A recent booking for tree surgery in Ickleford, Hertfordshire was to an Ash tree that was blocking light to a house and garden. The customer had concerns due to the size of the tree that it might be vulnerable in the wind. He loved the tree and thought that it had a fantastic shape which he didn’t want to lose
There was nothing to suggest that the tree posed an immediate hazard, but, it had become much larger than the surrounding trees and was becoming increasingly vulnerable to the wind
We agreed to thin the canopy by 20%. A crown thin involves the uniform removal of branches to reduce the density of the canopy. The size of the tree remains the same, but more light is allowed in. The wind also flows through more freely and weight is removed from the crown. This means that the tree is less likely to fail. The tree is now safer, the customer has more light and the tree looks very aesthetically pleasing
How often a client needs to repeat this maintenance work to the tree will depend on the species of tree and how it has been managed in the past. Trees that have previously been pruned too hard will produce far more internal growth and need thinning more often than a correctly thinned mature tree. Species also comes into play here and something like a Lime will need to be thinned more often
In the case of this Ash, it’s likely not to need to be revisited for 5-10 years. Having said this, regular inspections by a suitably qualified arborist may be prudent, as they may be able to spot issues and take care of them before they become a problem
The Blue Tree Company complete a lot of pruning to make trees appropriate for their location. These services including crown reductions, thinning and cutting away from buildings. We also recently completed a large volume of work at Ickleford Church because so many branches on the Cedar trees failed due to very dense snow
Much of Ickleford is in the Conservation Area. Notice of intended tree surgery in Ickleford works needs to be sent through to North Herts District Council; this is a 6 week process. We can handle all of the paperwork on our client’s behalf as part of the service
