Maintaining Large Sugar Maple Trees
Time for some high pruning and maintenance for the trees at my Bedford, New York farm.
Yesterday, my longtime arborists at SavATree came with a crew to do some upkeep on various trees including a grove of old sugar maples located outside my Summer House. These trees are original to the farm and provide dappled shade over a collection of tree peonies and azaleas. The arborists from SavATree are well-trained and use different climbing methods to reach some of the high dead branches that needed to be removed.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This day was perfect for some maintenance tree work – mild temperatures and very little wind. While my own outdoor grounds crew can tackle many of the smaller tree jobs, I occasionally call in a crew from SavATree to do the larger tasks, like cutting the dead wood out of these tall sugar maples.
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- This is a view of the maples from last fall. Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage.
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- SavATree has been caring for my trees since I purchased the property. The crews include well trained arborists with all the necessary equipment for safely and efficiently maintaining all kinds of trees. The safety belts with all the carabiners and ropes can easily weigh about 25-pounds.
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- Ricardo prepares his double line with what is called a “Blake Hitch Knot” which is a friction, or slide and grip hitch. It is often used by arborists for ascending and descending.
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- Ricardo uses a traditional method for climbing this tree. First he assesses his route and ensures his lines are all secure.
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- Ricardo starts carefully by finding a clear spot on the tree to ascend. The crew is very careful not to disturb any of the plantings below or the climbing hydrangea vines on the trunk of the tree.
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- Ricardo uses both legs of the line to climb up the side of the tree. He uses his body to bring himself up. This technique is one of the first climbers must learn, and one of the safest to use.
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- This technique is also one of the quickest and most effective ways of ascending a tree. It took only minutes for Ricardo to reach the necessary point.
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- He also uses two lines tied in two places in the tree. The climbing line is tied at the higher point, while the climber moves the lower tie to where he is on the tree.
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- Once Ricardo is at the right spot, he carefully cuts down the needed branch that is already tied to another line. When the branch is severed, it goes down slowly to the ground instead of dropping.
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- On another tree, Alejandro prepares himself for a single line rope wrench technique. Alex helps him at the base. This method incorporates a rope wrench with tether, foot locks, and a chest harness.
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- All the climbers are trained in tying a variety of safety arbor knots.
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- Alejandro uses his feet to grip the rope and advance up the climbing line. Climbers who use this technique must already be very experienced in using the traditional double line method.
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- Here, one can see how Alejandro climbs the rope using his arms to pull him up and his feet to grip the single line.
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- Once he is at the needed height, he positions himself at a sturdy crotch of the tree.
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- Then he secures himself with the proper arbor tie.
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- And cuts the dead wood.
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- The crew from SavATree also uses STIHL equipment. These arbor saws are lightweight and easy to transport when climbing.
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- The branches that are taken down are brought over to the SavATree chipper nearby.
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- After all the wood is chipped, it is dumped in my compost yard and used later for wood chip dressing.
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- The crew then carefully puts all their equipment – ropes, harnesses, and belts away, so they’re all ready for the next job.
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- Proper, regular pruning removes dead, diseased or damaged branches. Maintaining the tree’s structure also helps to enhance the tree’s natural shape, ensures enough sunlight, air, and moisture get through the branches, and mitigates the risk of broken limbs and falling branches. I look forward to seeing these beautiful mature trees with all their bold green foliage later this season.
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