In need of professional help

It’s been a tough few months to be a tree in the Hamptons.

We’ve had four storms with very strong winds, a very heavy snowfall and some downright frigid temperatures. Throw in some salt spray, several weeks of continuous freeze/thaw cycles and an economy that has everyone cutting back on preventative care and we’ve got a recipe for trouble.

I have to admit that I’ve avoided the pleas from our arborist to have some critical work done. But after touring the property with him in December, it was clear that many of our trees were in need.

The big question was what really needed to be done and what criteria would be used to prioritize that work? I could have easily generated $50,000 worth of work but I could hear my boss in the back of my mind muttering “Andrew, in this economy?”

So, I scaled back and the final bill was about half that. But the question remains, how did I decide what needed to be done and how can you make these decisions on your smaller properties? For my purposes, I divided the work into two categories—safety and aesthetics.

Observe and Report

My first priority is, and always has been, safety. Safety for the people to work and live on the property comes first, followed by the safety of the buildings and structures.

Most properties, other than those right near the ocean, generally have clearly defined open areas and wooded areas. In the wooded areas, I’m always looking up to see if there is anything in the treescape above that represents a hazard to anyone who might be working or walking below. I then look at the areas where the woods or larger trees and specimens are near or if they overhang structures.

Keep in mind that a structure is more than just a house. A large tree limb coming down into a swimming pool can cause quite a bit of damage. A large limb hitting a tennis court at the wrong angle can leave a good-sized crater. Branches from shade trees over a driveway or parking area can in a blink do thousands of dollars of damage to the parked vehicles below. And virtually all these scenarios are avoidable, save for the worst of storms or undetectable damage to the tree’s structure.

There are certain things to look for when you look up into your trees. There are obvious signs that work needs to be done, but the less obvious signals—such as internal rot and decay—are often noted only by the trained eye and sometimes not at all.

But look up, what do you see?

Are there branches that cross other branches and rub against each other? These areas can be sources of infection where the bark is continually worn off, creating areas of wear that weaken the structure of the limb, making it more vulnerable to wind and ice. In this case, you may notice that the branching and limb structure appears crowded, though an arborist is more likely to pick up on this item. Such crowding can result in an overabundance of foliage in certain areas.

When fully leafed out, a tree with an overly rich interior branching structure can result in wind resistance that can cause breaking and cracking of limbs while starving the lower areas from needed sun.

Do you see branches and limbs that are broken off and caught on other branches and limbs? These are called “hangers” and they can rest up in the wooded structure for months or years until they fall and damage other tree parts or something below.

Walk around the house and see if any limbs or branches are touching the gutters or sides of the house. If you can do this on a windy day you’ll get a much better perspective of what’s really going on.

Do you see splits in the limbs or trunk? Some trees are prone to vertical splits along the trunk due to environmental conditions. I’ve seen this quite often on cherry trees.

Get the Right Help

I don’t rely on just my observations. In this area, I’m simply an observant amateur so I rely on a professional arborist to follow up on my notes. I know his background and his training and I trust his judgment. But I also know that he works on commission and the more work he sells me the more he makes.

This scenario always makes for an interesting relationship and it’s why I usually recommend to homeowners that they always get a second opinion. Have a rough idea of what work needs to be done, then have one arborist look at your property and have him give you a proposal that’s based on at least two criteria. First, what must be done, and why. Second, what they would like to see done (this will be the more expensive proposition).

Have the second arborist do the same routine and give you the same two proposals. Next, sit down and try to compare and reconcile the two and see how they are similar and different. If your budget is tight, use the two to make up your own list and use that as the work you’ve decided to have done.

Now, how do you find this arborist? Well, there are lots of them out here and you need to find someone with whom you feel comfortable. There are large regional and national tree care companies as well as smaller local firms based on the East End that do great work.

Friends and neighbors will have suggestions but whoever you choose must have some minimum credentials. First, they need to be a certified arborist and they need to show you their certification. Second, they must be insured. This protects you and them. You will definitely want to see the certificate of insurance. Your uncertified and uninsured gardener who has a push mower and a chain saw is not an acceptable arborist.

Know Your Stuff

Remember that pruning is both an art and a science. Prune a “bleeder” like a dogwood, maple or birch in the spring and you’ll have all kinds of problems.

Pruning a “leader,” or growing tip, out of certain trees will change or distort the growth forever. On the other hand, a tree such as a red maple that comes right from the nursery may have multiple leaders, in which case pruning them back to one central leader can be advantageous.

The pruning and care of a mature tree is handled very differently from an adolescent tree. The younger trees—three inches in diameter and up—are generally pruned for developmental pruning to improve form, shape and structure. Older trees—24 inches in diameter and up—are pruned to retain structure and health as well as to remove disease and decay.

This being said, each species has its genetically programmed shape as well as mature size. And while artistic pursuits like pleaching (the art of training trees) and pollarding (a pruning system in which the tree is headed back) can change this, the tree’s genetic instructions will always try to win out.

Live and Learn

In early December, I found a large white pine that had a double trunk that divided about 15 feet above the ground into two trunks that then towered another 30 feet on each side. One of the wind storms had caused the crotch to split where the trunks divided and you could see straight through the split in the 2-foot trunk. The split ran for eight to 10 feet.

We were concerned that in another wind storm the tree would torque then split and fall into two parts. As this was a major landscape feature, we decided to have stainless steel rods threaded and bolted through the trunk to keep it intact. At $250 per rod, there was the gnawing question, “Will they save the tree?” We took an educated crapshoot, weighing the ornamental value of the tree and saving it versus its loss and irreplaceable value.

Save a Tree

Cabling is another method that’s used on mature trees where splits and cracks have occurred or are imminent. The cables, which are usually stainless steel, are bolted from the stronger parts of the tree to help support the weaker or damaged parts. Once the cables have been installed, they should be checked every few years to make sure they don’t fray or break.

Your arborist may also suggest procedures such as crown thinning, root pruning and vertical mulching—all of which are helpful for mature trees that have reached their prime. In the last few years, the common wisdom 
seems to have changed about where and how to give nutrients to larger trees, so ask about this and always insist on organics and mulches, not pure 
chemical fertilizer injections into the soil.

While you’re at it with the arborist, have the lightning protection checked in any trees around the house that have been given rod and cable protection. The cables break, the rods get dislodged and the cables can get encased in the bark, thus reducing their effectiveness in carrying the electrical charge down into the ground.

Our insurance company requires us to have trees of a certain height and a certain distance to the houses to have lightning protection and I can attest to the value in this practice.

Give your trees a hand, a trained and certified one. And keep growing.

Andrew Messinger has been a professional horticulturist for more than 30 years. He divides his time between homes and gardens in Southampton, Westchester and the Catskills. E-mail him at: Andrew@hamptongardener.com. The Hampton Gardener is a registered trademark.

To find a certified arborist and to get more information on tree care and tree pruning, visit the New York State Arborists web page at nysarborists.com.

The International Society of Arborists also has a site at treesaregood.com where you can locate certified arborists by zip code and location. In addition, at that site, you can check to see if the arborist you hire has a valid or up-to-date certification.