Poor Rodney Dangerfield. The late “I can’t get no respect” comedian apparently found he wasn’t popular close to home, either.
“I looked up my family tree,” he said, “and found out I was the sap.”
In the tree-trimming world, nobody cares if you’re the sap in your family: what makes you unpopular has a lot more to do with blunders that hurt, even kill, the trees that you’re supposed to nurture to health. Consider hiring a certified arborist, otherwise you might be dealing with tree-harming issues like this:
- Overdoing It: Too much of a good thing – whether watering or thinning – can quickly become a healthy tree’s downfall by opening the door to injuries, disease, and insects. Over-watering can weaken soil and inviting root problems and decay; over-thinning can take away a tree’s natural shade and let in too much sunlight, which can lead to splitting bark.
- Topping: Not many living things can thrive when they lose 50 (or more!) percent of their source of nourishment – in a tree’s case, its photosynthesizing crown. That’s just one of many reasons that topping (removing the top of a tree’s leader stem) is dangerous to both the tree and a trimmer’s reputation. Not to mention, 50% of the Earth’s land biology lives in the tops of trees! Meg Lowman, also known as “Canopy Meg,” from the California Academy of Sciences wrote a blog about this rather unknown study here.
- Damaging Bark or Soil: Carelessness isn’t smiled upon in almost any industry, and in tree-trimming, it’s no different. Parking your truck too close to the tree or using automated tools carelessly can cause a lot of damage, from compacted soil (that doesn’t allow water or air in) or injured bark.
- Stubbing Out: Stubbing out, or snipping the tips of a branch, is no good, either – it often results in a single branch being replaced by several more. When that happens all over the tree, you’re looking at excessive regrowth, which is neither attractive nor healthy.
Well, there you have it. Hopefully this article has saved you from being unpopular in the tree-trimming world!