subject: 5 Tree Surgery Techniques [print this page] 5 Tree Surgery Techniques 5 Tree Surgery Techniques
Ever heard of a tree surgeon? They are the trained people found high up on trees, pruning them back to life. Here are some of the techniques they practice to ensure that trees are kept healthy and looking beautiful.1.Tree pruning:Natural Target Pruning is the way a trained aborist prunes a tree. He/she uses special techniques to avoid putting the tree at any kind of risk, specifically the spreading of decay. One technique for example, is to avoid cutting the tree at its branch collar because that will spread decay into other parts of the tree. By cutting just above the collar, decay is limited, and a callus can grown over the wound. The same rule applies to the branch bark ridge. Cutting on these parts could result in a disease infected tree. A tree can actually die from bad pruning, so it's essential that tree surgeons are careful.2. Felling and Lowering:When building development gets in the way of the surrounding trees, surgeons are often asked to take them down or at the very least manipulate them in a way where they aren't in harms ways. The main thing to remember in these instances is to control the tree. Methods of lowering include, tipp roping, butt roping, and cradling.3. Tree thinning:Like a big pile of human hair, trees need to be thinned every so often. An aborist should be able to tell how much trimming needs to be done, for the required foliage to come out. Alternatively this can be assessed by a third-party expert down to the exact percentage. Once the amount of thinning is determined, the aborist should start removing secondary and even primary branches as well as young new growth. The end result is a tree that allows natural light to pass through.4. Crown cleaning:The crown of the tree needs a lot of maintenance to avoid splitting and weak branches as well as fallen debris. Two techniques for crown cleaning are the removal of rubbing and crossing branches and dead wood. Rubbing and crossing branches can cause branches to become weak and split, and dead wood can cause debris to fall.Another option to keep a tree healthy, is to actually cut its crown so that the tree is actually smaller in size. The objective is to maintain the tree's shape, but cut back its branches so that they are essentially pruned back to life.5. Bracing:Much like you might put a splinter on a broken finger, or you would tie a piece of string around a weak branch of a fern or other house plant, aborists use cables to support weak tree branches.Bet you never thought so much work went into keeping trees alive and glorious.
