FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
PREPARATION BEFORE EVERY JOB...
Protect your trees and plants from damage and avoid spreading destructive pathogens. Using minimum of 90% Alcohol, a stiff bristled brush, and a strip of Emory Cloth-Fine Grit, clean, disinfect and sharpen all pruning tools.
Overly Thinned Japanese Laceleaf Maple.*
(This beautiful 6’ tree was excessively thinned some years back in an overly aggressive attempt to accomplish in one season what should have been patiently done over a period of 5 or more years. This image shows the South side of the tree where direct sunlight scalded long shaded interior bark. The limb in the center of the tree is now completely dead, in coming years, others are sure to follow.)
Q. What do you charge for estimates?
A. I don’t charge for estimates, nor do I charge for referrals to other service providers who I think might more effectively meet your needs.
Q. Are you a Certified Arborist?
A. No I’m not. I’m a long time dues paying member of the International Society of Arboriculture but I am not a Certified ISA Arborist. I have experience working with a few who operate in the area and can provide you with referrals, or you could try the website of the local ISA chapter at: www.pnwisa.org.
Q. Do you do Niwaki, Bonsai type pruning?
A. Bonsai refers to trees in pots where both roots and branches are pruned. Niwaki is the type of pruning that I do. Please see quote below from GoodNewsTrees.com for a wonderful explanation of my approach. I do not do “topiary” of trees, which some people include in the category of Niwaki.
“The Japanese word niwaki simply means “garden trees.” The art of the Japanese niwaki pruning style involves coaxing out of a tree those features believed to signify the essence of a tree including its gnarled trunks, outstretched branches and rounded canopies (Niwaki—The Pruning, Training and Shaping of Trees the Japanese Way, p. 9, by Jake Hobson).
Niwaki is similar to the art of bonsai pruning, with which most people are familiar, except not in a miniaturized form, but involving full-sized trees. Many of the bonsai pruning techniques can be applied to the larger trees and shrubs in the garden but on a grander scale and, obviously, without the same attention to minute detail.
The Zen Buddhists, from whom the Japanese learned many aspects of their pruning style, observed nature carefully and made some discoveries. They learned that the perfection and beauty in nature that humans have come to adore and subsequently desire to replicate in their home gardens can quantified in seven principles: asymmetry, simplicity, austere sublimity, naturalness, subtle profundity, freedom from attachment and tranquility (Hobson, p. 22). It is these qualities that make a Japanese garden and its pruning styles so alluring to people worldwide.”
75 year old Laceleaf Maple. Image taken during a DIY hands-on coaching session with the tree’s owner Cathy, during which we covered ongoing maintenance issues, best procedures and practices, along with assorted tool tips.
Q. Do you charge by the hour or by the job?
A. I use both methods for giving estimates. Which method I employ depends upon the amount of work to be done and the degree of difficulty or danger that the job entails. I like to be transparent about how I charge for my services to avoid any surprises or misunderstandings.
Q. Do you do Topiary?
A. No, I do not.
LACE LEAF JAPANESE MAPLE
Q: What’s happened to my Japanese Laceleaf Maple?
A: Many Laceleaf Maples are grafted onto up-right Maple tree rooting stock. When the site of the graft - the joining or uniting seam - fails, shoots of the root stock species emerge as pictured here: vertical green shoots jutting up through the canopy of a Red Japanese Laceleaf Maple. These should be removed as often as they emerge, otherwise they divert growth energy and detract from the beauty of the more desirable of the two trees. If you catch these shoots early, they’re young and soft and easily rub off. If left to develop they’ll need to be cut off.
JAPANESE MAPLE
Q. Is this the right time of year to prune my trees?
A. There are exceptions of course, but a great deal of research has conclusively demonstrated that how we prune our trees is far more important than when we prune them.
Q. What treatments or fertilizers would you recommend to help keep my trees healthy?
A. Compost, compost, compost! Also, composted manure or a mixture of both. If you have good healthy soil you’ll have strong, healthy trees and plants that are more robust & vigorous and better able to resist disease and attacking pests. Build up your soil, regularly, with rich composted organic material. Mulch and decorative bark are attractive dressings for bed, but that material is not readily usable by your plants. Consider using compost instead.
As the composted organic matter gets watered into the soil, it provides almost immediate nutritive value to every living thing in your garden. Compost Tea would be another good option.
Here are just a few of the many web sites available on this and other related subjects:
www.seattletilth.org
www.howtocompost.org
www.earth911.org
www.cedar-grove.com
Q. How can I find out what’s wrong with my trees, several of them are sickly looking? I’m particularly concerned about my Apple tree. I’m itching to do anything I can to treat and protect them but I don’t want to use any harsh chemicals. What should I do?
A. Time to call in a professional. Many, but not all, ISA Certified Arborists offer diagnosis and treatment services. Below you’ll find links to three companies I’m familiar with, there are many more in your area that with a little effort you can connect with. A good place to start your search for professional help is at www.treesolutions.com, www.inharmony.com, www.hendrikus.com.
WEEPING ORNAMENTAL CHERRY
Q. I’ve had a few bad experiences hiring people who had good references and who claimed they knew what they were doing only to come home to find my trees butchered. How do I know you’re any different?
A. As with any profession, there are talented, highly skilled tree care professionals, tree butchers, and everything in between. Top quality pruning professionals that I know in this region get the majority of their new clients through word-of-mouth referrals. I’ve been in business, in Seattle, since January 2001 and have built a client base and reputation that continue to serve me well. If you hire me to prune your trees I can promise you this: I will be the person who shows up to do the work we’ve agreed on, on the day that we’ve agreed on and for the price we’ve agreed on.
ARBORIZING AN ENGLISH LAUREL
Q: Could you give me an estimate for removing some dead limbs from the top of my Paperbark Birch tree?
A: Thanks for including a photo. The dead limbs the tree displays is a primary symptom and clear indication of an infestation of the Bronze Birch Tree Borer. Simply removing dead limbs will not suffice. To save the tree you’ll need to contact a tree care company that offers insecticide treatment services. They can also remove any dead material during the treatment process.
JAPANESE MAPLE