Dec 12
0

Winter tree pruning 101

By | Arborist Insights, Pruning | No Comments

Why are you pruning?

Before you start hacking your prized trees, ask yourself why you are pruning. Then, once you’re clear on your pruning goals, go for it. And always use sharp tools.

The winter is great for tree pruning because the trees are dormant and, with the leaves gone, we can nicely see the full tree crown.

Remember the 3-point cut

Just to review, all decent-sized branches should be pruned out using the three point cut. The first cut is an undercut; the second cut is a few inches above your first cut; this is where most of the wood will drop to the ground. The third cut completes the procedure without leaving a nasty stub that would die and potentially invite disease into the tree.

Why not just make one cut and save time? Because you risk damaging the bark as the branch shears off before you complete your cut.

1. undercut
2. second cut just a few inches over the first cut; get ready for the branch to drop!
3. final cut to clean things up; don’t leave stubs.

Branches to eliminate

Let’s take a look at some examples of branches I couldn’t tolerate and had to eliminate. When tools are available, I stop what I’m doing and take care of these offending branches right away. Otherwise, people forget and things get worse. Let’s not do that.

Broken branches are an obvious example and should be pruned out immediately. They look awful and there is always the possibility of diseases entering the tree.

I know, it’s not a huge branch but it looks awful. When I walk by and see this, I’m close to breaking out in a rash. I don’t tolerate broken branches on my trees and neither should you.

I used a pole pruner to remove this branch.

Take a minute to study this picture and find the offending branch. Found it? It’s the branch growing from the middle left down over the garage. Downward pointing branches affect the crown structure so remove them to get a nice looking tree.

This sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) branch had to go since I couldn’t properly access the cedar hedge (Thuja occidentalis) with my power shears. It also runs through the hedge which is a no no, plus it will shade out the hedge. Any branch touching a building gets insurance agents excited. Branches like this have to go.

Rubbing branches should also be removed. Here I removed the lower branch because it was growing at a huge angle.

Conclusion

This winter, check over your trees and see if they require any corrective pruning. Eliminate any broken, dead, rubbing, crossing or interfering branches with proper cuts. Unless your branches are very small, always use the three-point cut to prevent bark damage.

Make a few cuts every year for great looking, healthy trees. Call, if you need help!

Dec 08
0

Hydrangea massacre

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Slow down

Power shears have their place in landscape maintenance work, especially now in winter when we have miles of cedar hedges to shear. But in this blog I will build a case for slowing down and considering your targets.

Now, I know that home gardeners have tons of time for their gardens and some even prefer not to prune their Hydrangeas until spring. When frost hits the spent Hydrangea flowers the result can be stunning. Definitely worth a picture.

Things are different in commercial landscape maintenance where there is pressure to get lots done in a day. That’s why some landscapers aren’t shy about massacring their Hydrangeas with power shears. But are they really saving time? I think not.

Massacre post-mortem

Power shearing Hydrangeas shreds the woody tops, leaving them looking rough. And there are other problems. For example, the sheared bits are launched all over the place; and the beheaded flowers gets lodged inside the shrubs. The clean-ups are annoying and time-consuming.

Shredded bits get launched all around the shrub.

Now, consider hand pruning. Here you hold on to each cane before snipping at the correct height and just above a pair of buds. The snipped top stays in your hand so you eliminate time-consuming clean-ups. Simply put the eliminated cane top into your green waste bin or tarp and move on.

Power shearing isn’t targeted so it can damage existing buds or leave long stubs. This isn’t how we achieve a good-looking flowering shrub.

Power sheared Hydrangea. Note the flowers lodged inside the shrub.

Shredded plant tissues look awful

A major limitation

One major drawback of using power shears on Hydrangeas is that you can’t take out the biggest canes; or at least not easily. It’s always a good idea to take out 1-3 of the biggest canes every year. This keeps the shrub looking good with mostly younger straight canes. Power shearing can’t accomplish this step.

Every year eliminate 1-3 of the biggest canes.

Peace, not massacres

Power shearing Hydrangeas in a rush means you miss out on quiet gardening work. I love hand snipping because it’s quiet and allows me to touch the shrub. It’s almost peaceful and it doesn’t generate any air or noise pollution. Turn off your power shears and prune your Hydrangeas by hand.

Dec 05
0

ISA CEUs the easy way

By | Arborist Insights, Education | No Comments

30 in 3

For ISA certified arborists to re-certify, they must obtain thirty education credits in three years and pay a fee. This way the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) makes sure their arborists are continuously learning.

To get CEUs, arborists can take courses, attend conferences and purchase pricey materials from the ISA. But by far the easiest way to obtain CEUs is by reading Arborist News magazine articles and taking quizzes right after.

With the pandemic raging on, the ISA kindly made extra AN articles available for free to their members. Normally only 6 to 12 articles are available for free.

My stack of AN CEU articles

The articles can be read quickly and every quiz is made up of twenty questions. You must score 80% or better to get credit. I normally mark the answers on the printout and then take the quiz online.

When you log in to your account at ISA, the quiz is automatically graded and added to your account. Currently, I’m 12 credits short but my re-certification date isn’t until June, 2022, so there’s no rush. I just prefer to get the 30 credits quickly and I really like the magazine articles.

The more I read, the more I realize how much there is to learn in arboriculture. It’s exciting and humbling at the same time.

COVID-driven changes

Now that social distancing is a requirement, many events have moved online which is actually a bonus. For example, the annual ISA conference is normally a week-long event in some far away place like Florida. Somehow, I can never justify the cost since I don’t work with trees full-time.

But soon the 2020 conference will be online (December 7-11, 2020), with CEU lectures available on-demand! 25 CEUs on demand!

ISA Ontario also has a long list of websites offering webinars eligible for CEUs so learning doesn’t have to stop.

ISA certified arborist Vas in the field.

Conclusion

Technical knowledge is important and learning should never stop. That’s why the ISA demands that all arborists obtain thirty CEUs every three years. If you follow my example and use the AN CEU articles, you’re guaranteed to learn new stuff and have fun.

And if you’re not ISA certified, what are you waiting for?

And if you hire ISA certified arborists, you can be sure that they’re learning new stuff every year to serve you better.

Dec 02
0

What landscapers do in winter

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Winter work

Every year I get asked one question: what do you do in winter? And the answer is cedar shearing. Miles of cedar hedging. In all kinds of weather.

Classic winter shot.

Always start with sharp shears. I detest shearing with dull shears so much, I carry my own set with me every day. Using dull shears is extremely frustrating: it’s slow and the tops get all shredded. Sharp shears fly through the cedar and leave the top looking razor sharp. Trust me.

Bonus: Thuja plicata hedges give off an extremely pleasant odor when cut!

When you take lunch, bring your shears with you and put the cover back on. Keep it on when the shears are in the truck to eliminate accidental cuts.

Try to lubricate your shears after every use.

Keeping a full jerry can close by is also mandatory. Walking back to your truck to re-fuel is extremely inefficient. Bring your fuel with you and move it along.

If you’re lucky, your company uses Aspen fuel which is much cleaner than regular gas.

Morning coffee is optional, of course, but I like to warm up in the morning. Your water bottle, however, is a must. Keep it close by and re-hydrate as you prune. If you do it right, you will sweat and your cheeks will be rosy.

Procedure

Always prune bottom to top, not the other way. This way you minimize the chances of putting a hole in your hedge. And remember not to go too hard on the sides: the hedge should still be green when you’re done.

The tops should be pruned harder so we have a nice laser line on top.

The sides are still green and the top is sharp!

Before you start a new hedge, consider how much time you’ll need for pruning and clean-ups. Don’t rush this work. I prefer to start a new hedge fresh on a new day.

Great cedar pruning is an acquired skill over several seasons. Start on lower-profile hedges and watch more experienced landscapers. Eventually you’ll get to do high-profile hedging at entrances and club houses.

And the best news? There is no shortage of work! And that is great news during a nasty pandemic.

Nov 30
0

Obstruction pruning

By | landscape maintenance, Pruning | No Comments

Favor for friends

It’s always nice to get a call from your friends during a pandemic. It allows you to catch up and feel some sort of connection. It’s even nicer when you know your buddy has extra work for you.

Now, normally this would be a headache because my buddy, let’s call him Sam, lives deep in Vancouver. And driving for forty-five minutes to do a small job isn’t appealing. Sam knows this so he pays me well.

So, I solve his problem and I earn some extra money during a sketchy pandemic time. With COVID-19 raging on, it would be insane to turn down extra work on a Saturday. Take the work while you can because it’s not very clear what 2021 will bring.

The problem

Sam’s bamboo badly encroached into the sidewalk and it was only a matter of time before a neighborhood Karen complained about it. So I drove in on a sunny Saturday morning to take care of it.

Incidentally, I waited until ten o’clock to start. Municipalities have different by-laws but ten o’clock is a standard start time for Saturdays. Always be careful in mature, well-to-do neighborhoods.

The shearing and clean-up took me exactly fifteen minutes. I used sharp shears and the green waste filled up one tarp. Then there was some touch up work with my hand snips where the bamboo encroached onto the sidewalk.

I did my clean-up blow quickly with the smallest gas-powered backpack blower, designed for noise-sensitive environments. By ten thirty the street was full of landscapers with heavyweight Stihl blowers on their backs. Of course!

Later, Sam stopped by the house to check things out and we had enough time to catch up, with masks on. Then I casually confirmed that he would be taking care of my invoice.

Pro tip:

Do side-gigs on project basis, not by the hour. For this job I quoted a price based on pictures. The actual length of the job is my problem. Sell your service, not man-hours!

Much better.

Obstruction in the landscape is a problem that shouldn’t be ignored. Eliminate the obstruction as soon as you can.

Nov 28
0

When turf is the way to go

By | Lawn Care | No Comments

Tired of grass?

Sometimes switching from grass to turf makes sense, like in the following case. The owners had two small grass patches situated between the house and a cedar hedge so sunlight was an issue.

Since both lawns were installed inside wooden borders, drainage was also an issue. The lady described a muddy mess, made worse by her landscaper’s weekly visits.

When her grandkids came to visit they couldn’t really play on the grass; and picking up dog waste from the mud must have been horrific.

Dog owners hate to admit it, but dog urine kills grass. The cost of repairing the lawn all the time would send anyone to Google to find a permanent solution.

Plastic

Personally, I’m not a fan of plastic turf. It’s expensive, it heats up in summer, and it removes nature from cities. There is no life hiding in plastic turf.

But, in this case, plastic turf is the way to go. The owner was extremely proud of her new turf. She can easily pick up dog waste, hose off the turf and let her grandkids run on it. Kiss goodbye top-dressing and over-seeding.

She got all this for C$1,800.

The procedure

Do you ever wonder how turf is installed? I did.

  1. Remove the old grass and grade the soil. It sounds easy but the installers had to go up and down 15 stairs. Access can affect the quote.
  2. Install rock base. If I heard correctly, for this job they used 3/8 pressure fines. Again, it was a nightmare for the young dudes to negotiate stairs with heavy wheelbarrows.
  3. You have to compact the rock base with a machine. I was surprised how gentle the compactor looked. Make at least three passes over the area to properly compact the rock base.
  4. Install turf. There are many options and the owners here selected a “pet-friendly” model. Pins secure the carpet at the edges. Here the patches were quite small. For larger areas, the carpet pieces are zipped up together on the underside.
  5. Enjoy! Now you have your instant lawn to enjoy.
Compaction is a critical step!
The rock base is down.
All done!

Conclusion

I make a living with lawn care so I rarely recommend switching to plastic turf. There are many problems with it. But, in some cases, it makes a lot of sense to switch. Just be ready for a hefty bill.

Nov 27
0

When your first lawn cut is in October

By | gardening, Lawn Care | No Comments

Strange COVID times

Previously I have written blogs about my friend who hates gardening and pays me to knock down his lawns when his neighbors start whispering. Over the course of one season, I will visit his “meadows” five to six times. His house is every low-baller’s dream.

Now, let’s talk about my new client. To make the first lawn cut at a house in late October is unusual but we also live in unusual times. Thanks to the pandemic, the house owners are stuck in Taiwan; and their son worked, until recently, as a consultant in California.

Now back in town, the son wanted a little fall clean-up done. And I happily gave him one reasonable number for the work.

Fall clean-up

Lawns

Normally the consultant cuts his own grass but his mower wasn’t strong enough to cut through a frosty meadow. Grass this long has to be cut twice or knocked down with a line trimmer first.

My commercial Honda model made it in one pass, albeit slowly. The lawn is obviously in rough shape so I applied fall lawn fertilizer. Edging completes the work and this is where most homeowners fail. Many don’t even own commercial grade line trimmers.

A sharp blade edge on the street side gives the home a sharp look and, when done late in the fall, it should hold for months.

The first lawn cut of 2020 in late October.

Pruning

Next came pruning and a bit of finesse work. Daylilies and peonies are made for fall cutback when the show is long over. I took out my Felco snips and went to work.

Flush cut your perennials and let them pop up next year

Laurels, boxwoods and Spireae got clipped with power shears to control their growth and give them a more formal shape.

Shaggy shrubs
After power shearing

I used hand snips for Rhododendron and Pieris shrubs. Both were too big for the consultant’s liking.

Then came a quick scan through the cedar hedges for out-of-control morning glory (Convolvulaceae family).

The final step always involves clean-up and in this case, my weapon was a backpack blower.

Now that the consultant knows about my great, affordable service, I have a feeling we’ll do business together again in 2021. He knows I can help him and, considering the way the pandemic is dragging on, it will be nice to generate some extra income.

Nov 22
0

3 West Coast lawn issues

By | gardening, landscape maintenance, Lawn Care | No Comments

Season over

Now that the regular lawn care season is over, it’s a good time to recap some of the issues that came up in 2020. Let’s examine three issues: one is comical, one is frustrating for me and the last one isn’t going away anytime soon.

Bend over!

This issue came up in a Facebook group. The lawn care operator was asking for a good machine or technique to remove the shaggy bit of grass in the corner. The light wood is clear evidence that they’ve tried removing it with line edgers but the geometry didn’t work out.

Sometimes you just have to do it the low-tech way: bend over and rip it out.

Tree or lawn?

This looks just like another neglected tree well; it’s full of grass and lacks a sharp, ninety degree edge. But, it’s actually a misunderstanding between the unit owner and maintenance staff.

Landscapers are trained to keep tree wells weed-free and well-defined with sharp deep edges. The plastic guard on the tree is extra insurance against tree abuse from lawn care machines.

Unable to keep the tree well clean, it finally came to light that the owner had been over-seeding the tree well in order to eliminate the tree circle. He wanted a nice uniform lawn with the tree in the middle. Thus the plastic guard.

There is just one problem with the homeowner’s approach. Young trees often get outcompeted by turf. They struggle and often die because turf is an efficient competitor and lawn care machines are bound to take some liberties with the bark.

If you want to keep the tree, keep the tree well.

Chafers aren’t going away

When animals dig up your lawn in late October looking for European chafer beetle grubs, it can be a shocking site. The strata president tracked me down looking for help but by late October there isn’t much I can do. The grubs in the soil are juicy and, I presume, delicious.

I raked up the damaged turf chunks and peeled back whatever was still attached. Then I added soil and over-seeded it with good renovation seed mix.

The treatment window for chafers is in late summer after the females deposit their eggs in lawns, but there are now new treatments coming in. So, check with your local garden center. They will be happy to take your money.

Search for my European chafer beetle blogs on this website.

Female European chafer beetles. Only one is really dead!
Nov 21
0

5 lessons from 8-hour leaf pick-up

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8 hours!

Eight straight hours of leaf pick-up is nothing unusual for West Coast landscape professionals in mid-November. Some strata sites have many mature trees and they drop a lot of stuff. So, you can expect to have some fun.

Here are five lessons to take away from good West Coast leaf clean-up.

Lesson 1: Tools

Always start with proper tools. When I’m asked to help out on a site, I expect to use proper tools. The rakes should be in good shape. Don’t even ask me to use rakes with many missing tines. Use great tools!

Most companies have budget for new tools. Take advantage of it. It’s borderline insulting asking a certified professional to use sub-standard tools.

Are you kidding?

Lesson 2: No pyramids

If you expect to rock leaf clean-up, forget pyramids. This goes for blowing and raking. When you blow, don’t overdo it. Blow the leaves into a decent pile and move on.

When raking, the same rule applies. Bring your tarp close and rake the leaves into it. There is no sense creating a perfect pyramid. We need the leaves in a tarp and taken away. Nobody is scoring points for making nice looking pyramids.

With huge piles, put your tarp right into them and rake or kick the leaves in. Easy. And always rake with purpose. I expect to see rosy cheeks!

Lesson 3: Tarp slavery

Lugging heavy tarps on your shoulders should only be done if you’re close to your truck because it’s the least efficient method. You can avoid tarp slavery by using a wheelbarrow or bringing your truck closer.

Note that some workers will happily walk down the block with one tarp over their shoulder just have a little break. To rock fall leaf clean-up, you must break this habit. Send them away with a full wheelbarrow if there is no truck access.

Lesson 4: Look up!

Since you’re not responsible for removing one hundred percent of the leaves on every visit, relax and do your best. Before you start stressing, look up! Is the tree above done dropping leaves or not? If not, don’t stress about every leaf on the ground. Wait until all of the leaves are down before doing a thorough clean-up.

Lesson 5: Enjoy fall!

Enjoy the fall.

This should be easy but it’s not. I often see people standing under trees blasting away at their crowns with leaf blowers. Why the rush? Enjoy the fall and its many colors.

If you struggle with this, think of the miracle that occurs inside the leaves you detest so much. Photosynthesis is a miracle that keeps all people alive and it happens inside leaves. The leaves are actually beautiful mini-factories; and they entertain us with their colors.

Tilia cordata
Persian ironwood