Pruning My Linden Trees
Time for some high pruning and maintenance for the trees at my farm.
Recently, my longtime arborists at SavATree came with a crew to do some upkeep on various trees, including my allee of lindens down near my stable. Lindens, tilia, with their pyramidal shape and slow growth, are good specimens for the type of pruning called pleaching. Essentially an art form, pleaching involves intricately weaving together the branches of a row of trees. As the trees mature, they’re meticulously trimmed, creating a hedge effect above their clear trunks.
Here are some photos.
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- Danny Broglino is a longtime veteran of SavATree. He has a degree in forestry, and is also a certified arborist and pruning expert. He’s been caring for my trees since I took over the property. Here he is working on my allee of linden trees – always wearing proper safety gear such as eye protection and a non-conductive hard hat and gloves.
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- I use SavATree for tree care services at all my homes. When dealing with high tree trimming and other challenging jobs, I call my friend, Ralph Robbins, founder of SavATree. He and his team always do an excellent job. http://www.savatree.com/
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- Here are the lindens just before they were trimmed. It was a very cloudy day, but not too cold and not windy – just perfect for high tree maintenance.
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- This is the other side of the allee showing the trees “before” work had begun.
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- This photo was taken a few weeks ago. Linden trees are attractive trees that are easy to care for and ideal for urban landscapes because they tolerate a wide range of adverse conditions, including pollution.
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- And here is one taken a few months back when they were all leafed out. These handsome trees have a loose canopy that produces dappled shade on the ground below, allowing in just enough sunlight for shade grasses and flowers to grow beneath the trees.
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- Danny always starts by assessing the shapes of the trees to see where he has to cut.
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- It is easy to see where any branch was previously cut. Here are a couple of last year’s cuts.
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- The trees are wrapped in burlap to protect them from frost and any creatures that may like chewing on the bark. Lindens like full sun or partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. These trees prefer neutral to alkaline pH, but can tolerate slightly acidic soils as well.
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- High, overcrowded, or dead limbs are removed first. Danny gently cuts them from the bucket of the truck.
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- Danny also removes branches that appear weak or have a crotch angle of less than 30-degrees.
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- Pruning experts are never without their trusted pair of snips. Here, Danny stops to sharpen his secateurs. Dull tools are difficult to use and may damage the tree. A clean cut promotes quick healing of the wound and reduces stress on the tree.
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- Aside from using pruners, Danny also has a telescoping pole saw with several attachments, which can help trim hard to reach branches and those at least an inch-thick.
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- The best time to prune the American linden is while the tree is dormant during the coldest winter months. It’s best to complete all pruning before early spring when the buds begin to form. Dormancy pruning reduces the amount of stress placed on the tree. The reduced flow of fluids in the tree during the time helps the pruning wounds heal quicker.
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- Regular and thorough pruning will give the branches more air circulation and room to grow.
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- Here is a trimmed section – there is a lot of space and no inward branches that can block airflow and sunlight from reaching healthy leaves in the bottom of the tree.
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- As branches are removed, they’re gathered and placed into a tidy pile, so they can be taken to the wood chipper later.
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- This entire process takes a full day to do properly by hand, but it is all well worth the efforts to have well-manicured, healthy trees.
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- Here you can see Danny cutting twigs one by one and then holding a bunch in his hand before he drops them to the ground below. Another member of the crew rakes the twigs once they fall.
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- My Silver Pied peacock and my newest Bronze peacock are very curious and love to watch the activities around their pen.
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- Here is one of my India Blue peahens taking a look at the pruning process. All my peafowl are enclosed at this time, so we can put them in their coops easily when it gets too cold.
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- Here’s a view from up in the bucket – look how trim and beautiful it looks from this vantage point.
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- Danny is very familiar with all the trees at my farm and how I like them to look. These lindens look beautiful. Thank you, Danny. And thank you, SavATree.
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