c/arborists

3

sandra693•6h ago

Showerthought: a simple oak cavity cleanup took me 3 hours longer than I budgeted

I had a call about an old oak with a deep cavity near the base. Figured it would be a quick 2 hour job to clean out the debris and check for rot. Turns out the cavity went almost 4 feet into the trunk and had packed soil and rocks inside. I ended up using a shop vac with a custom nozzle and a long scraper to get it all out. Took me nearly 5 hours total just to clear it enough to assess the tree's health. Anyone else run into hidden cavities that turned simple work into an all day thing?

-2

perry.jessica•2d ago

TIL that a mature oak tree can drink over 50 gallons of water a day in the summer

I was reading an old arborist manual from the 80s that my mentor gave me last month. It had this chart about tree water uptake and I almost dropped my coffee when I saw that number for oaks. I always knew they were thirsty trees but 50 gallons sounds like a whole swimming pool every couple weeks. Has anyone else run into old facts like this that totally changed how you think about a species?

15

kellyr18•2d ago

Was trimming a big maple near Portland last spring and something clicked about crown reduction

I was up in a 60-foot silver maple that had been topped decades ago and the regrowth was a mess of weak codominant stems. After I did a proper reduction cut on the biggest leader, the whole tree just looked more balanced and natural. Has anyone else noticed how different a tree looks when you actually respect its natural form instead of just hacking it back?

13

the_jessica•2d ago

Am I the only one who thinks pruning paint does more harm than good?

Last spring I watched a retired arborist at a workshop in Portland refuse to use wound dressing on a 40-year-old oak limb he cut, and he went off about how sealing cuts traps rot inside. I've had customers beg me to paint their cuts on ash trees, and I'm starting to wonder if we're just making people feel better or actually helping the tree - what do you all think about wound paints?

25

lindaw12•4d ago

Hit 50,000 board feet milled last week - never thought I'd get there

Started with a beat up Alaskan mill in my backyard 3 years ago, and now I'm renting a Lucas mill to keep up with demand. Has anyone else been surprised by how fast the volume adds up once you get a routine going?

24

kelly_miller80•5d ago

Had a 90 foot oak split right down the middle on a job last month

I was taking down a mature white oak in a tight backyard in Portland and it just cracked with no warning. Luckily we had the pull line set right or it would have taken out a fence and a shed. Has anyone else had a tree fail on them mid cut like that?

25

beth_ward80•23d ago

Caught a hidden decay pocket that should have killed this oak years ago

Pulled up for a routine trim on a big red oak in Dayton yesterday. Homeowner just wanted clearance near the roof. I noticed a small wound scar and jabbed it with my probe. Found a hollow cavity 4 feet long inside the main trunk. The tree had a 6 inch ring of live wood holding up 60 feet of canopy. That stat keeps me up at night. Has anyone else found something this dangerous that looked fine from the outside?

14

noah838•23d ago

Had to pick between a pole pruner and a handsaw for clearing backyard oaks

I was helping a buddy clear out some dead oak branches in his backyard near Austin, and I had to decide whether to use his 12 foot pole pruner or just stick with a folding handsaw. Ngl, I went with the pole pruner at first because it seemed faster for reaching up high, but the branches were twisted and the thing kept binding on the cut. After the third jam I just switched to climbing up a step ladder with the handsaw and cutting clean through each one. Tbh, the handsaw took longer but I had way more control and didnt leave any torn bark behind. My buddy even said the pole pruner was a waste for that job. Has anyone else found that a simple handsaw beats power tools for tight canopy work?

1

saraho48•24d ago

Hit 500 trees pruned this season and it caught me off guard

I was just tallying my work logs from the last 6 months and saw I passed 500 trees pruned this season. That number hit me different because I usually do maybe 300 in a busy year (working solo in a smaller town). It really snuck up on me, partly because I picked up a few new commercial contracts that had big groves. The funny thing is I didn't even feel rushed or anything, just steady work every week. Has anyone else had a milestone like that where the count just piled up without you noticing?

18

jenniferwells•25d ago

Shoutout to the crew that helped me save a 150-year-old oak in Austin last Friday

We had 60 mph gusts coming through and that tree had a massive split right down the main trunk, but we got cables and braces in just before the worst of it hit - has anyone else had a close call with an old tree like that?

1

andrew646•27d ago

Had a big maple come down wrong last spring and it changed how I rig loads

I was up in a 60-foot silver maple in a tight backyard in Oak Park. Had a cable choker on a heavy limb, thought I had the angles right. When I cut, the limb swung hard into the house gutter instead of dropping clear. Bent the gutter bad, homeowner was right there watching. I felt awful. That moment convinced me to finally take a proper rigging workshop. Always thought I could figure it out on the job, but one mistake showed me I was guessing too much. Has anyone else had a close call that pushed them to get more training?

21

kelly_miller80•28d ago

I finally changed how I tie off a canopy anchor and it saved me 40 minutes on a big oak removal

Old-timer from the local chapter told me to always use a running bowline with a locking half hitch instead of my usual clove hitch setup. I thought he was just being stubborn, you know how some guys get set in their ways. But I tried it on a massive white oak in Dayton last Thursday, one with three major leads that usually takes forever to work. The running bowline let me adjust tension without retying, and I finished that canopy tie in maybe 4 minutes instead of 15. So which side are you on for primary anchor knots, the clove hitch or the running bowline? Has anyone else had a old timer's trick actually speed things up for them?

13

max_jones•1mo ago

Can we talk about how crane work changed in 20 years

Talking to a old timer from Vermont at a conference last month and he said he still hand climbs everything, doesn't trust a bucket truck. Made me wonder how many of us are still doing things the old way just because that's how we learned.

5

saraho48•1mo ago

Hit 200 tree removals without a single mishap this spring

I just passed 200 tree removals this season without any damage to property or injury. That number surprised me because I started out in this trade near Portland and had a close call with a limb swing my third year. Most of these were tight urban removals too, not open field stuff. Has anyone else tracked a milestone like that and noticed it shift how you approach risk?

10

jordant69•1mo ago

Had a guy in Detroit yell at me for topping a maple tree

I was removing a dying limb from a silver maple near 8 Mile last spring. Guy from two houses over walks up and starts screaming about how I was "killing the tree" by cutting at 3 inches. He kept saying I should have taken the whole branch at the collar. I tried to explain the collar had rot, but he wouldn't listen. Has anyone else dealt with a random bystander who thinks they know more than you about your own job?

19

jordan_webb49•1mo ago

Vent: Spent 2 hours fighting a stump grinder until a guy on site showed me the wedge trick

Was trying to grind a big elm stump near a driveway in Medford and the wheel kept binding up on me. An old landscaper walking by said to jam a plastic wedge in the cut to split the wood. Fixed it in 5 minutes and saved my arms. Anyone else got dumb little tricks that nobody teaches you?

18

allen.amy•1mo ago

Last Tuesday was just one of those perfect tree days

Had a 60 foot white oak on a tight residential lot in Portland and it dropped clean into the drop zone, not a single branch caught on anything. Anybody else ever get that rare alignment where the wind, the cuts, and the crew all just click?

27

taraj11•1mo ago

I finally stopped ignoring the crack in my climbing tree crotch

Last summer I had a big white oak with a crack right in the main crotch. I kept thinking it could hold a few more seasons until a storm took half the canopy down last September. How do you decide when a split is bad enough to take the whole tree?

16

gonzalez.wesley•1mo ago

Found out osprey talons are basically designed like locking pliers

Was reading a piece from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology last night and they said their outer toe can reverse to get a better grip on fish. Has anyone else noticed how much tree work honestly feels like you're mimicking bird anatomy?

23

pats23•1mo ago

TIL white oak trees can live over 600 years, way longer than red oak

I was reading a forestry guide from the state of Ohio last week and found out white oaks can hit 600 years easy, but red oaks usually max out around 200. Has anyone else worked with trees that old and seen the difference in the wood grain?

9

morganhayes•1mo ago

Old steel wedge trick saved me 2 hours on a stubborn oak removal yesterday

I had this big red oak in a tight backyard with a nasty lean toward the house. Chainsaw bar got pinched twice even with wedges, and I was ready to call it a day. Then an old timer I worked with years ago told me to soak a steel wedge in water overnight before driving it in. I tried it out of desperation and the wood split clean after the third tap. Has anyone else used a wet wedge trick for heavy compression wood?

-1

anthony426•1mo ago

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard talking about root flares

I was waiting for my lumber order last Friday and this older arborist was telling a younger guy how most of the trees he sees get planted way too deep. He said 'if the root flare ain't visible, you're basically burying the tree alive over 5 to 10 years.' That hit me because I noticed the same thing on my neighbor's oak they planted 8 years back, it's already showing stress with those thin upper branches. Anyone here run into trees that were planted too deep and actually managed to save them by exposing the flare?

1

hill.sarah•1mo ago

I was sharpening my handsaw wrong for a decade until a retired arborist in Asheville pointed out the angle of my file.

He said, 'Kid, you're filing it like a ripsaw, not a crosscut,' and that one tip made my next oak removal feel like cutting butter.

23

webb.derek•1mo ago

Finally got a stubborn Bradford pear stump out after trying a trick with a pressure washer and a digging bar.

This thing was in a tight spot between a sidewalk and a gas line, couldn't get the grinder in. After three hours of chopping roots, I was beat. Remembered a guy at a job in Charlotte years ago saying he'd used a pressure washer to blast soil away from the root ball to see what he was dealing with. Tried it, and it worked way better than I thought. Cleared out all the dirt around the main taproot, gave me a clean shot with the bar to sever it. Took maybe 45 minutes after that. Anyone else use water for stump work in tight spaces, or is there a better method I'm missing?

12

sandrap40•1mo ago

Was sure that new root barrier stuff was just a gimmick...

Had a client in Oak Park who insisted on trying that FlexiRoot fabric around their patio, even after I told them it probably wouldn't stop the maple. Checked it yesterday, almost a year later, and the roots actually turned away... clean line. Has anyone else had a good result with a product they didn't trust at first?