Tree surgeons assemble!
Discussion
I have a small Alder I'd like to raise the canopy on as it has multiple stems that all come from the base. Hard to get clear photos but you hopefully get the idea from the photos.
I'd like to remove these and be left with the one main leader but given they're right at the base, as opposed to higher up the leader like most trees with co-dominant stems, should I be concerned with doing this? I feel like it might be hard to get a clean cut in the right place.
I'd like to remove these and be left with the one main leader but given they're right at the base, as opposed to higher up the leader like most trees with co-dominant stems, should I be concerned with doing this? I feel like it might be hard to get a clean cut in the right place.
Oh yeah I'm good for equipment, it's just hard to tell without getting on my hands and knees (not happening today!) whether enough of these stems are exposed to get a clean cut back to a collar or whether it would end up having to be a less than ideal cut.
Edited by Patrick Bateman on Saturday 17th January 14:51
Cutting that low down is effectively coppicing - it's response will be to send up a load of new growth from the base. Not an issue as long as you keep on top of it if you don't want it.
I wouldn't worry too much about clean cuts, what's left will recover very quickly. If you watch a traditional hedge laying video you will see how brutal the cutting is yet they always bounce back. You are doing the job at exactly the right time of year, too.
However, please note I am not a tree surgeon so feel free to ignore me.
I wouldn't worry too much about clean cuts, what's left will recover very quickly. If you watch a traditional hedge laying video you will see how brutal the cutting is yet they always bounce back. You are doing the job at exactly the right time of year, too.
However, please note I am not a tree surgeon so feel free to ignore me.
Patrick Bateman said:
I have a small Alder I'd like to raise the canopy on as it has multiple stems that all come from the base. Hard to get clear photos but you hopefully get the idea from the photos.
I'd like to remove these and be left with the one main leader but given they're right at the base, as opposed to higher up the leader like most trees with co-dominant stems, should I be concerned with doing this? I feel like it might be hard to get a clean cut in the right place.
from your description you are not raising the canopy then - you are thinning out stems, just pick the strongest straightest one and cut the others as close to the ground as you canI'd like to remove these and be left with the one main leader but given they're right at the base, as opposed to higher up the leader like most trees with co-dominant stems, should I be concerned with doing this? I feel like it might be hard to get a clean cut in the right place.
However, being alnus it will freely regenerate, so you'll be in a similar positon in a few years
raising the canopy is: removal of lower branches to achieve a stated vertical clearance above ground level or other surface BS3998 - 2010
It's not exactly massive, I'd not be worrying too much about it. Clear the stuff at the base a bit, cut out the stems you're not interested in keeping, and it'll be fine.
Probably easiest to cut them back a foot or two above the final cut, which should then make it easy to get a nice clean cut at the base.
Probably easiest to cut them back a foot or two above the final cut, which should then make it easy to get a nice clean cut at the base.
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