I figured the chainsaw and a shovel would be enough. That tree fought back every step of the way. Root system was insane, wrapped around a buried sewer line I didn't even know was there. Had to stop and call a buddy with a mini excavator to finish it. Has anyone else had a job turn into an all-day thing because of hidden roots?
I noticed my neighbor's maple tree getting yellow leaves with black spots last summer, and I told him it looked like fungus. He said he watered every night at 10 PM because it's cooler. I explained that wet leaves overnight for 12 hours straight is like a spa day for fungal spores. Since he switched to morning watering, the tree looks way healthier. Has anyone else had luck convincing people to change their watering schedule?
I had a 24 inch mulberry stump in a client's backyard near Oak Park. Figured I'd have it out in 3 or 4 hours with the mini excavator. Took me two full days and a rented stump grinder to finally get the last of the taproot. Anyone else find mulberry roots go down way deeper than you expect?
I always thought digging out the root flare on mature trees was just extra work for no reason. But my mentor made me do it on a declining white oak in a parking lot here in Portland. The girdling roots were cutting off flow on three sides of the trunk. The tree put out new growth the next spring after we cleared it out. Has anyone else seen a big turnaround after doing this on older trees?
I was picking up some wedges and he saw my truck decals. We got to talking and he told me he used to charge double what I charge for dead oaks near houses. Said he learned the hard way after a job went sideways in the 90s. Made me think about whether I'm undervaluing the risk factor. My current rate is $400 for a medium hazardous removal but he was saying $800 minimum. Do you guys factor in worst case scenarios when pricing or just go by time and equipment?
Used to climb up and hand saw every dead branch on these ash trees in my backyard, took me a whole Saturday afternoon just to get three trees done. After the emerald ash borer hit hard here in Wisconsin last summer, I bought a 12-foot pole pruner and stripped all the deadwood in under an hour per tree. Anyone else find pole pruners change how you approach cleanup on those bigger dieback jobs?
I was waiting at a supply shop last Tuesday and this guy told his buddy that trees just grow fine on their own. He was serious too, said he had a 40 foot silver maple in his yard he hasn't touched in 10 years. I kept my mouth shut but I wanted to grab him by the shoulder and explain branch failure and decay pockets. Has anyone else run into a homeowner with some wild ideas about tree care that made you bite your tongue?
I was up at a job site in Eugene last week, grinding out a mess of stumps from a development clearing. Right next to them was a 200 year old oak that the client wants to keep. I had to decide whether to grind right up to the drip line or leave a buffer. My partner says grinding close damages feeder roots and stresses the tree over time, but the client wants every inch of stump gone for a patio slab. I kept it at 3 feet away from the oak and told them it's a risk either way. Anyone else run into this kind of conflict between what the client wants and what's best for surrounding trees? How do you handle it with homeowners who don't get the biology part?
I was up in a big oak at the fairgrounds back in 2017, doing a removal demo for a crowd. Had my rope set up like I always did, running through a single pulley. An old climber from Oregon walked up and asked why I wasn't using a redirect to take the pressure off the crotch. I figured them where he pointed, and the whole piece came down smooth without binding. Now I spend way more time on anchor placement before I even make the first cut. Anybody else had someone call out a basic habit mid climb?
I used to be one of those guys who thought leaving a big dead limb on a white oak was fine, let nature take its course and all that. But I had a client in Norfolk who wanted me to clean up this 50 year old oak in their front yard. I talked them into letting one big 6 inch limb stay for habitat value. 3 years later that limb rotted at the collar and dropped through their porch roof during a storm. Cost them way more than removal would have. Now I deadwood anything over 2 inches within reach of a structure. Anyone else had a specific failure change their policy on something?
After 8 years of climbing and rigging, I managed to drop a 60-foot oak between two sheds in a 6-foot gap and it landed exactly where I aimed, has anyone else had a close call that made you realize how much you've actually learned?
I was working a big commercial property in Roanoke and just kept GOING. Never tracked my daily numbers before, but that was a real eye opener. My hands are still sore, but it felt good to push past the usual 50 tree limit. Has anyone else hit a crazy number like that and felt surprised by what you can actually do?
Last month I was on a job in Madison with a 65 year old arborist named Hank. He told me I was over-cabling my red oaks and showed me his rig from a storm damaged tree 8 years ago. He said 'you're treating every crack like a broken bone, but some trees just need a brace, not a full cast.' That hit different because I realized I was wasting time and materials on stuff that didn't need it. Now I only cable when the union is less than 40% intact. Has anyone else had a mentor talk them out of a trade habit?
I was over on Maple Street in Richmond last spring removing a big red oak that had a lean I thought was manageable. Halfway through my top cut, the whole thing twisted unexpected and hung up on a smaller maple next to it. Took me 3 hours with a second climber and a winch to get it down safe without dropping it on the shed. Anybody else had a routine tree suddenly go sideways on them?
I was up in a big red oak on a tight residential street and tried to drop a limb without double-checking where he was standing, so it swung back and nearly took me off the tree, and now I always call out the drop zone before every single cut, anyone else gotten careless in tight spots?
I was pruning a big pin oak in Chesterfield last Tuesday and this retired arborist named Roy stopped to watch. He told me I was cutting branch collars too flush and showed me the exact angle he used for 40 years. I've been doing this for 5 years and never caught that detail. Anyone else have a random passerby drop knowledge that changed how you work?
Rented a Vermeer SC252 for a weekend job and the hydraulic system blew seals after about 3 hours of use. The rental place blamed me for improper operation, so now I'm out the rental fee plus a damage deposit. Has anyone else had luck fighting those kinds of charges?
I used to swear by free wood chips from the tree service crews. But after a job last spring near Portland where the chips were all fresh arborist waste with lots of pine and cedar, the soil stayed too wet and roots started rotting on a client's maples. The client's neighbor used shredded bark instead and that place didn't have any issues. Now I tell people to check what kind of wood is in the mix before piling it on. Anybody else run into trouble with specific chip sources?
The Corona blade bound up on wet maple after two cuts, but the Zubat just kept ripping through without stopping - has anyone else noticed the big difference in pull-cut speed between those two?
Read a study from the U of Minnesota that said over 80% of newly planted trees have root flares covered by soil or mulch. Have you guys been seeing this in your service calls too?
I ran a Husqvarna 550XP for about 2 years on removal jobs around Portland. Then I borrowed a Stihl MS 261 for a week and honestly it just felt smoother in the cut. The antivibe on the Stihl is way better for my wrists after a full day. But the Husky starts easier when it's cold out. I'm thinking about switching over, has anyone else made that swap and regretted it?
I've always been a climb-with-a-rope guy, thought ladders were just for roofers. But last month I had to prune a big oak in Portland where the first 20 feet was nothing but dead branches, no good tie-in point. Tried a 14-foot extension ladder to get to the first solid limb and honestly, it was faster and safer for that specific step. Now I keep both methods in my truck but I still feel weird admitting ladders have a place. Anyone else find themselves switching between climbing and ladder work depending on the tree?
I used to think you could always just dig out a stump by hand if you had a good shovel and a strong back. But last Tuesday in Bethesda I hit a black walnut that had roots wrapping around an old sewer line. My grinder kicked a rock through a basement window, and digging would have taken three days. So I rented a tracked stump grinder for $280 and finished the whole thing in four hours. I am now a believer in just hiring out the heavy jobs. Anyone else had a job where hand tools just were not going to cut it?
I used to spend half my energy just adjusting my hitch cord every time I moved, but a buddy at a climbing comp in Portland showed me his setup and now I can actually focus on the cut instead of fighting my friction hitch, anyone else make the switch and find it way easier on the shoulders?