Professional Services
Whether you’re looking for help with something minor or need an experienced professional to take on a larger scale project, we can handle it all. We offer top-notch work at fair and competitive prices. Contact us today for a quote.
Tree Pruning
A tree may need pruning for a variety of reasons:
· to remove diseased or storm-damaged branches
· to thin the crown to permit new growth and better air circulation
· to reduce the height of a tree
· to remove obstructing lower branches
Once the decision has been made to prune, your next decision is whether or not to tackle the job yourself. In the case of a large tree where you want to remove big branches in the upper area of the crown, it may be best to hire experts. Large tree pruning, in particular, can require climbing and heavy saws or even cherry-pickers and chain saws. This is a job that should be left to trained and experienced professionals. Never compromise personal safety in pruning a tree.
Tree Removal
Tree removal, or felling, is the process of cutting a tree at the base, and letting the whole tree fall to the ground. It is often the easiest and most inexpensive way to remove a tree.
Felling can also be the safest method of tree removal, yet there is potential for catastrophic damage if not done properly. How the felling notch is formed, manner in which the back cut is made, and methods for overcoming back and side lean are all major factors determining the success of a tree felling procedure. While this procedure might be the quickest way to get a tree on the ground, it often requires the greatest amount of clean up on site. The ground may be depressed and branches quite often are impaled straight into the ground.
The most frequently performed tree removal technique in our area involves an arborist removing all of the branches on a tree as he encounters them on the ascent up the trunk of a tree. When the arborist reaches the top of the tree, a felling cut is made and the upper portion of the trunk falls to the ground. The arborist then begins to cut and push sections of wood from the trunk, letting them free fall to the ground below. The arborist usually stops when the remaining trunk is short enough to be safely felled. This tree removal procedure is sometimes referred to as “cut and chuck.” While often quickly performed, there are limitations to this method due to safety and potential for damage to the ground below.
Spar pole rigging is different from the traditional tree removal technique, in that after the branches have been trimmed from the trunk, the top and subsequent pieces of wood are caught by a rigging rope and lowered to the ground by an arborist. Once the determination is made to rig pieces out of a tree, factors of safety become critical in this tree care operation. The weight of wood and the structural strength of the rigging point are two of the factors considered by the arborist team.
Whole Tree Rigging and Removal For zero impact tree removal, every part of the tree must be attached to a rope, and lowered from an overhead rigging point. A professional arborist will use many techniques, such as slide lining/speed lining, lifting and lowering, floating anchor points, balancing branches so they float horizontally, and a combination of any of these methods. A crane is often utilized to remove a tree when the tree is deemed unsafe for an arborist to climb it.
Stump Grinding
Stumps (both those on the ground and stumps of removed branches) are sometimes able to regenerate into new trees. Often, a deciduous tree that has been cut will re-sprout in multiple places around the edge of the stump or from the roots. Depending on whether the tree is being removed permanently or whether the forest is expected to recover, this can be either desirable or undesirable. Stump sprouts can grow very quickly and sometimes become viable trees themselves either for aesthetics or timber, due to the existing root structure; however, the cut portion of the trunk may weaken the sprouts and introduce disease into the newly forming tree(s).
Stump grinding lets you avoid having to dig – after cutting off all the parts of the tree that we can remove by conventional means, we then use a machine to grind and shred the stump into mulch and chips. Afterwards, the stump gets covered by soil or fertilizer, and that’s the last you will see of it. The chips that result from the grinding operation can be used as mulch or decoration for the rest of your yard.
Stump removal isn’t always the result of a planned tree-cutting operation – for example, when a tree falls on its own as a result of age or bad weather, all or part of the root system can get wrenched out of the ground, in which case it needs to be disposed of along with the rest of the tree. In such a situation, nature has already done much of the work; fallen tree removals involve some of the more straightforward stump removal jobs, as long as they are handled with care (cutting the tree trunk without securing the root system may cause the latter to suddenly tip back into the ground hole, complicating the removal or even causing harm to equipment or people).
For a safe and professional stump removal or stump grinding job, call us anytime!
Dead Wooding
Dead Wooding is where branches or limbs die off within a tree and can either break off or become vulnerable. These limbs can then fall over time or during periods of high winds and storms. If dead limbs are left, they will affect the overall health of the tree as rot can set in and spread to healthy areas. This can eventually lead to fungus issues and further damage, rendering the tree beyond help.
Dead wooding is mainly used for safety and for the continued health of a tree, though there are other benefits too. A lot of dead wood in a tree reduces it’s aesthetic appearance and this in turn reduces the amount of light that can pass through and makes the tree more susceptible to high winds.
If dead wooding is left unattended, it attracts pests and diseases. The removal of dead wood reduces the weight of a tree and so reduces the risk of limbs breaking off. Dead Wooding is often carried out hand in hand with Crown Thinning.
Holiday Light Installation
Besides tree work, True Blue will custom fit and install your lights for the holiday season. All the heavy work is done for you! From climbing ladders to wrapping your smaller trees. We also replace burnt out bulbs, set timers, and much more. All you will need to do is sit back and admire the end result!