of light that leaks through onto the floor.

Stump Grinding and Removal

Where a tree has been felled, the stump and roots can sometimes be left awkwardly or messily. Stump grinding will remove the top of the stump before the roots are removed separately.

Both of these techniques can be especially important if the tree was diseased or carrying pests, as this will prevent trees in other areas from being infected.

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Felling Trees

There are some circumstances, such as a diseased tree or trees too close together, where felling is the only solution. Felling involves chopping down the tree in stages in the safest way possible.

Factors such as space to fell, existing habitats in or around the trees, and proximity to properties and roads, must all be considered to ensure a fell is successful.

Dead Wooding and Branch Removal 

Parts of trees will naturally die, but if not carefully maintained, these limbs and branches become dangerous as they are likely to fall. Regular maintenance is key here to ensure the safety of your trees and site. Removing dead wood and branches will keep your trees growing well and your grounds safe.

Why Choose Grounds Care Group to Carry Out Tree Surgery and Regular Maintenance?

Not only does our live reporting system allow you to see the progress of jobs, but our expert tree surgeons come with the same guarantee that the rest of our work does.

Get in touch today for help getting your trees under control.