We’ve outlined the various tree work services Hawes Arborists offer in Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset. Years of training go into how we implement these specialist tree services so you can be assured of a quality and experience by referring to us.
Preparation
Before we can even think about cutting, we have to ensure the tree is secure. If the trunk has been weakened by disease, it may be possible to use ropes to attach the diseased tree to other trees nearby to give it additional stability while we work on it.
Once the tree is secure, we begin installing the ropes that will allow us to move around in the tree and work on it safely. In some cases, for example where the trunk is weakened, we may need to make use of other equipment such as a mobile elevating platform or even a crane. Hawes Arborists is fully trained to use any equipment that may be required for the procedure.
Most commonly, we will use a rope climbing system securely attached to load bearing anchor points, each of which will be strong enough to support the tree surgeon, equipment and any other loading which might be required.
The main climbing techniques in tree work are either:
- work positioning systems, with an appropriate backup system to prevent or mitigate a fall; or
- rope access and positioning, with the working line and a separate safety line having separate anchor points (unless a risk assessment shows that using a second line would add to the risk). The working line needs to have a system in place which will prevent the tree surgeon from falling if any control is lost.
Tree Surgery
Now that we can work safely in the tree, there a variety of techniques we can begin shortening infected boughs with clean, controlled cuts.
Some tree surgeons will remove a branch very close to the trunk, resulting in cuts too large for the tree to fully repair. Such cuts are often flat which is also more difficult for the tree to repair.
Hawes Arborists works to reduce the stress on trees with precision pruning cuts.
We are sometimes also looking to resemble natural occurrences through techniques such as natural fracture pruning and coronet pruning. This is the sort of damage trees have evolved with and recover from best and some cases can be the better option.
General Tree Work
Where trees are in danger of pulling apart, we can use cables to support outlying branches and re-balance the tree in a process known as cable bracing.
If a tree is young, formative pruning can be used to encourage the tree to grow in specific ways by removing undesirable branches.
Pruning Techniques
When a tree becomes overgrown, like this mature lime tree in Shaftesbury, Dorset, it’s important to cut the the boughs back to growth points so that the sap can continue to reach the end of the branch. Some less skilled tree surgeons don’t always get this right and can force the tree into shock re-growth, filling out the crown with unsustainable material which will eventually begin to die.
Where a tree has grown too large for its current location, at Hawes Arborists we can cut branches back more aggressively in a process known as pollarding. However, this is usually a method of last resort, used when the alternative would be to dismantle the tree entirely. One such client in Poole was very keen to save the infected tree so we pollarded the tree to allow for a retrenched re-growth on the canopy.
Some trees may not be able to recover from a large-scale pruning. In such cases, we use a technique called retrenchment pruning, which will see us gradually reducing the crown over several visits. Some regrowth will occur between each visit and this more closely resembles a natural process. While this is a process which requires skill and fine judgement, it results in a healthier more stable tree.
Tree Felling
If all else fails and the tree has to come down, then Hawes Arborists can dismantle it. We’ve carried out many such tree surgery operations in Dorset, such as this diseased walnut tree in Shaftesbury.
Tree Felling is the service people most readily associate with tree surgeons where an infected tree is cut down and it can be a complex procedure to carry out than many people realise.
If there is enough space at the tree’s location then we can cut the tree down and safely control its decent with cables and winches. However, if space is more limited we can use a process of sectional felling where the tree is cut into sections and disposed of gradually.
Contact Hawes Arborists
If you are in Wiltshire, Somerset, or Dorset and are concerned that your trees or looking to have some work carried out on them then please give us a call on 01747 850253 or email at info@hawesarborists.co.uk for expert advice and guidance on what to do and get a FREE quote.
