Crash pads are fine but you must do your do diligence

@Cousin Eddie Agreed because laying them out just right is important. I have seen the worst side of the trick a few times, thankfully not by me but some I worked with. Still, I wouldn't deter from using that technique if in a time pinch. As long as you take your time at the right time. IBEW-

I've never seen such a setup before. Loppers here in Auss just cut the tree into manageable parts not large enough to cause damage in the first place. Didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to do it any other way.

this made my legs hurt just reading it

@@xaracen7207 Yeah, can't figure it out, the only thing I can think of is a teeter totter mechanism that will send a log end over end perpendicular to the tree possibly but launching straight out and at significant velocity I don't understand

Amen

To prune an apple tree vs. battling with a dying giant.

Unless it’s a elm I think

Bonsai!

Trees on my street got completely reduced to stumps a few years ago, luckily they've managed to fully regrow to giant bushy trees. I was amazed how fast they came back. I worry it will rot hard now though

Thank you. KZfaq has become an amazing medium for understanding through video.

@@arboristBlairGlenn Hey Blair, I have a cherry that had been topped in the past for easier access to fruit and to encourage fruiting. How resistant is a fruiting cherry tree to topping-induced decay?

@@queenvagabond8787 I have seen a LOT of rotting cherry trees, sorry

@@arboristBlairGlenn Right, I'll keep an eye on it then!

If it's "completely" unknown to you, how do you know they're an expert?

Please do so. I also will forward this to my clients

I hope this video gets viewed often and may make a small dent in the problem.

@@arboristBlairGlenn the other tree guys around me are the most substantial threat to the trees around here. even worse than the emerald ash borer. you look around town and almost all the old maples are topped already. most are severely dangerous now and everyone is starting to hate having trees because they loose big limbs every time the wind blows. we just had a few huge maples fall through some buildings and everyone thinks its from the abnormally high winds. forgetting to realize that its really cause someone destroyed the tree years ago and the roots finally turned to mush. or like mine the gas company cut apart the roots on 3 sides of the tree to run a line to the house. I tell people all the time not to top their trees but most can't fathom the idea that it's cheaper and safer to just remove it or let it be. I loose out on some jobs because I don't automatically just top the tree.

No, people want them topped because companies charge absolutely batshit amounts of money to remove trees or properly prune them, while charging less to top them. People would love to take better care of trees, but who the hell can afford to lay out the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars?

@@RvLeshrac and that’s where my channel comes in. EDUCATION!

Water pockets are a breeding spot for mosquitos. I have heard a few drops of oil will resolve that if you can reach the pockets.

@@arboristBlairGlenn if you even know they're there.

A tree filled with water is also one heck of a lightning rod

@@dizzysdoings thermal camera will help you spot water pockets if you get bored

@@spiderpickle3255 That's not how lightning works...

why did you take it down?

​@@peppermeat8059 Are you serious??

@@ELTABULLO oh i didnt read that properly. there was rotting wood?

mine are dead

this is a really useful video that people should see before cutting any tree. we seem to forget that trees are a living organism and that trimming is literally amputation which leave open wounds that will get infected and decay

I don’t understand what your understanding of the term “top” refers to. In the states, topping a tree is cutting it hard.

@OSTOTD Blair was saying the first tree in the video, a Liquid Amber, was topped 3 years ago (the tree he removed). The tree you're saying that looks like it was topped 10 years ago is a Silver Maple, your guess is probably pretty close for that tree. Edit: I notice the person I responded to before my comment has deleted his comment.

Yes!

You're a poet too!!! 🎉❤🎉❤

​@@acmhfmggru chill out

Are there any methods that control height to avoid these problems? Great video, subbed.

Thats got to be infuriating. To continue seeing a practice being done that is well known for harming the tree and putting peoples property and lives at risk. I swear no matter how often a lesson is taught people never learn!

We bought a house in a new development about 7 years ago, and the builders put a burr oak in most of the front yards. My neighbor has been top trimming his tree every year for the last 3-4 years, and our tree is now more than twice as tall as theirs. I just can't wrap my head around it.

Should we top fruit trees? I read that we should.

@@Jason-VoluntaryDe-Occultist I would look up each specific tree. Nothing worse than destroying a great source of food, especially now.

@@brazil7028 Thank you 👍

California has a lot of sunlight and a long growing season so trees behave differently in our state.

Fifty years and still climbing. Thanks

I do these videos for folks just like you. Never too old to learn!!

Hopefully it would be the city's insurance! They own the tree

Understanding trees begins with seeing clearly and knowing how the react to hard cuts.

I wish more tree workers were like you

One thing that you did not mention in your video that I think is important that when trees are topped or even cut back very hard the sprouts that originate from those cuts are not attached to the center of the trunk as are original branches making them very weak and more prone to snap off.

@@GregFreeman-jb8ww good catch Greg. Episodic sprouts or shoots are very different than wood from the structure that developed naturally.

I have 4 and a 1/2 acres of trees that I've grown from seed or very small seedlings over the last 47 years. It is interesting and educational to watch how the trees have responded to my pruning over this time period. Sometimes things that you thought were the best choices turn out not to be so 20 or 30 years down the road. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and try and do a better job as time goes forward. Some of these trees are now 60 to 70' tall, which is a big tree for the arid West where I live. They require constant irrigation. If you ever make a trip out to the West you would be welcome to stop by and see what I have done. Many trees that started out doing well after 20 or 30 years prove not to be good choices for this climate and soil. Many turn out to be better choices than I thought as time goes on ,such as some of the pines. Thank you for your work and your response to my replies.

You learn a lot when you dissect the wounds.

Yes any mushrooms on a tree are BAD NEWS. Especially around the base

@@themightycrixus1131 Erm, this very much depends on the tree.

@@paulie-g its a prime indication of root rot which means your tree is nothing but a liability. I spent 7 years working for an arborist

@@themightycrixus1131 I used to gather mushrooms. Tons of mushrooms grow naturally near trees. A group of mushroom species grow *on* wood, but only some of them grow on dead/rotting wood, while some require live wood. It depends on tree species and mushroom species.

Thanks

if you can, get an arborist out soon to tell you if the trees are this bad, because there are ways to stop it especially if you catch it early. good trimming can definitely thin out the trees so you can have more light. just make sure it’s a licensed arborist with a good reputation. lots of cities actually have them on staff or if not, may be able to point you to a good one for residential property. like the second tree in this video, with proper maintenance, you can save them.

POS MUTHA

why not just put some sort of wax or polymer glue on it yearly?

@@AlexanderBC42 I think I'd still have to cut it to check it wasn't rotting away beneath the surface. I guess it might mean I could cut a bit less off each time but I don't really want the tree getting any taller anyway

Next time you cut it, graft a healthy side-ways growing branch into the cut. Wrap it and seal it properly. Problem solved.

Understanding is key

@@arboristBlairGlenn Yes but I think love is there too.

Thank you Alex

It has been tried with some success

The typical customer won't know about the damage from topping. The typical arborist won't know how. The cost. You'd need to know about the grafting, know very advanced arborist, and have lots of money. Sadly.

oil based paint on the cut and move on.

Didn't they used to fill the cavity with concrete to support the tree and reduce future rot?

Or cut on a slope so rain doesn’t pool up

Did you learn something?

Welcome! Let’s see if I can reel you in with this one! Tree job from Hell kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nuCefrigqNnFhac.html

Your sentence structure is confusing. They were topped in the 70s and 80s due to rot? OR you removed them because of the rot? I think I can guess the right answer but your composition skills suck.

​@@bfboobie maybe you suck at reading, go play some minecraft

Thank you for your well composed reply. I’m guessing you are an Arborist in the U.K. ?

@@arboristBlairGlenn I'm an ecologist with a special interest in trees and woodlands. I don't climb, but I work with climbers as a groundie - run my own saws when I do.

@@anemone104 learn to climb👍🏻

@@arboristBlairGlenn Sixty next birthday, so getting a bit elderly to start that game now. Getting paid to do scuba dived marine biological surveys is strenuous enough for me! No issues with heights - have a shufti at this? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gtSIndWi1ZncZY0.html

So sad. Our island is becoming so overbuilt now.

Hope you find time to explore my past videos too.

A lot of tree workers don’t understand and many don’t care to learn.

How unprofessional and disgusting to say. Wow.

The innate weakness of the types of hollow trees that the South Island Short-tailed bat chooses as roosts has likely served to shape the unique Short-tailed Bat Batflies that are associated with their roosts- most Batflies are blood-feeding parasites but those associated with the Short-tailed bat have developed a colonial social structure with morphological division of labour, and having entirely lost their wings, becoming essentially blind and their vestigial wing muscles serve only to produce angry buzzing sounds when trampled by bats, the larger individuals serving as guards to guide bats away from the arrays of eggs on long stalks that lay dormant while the bats are torpid and hibernating while their parents die off. If the tree is damaged or falls, which it often does the bat colony will usually seek a new home, and since the Batflies have absolutely no means to find a new colony on their own their only option for transport is to perform phoresy and have gravid females grip onto the bats' fur at all times ready to move in when they're active in case they don't come back. Usually they live in very hot, humid conditions in bat guano which made it interesting for the researchers- they had to keep them in tupperware in their airing cupboard to keep them alive and I bet they smelled something fierce.

Great addition to this community of like minded tree lovers

Damn dude wet soil? You mean swamp land

I wish we would do more of what is good for the tree and care less about the needs of the customer. Most trees will out live us given we don't do something to change that. I always think of myself as the short term custodian of the trees in my yard. Obviously if they're dangerous you need to to do something but I never understand why people move to a wooded development and cut all the trees down, stay 3-5 years and move again.

Hard topping in the past was done to create long straight poles for building purposes. Sawmills were not a thing. Pit saws were slow. Interesting that the pollarding of trees started out as a purpose driven process and ended up with people thinking that is the right way to prune!

Thank you

I hope you find value in my efforts

Yelawolf supporter! 👀

Stupid comment

I think when it comes to trees more and more they're finding its best chance of recovery is no intervention. We used to apply tar to open wounds or other applications but it turns out they do more harm than good sadly.

@@robw1571 "Tar" sounds toxic? :x

Lime is best

It’s life has been shortened

That “model” is how the big companies keep profits high. Care about trees? Uhh

Stupid comment

He's definitely a tree bottom lol. Good comment, way to weed them out for us

If you like learning about trees, check out my channel

Learning KZfaq is a game

Stupid comment

Most folks hate the Liquidambar

It would be ok far from a house on a rural property. Suburbs though, ugh no thanks.

Thanks Spencer

Happy for your comment. You are now part of this community and adding insight to other questions can help others to better understand the mistakes. I believe that the ignorance of the bad practices comes from the owners of the tree companies not caring enough and not training.

Just checked it out as an audio book

Neglected trees are generally better off than abused trees! A bad haircut grows back but a bad tree cut his forever

Yep. Because the sealant will fail fairly quickly. All it takes is a pin prick for water to infiltrate and with the sealant over it it will trap in the moisture and accelerate the rot then if you didn't use it. Plus the sealants slow down the trees ability to grow over the wound.

Tree sealant, also known as wound dressing or pruning sealant, is a substance that is applied to the exposed surface of a tree wound intended to protect the tree from decay and infection. The idea is that by sealing the wound, moisture and other contaminants are kept out, which hopefully might help to prevent decay. However, research has shown that sealing wounds with tree sealant is not necessary, and in some cases, it can actually do more harm than good. For example, in certain species of trees, such as oaks and elms maples and birch, sealing a wound can trap moisture and create a favorable environment for decay-causing fungi. In general, the best approach to preventing decay in trees is to promote overall tree health through proper pruning, watering, and mulching practices, and to avoid damaging the tree in the first place. If a tree does sustain a wound, it is best to simply clean the wound and allow it to heal naturally, without the use of sealant.

A topped Euc can create fifty foot shoots that are difficult and dangerous to climb. I have refused some of these.

Can you provide reference to this paste? What kind of medical science are you referring to? Thanks in advance

No, tree sealants do not work.

Tree sealant, also known as wound dressing or pruning sealant, is a substance that is applied to the exposed surface of a tree wound intended to protect the tree from decay and infection. The idea is that by sealing the wound, moisture and other contaminants are kept out, which hopefully might help to prevent decay. However, research has shown that sealing wounds with tree sealant is not necessary, and in some cases, it can actually do more harm than good. For example, in certain species of trees, such as oaks and elms maples and birch, sealing a wound can trap moisture and create a favorable environment for decay-causing fungi. In general, the best approach to preventing decay in trees is to promote overall tree health through proper pruning, watering, and mulching practices, and to avoid damaging the tree in the first place. If a tree does sustain a wound, it is best to simply clean the wound and allow it to heal naturally, without the use of sealant.

She received all the options

Thanks

Education has become my give back to society. KZfaq has made understanding so much better

Very different dealing with small plants especially if intended for harvest. In trees, it is about long term effects from mistakes shortening the life of the tree.

Most people don’t like them because of the mess BUT, I know some amazing sweet gums!

@@arboristBlairGlenn It was a beautiful shade tree. BUT :>)

Thanks. Help spread the knowledge

The rains are indeed washing more gold into not our gold country creeks. My brother was an avid gold miner. You might enjoy this. He passed away a few years ago. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNhgqbCh1rmch4E.html

Yes, I had the same question. Nut trees too. We're planting pecan trees this year and they can get over 50 feet tall. I figured we would eventually top them, but now maybe I need to do more research.

@@kellyriddell5014 we’ve never cut our pecans, except some light thinning of lower branches. They do great as they are, and we usually just shake the limbs (or send a kid up to shake the limbs) and then collect the ripe pecans from the ground. It also depends on the type of pecan- if you got pure native pecans, then they’ll be taller. If you got some bred for nuts, then they’ll be shorter with a nice, friendly arbor.

For fruit trees, they come pre-cut from the nursery (or catalogue) when you buy them, so you have to trim them because they’ll sprout every year. Once something has been trimmed, you can’t get it back to its “natural” state (no crazy sprouting). For fruit trees, this is generally ok because 1) they’re short (comparatively) and 2) regular trimming produces more sprouts with buds, as he shows in the first part of the video. You want that branching for more fruit, and you can coax it into the best shape for your tree. We tried a few years of not trimming our pears and apples, but didn’t get good results.

@@maryl8614 Thank you for sharing that information! We have a mature mulberry tree already and we have a big hook tool to shake the limbs. Hopefully that will work for the pecans, too. They're young trees so I have years before I get to enjoy trying to harvest them but I'm brand new to nut trees so I'm trying to figure out the best way to care for them before I get to that point.

In the case of fruit and nut trees, you wouldn't be topping them like this when they're adult trees, but would rather trim them when they're younger to encourage horizontal branch growth - like another comment said, if you're getting them from a nursery they'll already have taken care of that

Thanks Ben

Wound dressing has been studied extensively by Dr Alex Shigo and his team of scientists and it is now understood that wound dressing does not stop decay or prevent insects. The angle is a theory that makes sense if the wound is in a location that allows it.

s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/wound-sealer.pdf

​@@arboristBlairGlenn ... Ok thanks. So what is your opinion then of wanting to cut a tree shorter so as to still keep part of the tree, but stop its potential from falling over & damaging a house because it is so tall & close? Should the owner just cut it entirely down altogether (ground level tree stump)? I am in that situation. We don't have tornadoes (random guess, but I would say maybe 1 tornado every 50+ years), but something else could make that tree fall over, who knows. Our handyman said years ago that cutting a tall tree at the top one third or one fourth can still keep that tree alive. Anything beyond one third will kill it.

@@robwebnoid5763 when people refer to a 25 or 30% reduction maximum, it means the buds/leaves. 30% of the height would likely be 60-100% of the canopy. when assessing the danger it is tempting just to assess the physics without the biology. the canopy maintains the health and strength of the structure so i see it as physics vs biology and a small reduction can be whats needed. I believe a 10% reduction has shown to increase the safety factor by 2.2 ... basically the staw that saves the camels back.

​@@arboristBlairGlenn From the document you linked: > Yikes! Think about this stuff - a petroleum-based product. Does this sound like a substance that would be beneficial to a living tissue? Would you use it to treat a cut on your own skin? If the idea repels you, carry that feeling over to plant health care. Many people do use petroleum jelly on skin wounds, and it's often recommended over medicated ointments because the antibiotics used (usually neomycin, bacitracin, and polymyxin B) tend to irritate the skin and delay healing. > For some inexplicable reason, some people are compelled to “manage” a process that plants have evolved over millions of years. Evolution is pretty good, but if I have a serious wound I want it to be managed by a medical professional. Unfortunately the treatments developed for certain species in the kingdom Animalia don't necessarily work on members of kingdom Plantae. It's worth studying how to prevent rotting when trees are exposed like this, and whether clean tools and hands are important to tree surgery. In the meantime it's probably best to just show people this video (and remind them of the other issues with tree topping).

I was aware of the weakness

Stupid comment

Thank you for telling this example

What does “top” mean to you? I don’t understand

Now if your objections be is to train the tree to keep it smaller, then the smaller wounds are going to be easier on the tree. The large wounds are the bigger problem.

But did you learn something?

@@arboristBlairGlenn Yes actually lol. My family is in agroforestry and I think it’s great that you’re contributing to literacy on how to live with the flora around us :)

Topping leads to decay especially in larger wounds. If you need to keep a tree small, start when it’s young making small cuts.

Thanks, I do! It’s called Arborist Blair Glenn😊

It's most likely hollow

As long as it is far enough away from your house

No on cement or foam. (See Shigo) Tree sealant, also known as wound dressing or pruning sealant, is a substance that is applied to the exposed surface of a tree wound intended to protect the tree from decay and infection. The idea is that by sealing the wound, moisture and other contaminants are kept out, which hopefully might help to prevent decay. However, research has shown that sealing wounds with tree sealant is not necessary, and in some cases, it can actually do more harm than good. For example, in certain species of trees, such as oaks and elms maples and birch, sealing a wound can trap moisture and create a favorable environment for decay-causing fungi. In general, the best approach to preventing decay in trees is to promote overall tree health through proper pruning, watering, and mulching practices, and to avoid damaging the tree in the first place. If a tree does sustain a wound, it is best to simply clean the wound and allow it to heal naturally, without the use of sealant.

@@viewer6152 Thanks! That's really interesting, I'd not heard about that before. Turns out they're planning on bringing it in to law soon where I'm at. I'm not keen to escalate with the neighbors over it though. They're not malicious, just a little easily gulled haha

Thanks Jay. Help spread the efucation

Tree sealant, also known as wound dressing or pruning sealant, is a substance that is applied to the exposed surface of a tree wound intended to protect the tree from decay and infection. The idea is that by sealing the wound, moisture and other contaminants are kept out, which hopefully might help to prevent decay. However, research has shown that sealing wounds with tree sealant is not necessary, and in some cases, it can actually do more harm than good. For example, in certain species of trees, such as oaks and elms maples and birch, sealing a wound can trap moisture and create a favorable environment for decay-causing fungi. In general, the best approach to preventing decay in trees is to promote overall tree health through proper pruning, watering, and mulching practices, and to avoid damaging the tree in the first place. If a tree does sustain a wound, it is best to simply clean the wound and allow it to heal naturally, without the use of sealant.

Painting wounds does not prevent decay

@@arboristBlairGlenn it gets the tree the time to redirect nutrients elsewhere and plug the cut fibers

Thanks

Thanks. Glass greenhouse? No problem😳

Tree sealant, also known as wound dressing or pruning sealant, is a substance that is applied to the exposed surface of a tree wound intended to protect the tree from decay and infection. The idea is that by sealing the wound, moisture and other contaminants are kept out, which hopefully might help to prevent decay. However, research has shown that sealing wounds with tree sealant is not necessary, and in some cases, it can actually do more harm than good. For example, in certain species of trees, such as oaks and elms maples and birch, sealing a wound can trap moisture and create a favorable environment for decay-causing fungi. In general, the best approach to preventing decay in trees is to promote overall tree health through proper pruning, watering, and mulching practices, and to avoid damaging the tree in the first place. If a tree does sustain a wound, it is best to simply clean the wound and allow it to heal naturally, without the use of sealant.

Clearly, they don’t understand.

A tube is just a hollow rod so the rod will be stronger. The UK has fairly mild weather and strong winds are rare so bear that in mind.

I have lots of videos in my collection here where I cut open old wounds. Can a hollow tree live on? In the woods, ok. In an urban setting, well-risky. Every tree decays and dies and turns into soil. Safety around living space is a reason to adjust your thinking. I clean up so many failed trees.

Tubes can be better at resisting falling over than solid poles as they retain a lot of strength but lower the weight. There is some thought that very old trees become more resistant to falling over by hollowing out. It really depends of the shape of the hollowing, whether it’s just the core getting eaten out very slowly or it looks like the growth layer is rotting and/or something is going to peal off. There’s also a difference between dropping branches and tree falling over. A hollow trunk may make a tree resistant to falling over but won’t stop it dropping a branch.

@@gulliverdalton8680 True. But if it was generally beneficial to trees, they would grow hollow.

@@chaos.corner many do, it just takes them a while to hollow out. The hollowing out would help more for taller species of trees and only when they reach a height were they reach the canopy. Bamboo although not a tree grows hollow and as it grows tall so quickly getting rid of the upper weight quickly is important for it. Your also assuming evolution always leads to the best design.

Topping trees shortens the lifespan of the tree

Thanks