Had to take down a 60 foot oak in my neighbor's backyard that was rotting from the inside. I went with rope climbing instead of spikes cause I thought it would be safer, but it took way longer and my arms were dead by the end. Has anyone else picked one way over the other and regretted it?
I was doing an air-layer on a decent sized Norway maple branch back in June. Wrapped it up with sphagnum and foil, checked it weekly. After 3 weeks I went to tighten the wrap and the whole thing cracked right off at the cut. Lost a branch that would have made a solid 4 foot tree. My buddy Dave said I cut too deep on the girdle but I followed a YouTube video exactly. Anyone else have air-layers fail because the branch wasn't strong enough to hold?
Had a 70 year old climber named Jerry show me how to spot decay by looking at bark texture near the crotch of a big maple. He said most guys waste time staring at leaves while the tree is telling you right at the base. Anyone else have a mentor drop a weird simple trick on you like that?
I didn't even realize I was close until I counted back through my old logbooks. 500 trees taken down safely over 18 years, most of them in the Portland area. It surprised me because I never really thought of myself as that experienced, you know? But the one that got the number was a giant dying white oak, and the homeowner thanked us for not hitting their prize rose bushes. That part never gets old. Has anyone else crossed a weird milestone like this that caught you off guard?
We were working a job in Maplewood on a 60 year old red oak, and my groundie sliced into a branch collar leaving a 4 inch gash that would've let rot set in if I hadn't caught it and sealed it with tree wound dressing within 10 minutes anyone else ever have a close call like that where a split second mistake almost cost a whole tree?
I had this big maple in a tight backyard near a porch in Portland. Normally I'd reach for my Stihl chainsaw for anything over 6 inches. But the homeowner was nervous about noise and I figured I'd try my Silky Zubat handsaw instead. Honestly it took maybe 20 minutes longer per limb but the control was WAY better. No bar oil mess on their deck and I didn't scare their dog. I still grabbed the chainsaw for the trunk cuts but the crown work with the handsaw felt smoother. Has anyone else switched to manual saws for those tight residential jobs?
Walked past a crew trimming a live oak in July last summer near Austin and had to bite my tongue. Have you ever tried to explain oak wilt risk to a homeowner mid-heatwave without sounding like a know-it-all?
Bought a brand new hydraulic pole pruner from a local dealer in Portland. Second job trimming a bigleaf maple, the hydraulic line split right at the fitting. Dumped hydraulic fluid all over this lady's lawn. Took it back to the dealer and they said the warranty doesn't cover wear on hoses. Anyone else had luck fixing these lines yourself or is it better to just buy a different brand?
He said I was leaving the branch collar too exposed and making the tree heal slower (which threw me, honestly). Has anyone else gotten flak for following the textbook too closely?
I was just adding up my notes last night between shifts and realized I've pruned over 300 trees since March. That's way more than I thought, especially with how rainy this spring was up here in Portland. Most of them were those big old maples that drop branches on everything, but still, three hundred. Has anyone else ever sat down and actually counted what they've done in a season?
I had this big red oak at a house in Arlington last spring, maybe 50 feet tall with some dead limbs near the top. I climbed up there ready to do my usual topping cut, but the homeowner came out and said his neighbor's tree split after a storm because of a bad topping job. That got me thinking about how I always just cut straight across the top without considering the branch collar or leaving a proper stub. I started looking closer at old cuts I made and saw a bunch of rot setting in where I left stubs too short. So I spent a whole weekend watching videos from a certified arborist in Oregon who broke down the 3-cut method and proper reduction cuts. Now I always leave a longer stub tilted away from the collar, and I haven't had a single call back about decay in 8 months. Has anyone else switched their topping technique after years of doing it the wrong way?
I had been cutting my notches flat for like 10 years before an old-timer watched me fell a maple and said "you're leaving the hinge too thin on the back". Turns out I was basically making the tree fall sideways instead of where I aimed... Took me a while to unlearn that habit. Anyone else have a basic technique they did backwards for way too long?
I sprayed a little bit of cooking oil on the bar and let it sit for 5 minutes, then the gunk wiped right off without any scraping... anyone else use something weird like that for cleanup?
Last fall I was trimming a red oak in Portland and a guy from the city stopped to say my flush cuts were damaging the branch collar. He showed me how leaving the collar intact helps the tree seal faster. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from old training?
I thought I was saving money by renting a bucket truck from a small local place instead of the big chains. Picked it up Saturday morning, everything looked fine, drove 45 minutes to the job site. Got the truck set up, climbed in the bucket, and the hydraulics started whining real bad after one trip up. The guy on the phone said "just cycle it a few times" but then the whole thing locked up with me 30 feet up. Had to sit there for 2 hours waiting for their mechanic. The rental was $250 plus a $50 deposit I never got back because they claimed I damaged it. Has anyone else dealt with rental equipment that just wasn't maintained?
Borrowed an Air-Spade 2000 from a buddy to clear soil from a big oak's root flare. Dug around 4 inches deep in 10 minutes without nicking a single root. Has anyone else switched from hand digging for root collar exams?
Was at a local nursery last weekend picking up some soil amendments and this older fella was telling the cashier he "shapes" his crape myrtles by lopping off the tops every spring. Said it keeps them from getting too tall. I wanted to jump in but kept my mouth shut... that kind of topping just causes weak regrowth and ruins the natural form. I see it all over my neighborhood too. Has anyone actually changed a homeowner's mind about this practice?
Who is still leaving those plastic ties and burlap on when planting, because I saw at least a dozen maples that will be dead in 5 years from that nonsense.
Driving through my neighborhood in Akron last week I saw three separate crews cutting live oak branches in the middle of summer. I know oak wilt is a real thing in this area. Is there some new training that says summer pruning is fine now or are these guys just ignoring the risk? How do you handle telling a homeowner their landscaper is doing damage without sounding like a jerk?
Watching a 40-year arborist take down a massive Douglas fir with just two ropes and a pulley made me realize I was using way too much gear (you know, overcomplicating things). He said 'you're building a spider web when a single line will do' and it hit me how much time I was wasting on extra rigging. Has anyone else had someone point out a simpler way that changed how you approach big trees?
I was doing a crown reduction on a 60 foot silver maple and this guy kept asking if I was sure each branch wouldn't kill the tree. He even pulled out his phone to look up ISA guidelines while I was in the bucket. Has anyone else had a client second-guess your every move on a job?
I was trimming a big maple in a client's yard near Portland last month and noticed a whole section of bark peeling back on a limb I'd cut. Turns out I was making flush cuts right up against the trunk, thinking that's what looked cleanest. What's the standard rule of thumb you guys use for keeping that collar intact without leaving too much stub?
Used to think cabling was just a bandaid. Then last fall I was working a big red oak in Austin, this guy in his 70s came over from the next job. He pointed at a big limb union that looked fine to me and said "that crack will split in 6 months with a good storm." I brushed it off but he insisted I put a cable in. Sure enough 5 months later a storm came through and that cable held it together. That guy saved that tree and the house under it. Now I cable way more than I used to. Anyone else had a moment where some old school arborist proved you wrong?
Three jobs last Tuesday through Friday near Portland. First one was a big old maple that looked fine from the ground, but when I sunk my gaffs in the bark just peeled away in a sheet. Second was a Doug fir with a hollow crotch I only spotted cause a squirrel ran out of it. Third job the customer said the tree was healthy, but the whole center was pulp. Made me wonder if I'm getting sloppy or if these late summer droughts are pushing decay faster. Anyone else noticing more hidden damage this year?
Bought a 150-foot rope from Harbor Freight for $25 last spring to save some cash. Snapped on me during a big removal job in Austin, nearly dropped a limb on a shed. Ended up shelling out $120 for a Yale kernmantle rope that's held up way better. Anyone else get burned by budget gear before?