Downlands Tree Surgery

Tree Management

People have a ‘Duty of Care’ (legal responsibility) to manage their trees in the interests of public safety and to prevent damage to another’s property or person.

Why manage trees?

• To promote longevity, e.g. restoration of veteran trees to invigorate growth or remedial action to help prevent future problems.
• Removal of hazards, e.g. wind damaged limbs, dangerous deadwood or weight reduction of heavy limbs.
• To improve shape and form, e.g. balancing a trees crown that has become asymmetrical through irregular growth or damage.
• Crown reduction, e.g. to reduce the height of a tree if it is outgrowing its situation or to help prevent stem or root plate failure in adverse weather.
• Crown lifting, e.g. the removal of lower branches to raise the trees canopy. This can remove hazards from pedestrians or vehicles on roadside trees. Crown lifting also will allow more light beneath the tree and into the property.
• Pollarding or coppicing, e.g. this helps to increase the longevity of trees that have traditionally been managed in this way.
• Felling, e.g. removal of a dead dying or dangerous tree or a tree that has out grown its’ current situation.

There are a few techniques of yesteryear that we do not promote such as lopping and topping. These are uneducated and out of date practises that often cause more problems than they solve both to the tree and peoples health and safety. Knowledge of tree biology and how a tree responds to pruning is essential to good tree management.