DIY Tree Work: Should You Really Do It Yourself?

Landscaping and construction projects can easily break tree branches, injure tree trunks, and damage roots, leaving trees stressed, susceptible to insect and disease problems, or no longer stable after the work has been completed. Preventing these problems is always better than trying to fix them after the fact! So, if you have a construction or landscaping project planned, take some time to plan for the safety of your valuable trees before construction starts. This will help ensure your trees, and the surrounding landscape, continue to flourish. Conduct a Thorough Evaluation Before Work Begins The first thing you can do is document your site as it is by taking photographs. Document your trees’ condition and appearance before construction starts so, if any damage occurs, you have a way to measure it. Identify or number each tree and note its location on a drawing of your property (a hand-drawn sketch is fine). Then photograph the following: its surroundings, its root flare at ground level, its dripline, and its trunk and branch structure. Be sure to also photograph any existing damage or disease. Consider a Tree Valuation If you have valuable or heritage trees, or just vigorous, mature trees, a tree valuation inspection before construction may be a good idea. This is a process by which the monetary value of a tree is calculated, and its replacement cost set. If an accident occurs and you lose a tree, you’ll have a system for remediation or replacement. The needs of new landscaping and construction and the renovation of built-up sites are at odds with the needs of existing trees right from the start. Making a plan for your trees before, during, and after site construction is the best way to ensure their safety and health. Common Types of Tree Damage From Construction Like icebergs, there’s a lot more to trees than what you see above ground. A tree’s extensive underground root system is how it gets water, oxygen, and vital nutrients from the soil. Roots are also the anchoring system that keeps a tree securely rooted and able to withstand high winds and storms. All parts of a tree, both above and below ground, are at risk for damage from construction. Each phase of your construction project should have a plan that takes the protection of your trees into account. Damage To Tree Roots A tree’s roots are its lifeline and they are particularly susceptible to damage in project sites. A tree’s feeder roots take up food and water for the whole tree, and a tree’s anchoring roots keep it stable and safe in the ground. During construction, it’s important to protect those roots. Since a tree’s root system extends far beyond its trunk, this can be a large area to monitor and protect. The construction activities that most commonly damage tree roots include: Trenching for utility or irrigation lines, which cuts all roots that cross the path of the trench. Re-grading existing soil for drainage or new paving usually exposes root systems or severs roots, both which can be deadly to a tree Excavating soil around tree roots for new footings, foundations, or for a garden pond Soil tilling around tree roots to create new planting beds or for installing new sod What To Do Before construction, prepare a plan drawing that shows both existing trees and any proposed excavation, trenching, and re-grading. This can be used to decide where to install protection methods and to ensure you’re protecting a large enough area around each tree. Damage To Tree Branches And Trunks Construction sites are generally busy places, which increases the chance that a truck, excavator, cherry picker, or other heavy equipment may collide with an existing tree. In a match-up between tree and machinery, the tree always loses, resulting in damage to the tree’s trunk or branches either at ground level or in a tree’s crown. Tears and gouges to a tree’s bark are serious wounds as these expose the vulnerable interior of a tree to pests and diseases. These wounds require a lot of internal sealing off of the damaged area by the tree. Broken or ripped off tree branches can also cause serious damage and will require corrective pruning. What To Do Before construction, prune back or remove any low-hanging or wide-spreading branches that may interfere with construction. It’s better to cleanly remove a branch before damage occurs than to repair damage to a broken branch. Have tree protection installed around the trunk of all trees that are in or around a construction area. This visible tree protection lets crews know to stay away. Soil Compaction Because it’s invisible, soil compaction is often overlooked as a factor in tree damage, but it should definitely be addressed. Heavy vehicles and staging areas for materials can quickly compact soil, with wet or saturated soils compounding the problem. Compaction compresses soil particles together and prevents roots from growing, reduces oxygen levels in soil, and prevents water from penetrating the soil’s surface. For an established tree, these changes can be fatal. What To Do Before construction, lay out vehicular routes and staging areas, and make sure that their perimeters are flagged. Then add six inches layer of organic mulch or straw over these routes and top the mulch with strong plywood sheets or steel road plates. The cushioning layer of mulch will protect the soil surface and the rigid coverings will spread the weight of vehicles and materials over a larger area of soil, lessening the effects of compaction. Any additional protection, such as fencing and enclosures around trees should be installed at this time. Backhoe moving dirt and stones on a lawn, with a house and trees in the background Changes to the soil levels during landscaping or construction projects can impact your trees Changes To Soil Levels The top one foot of soil contains the majority of a tree’s roots and most of the water, air, and nutrients that your tree needs. Adding soil over the existing soil surface smothers roots by depriving them of oxygen, and changes how water moves through soil. Scraping off soil removes and exposes those same tree roots, and exposure to air will kill them. What To Do If your construction project involves re-grading your site for footings, foundations, driveways, or paving, be sure your existing trees are taken into account. Bring up any concerns about existing trees with your designer or contractor when your construction project is being designed. This will help ensure your designer includes tree protection as part of the site design’s constraints. Before construction, verify that your plans accommodate tree roots as much as possible. Even slight changes to the existing grade, either by adding soil or removing it, can damage your trees. If soil excavation is required, make sure any newly exposed soil is immediately covered by a tarp and kept moist. Tree leaves with sun shining behind Changes in the amount of sunlight a plant or tree receives can lead to issues Changes To Sun And Shade Levels You may not be able to prevent the construction or demolition of structures that determine the amount of sunlight that reaches your trees. In this case, the best thing you can do is help your trees to remain healthy; this will give them a better chance of successfully adjusting to their changed conditions. What To Do Before construction begins, ensure there’s plenty of tree protection installed around the affected trees. In addition to physical barriers, adding a layer of wood mulch over the trees’ drip line will help keep the soil temperature constant and reduce water evaporation. In hot weather, maintain an irrigation system for the trees to prevent heat and water stress. Do not prune the trees unless absolutely required for safety, and avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer that will stimulate leaf growth when trees are stressed. What To Do During The Construction Project During construction, it’s important to regularly inspect the site and make sure all your tree protection has been implemented and is being maintained and respected. All subcontractors should be familiar with your tree protection methods, and the general contractor should organize all project tasks to avoid damage to existing trees. Here’s what to look for and do during landscaping and construction projects: Check that tree protection is in place – Ensure all tree protection enclosures are stable and protect as large an area of a tree’s root system as possible. A tree’s drip line is a typical perimeter, but in this case more is better. If stakes, fencing, flags, or signs have been removed, relocated, or damaged, ask that they be repaired Remove debris – Debris should be regularly hauled away, and not left on site where it will take up valuable space. No debris should be piled around existing trees or “temporarily” stored. Minimize on-site storage – Material storage and staging areas should be cleared after each phase or subcontractor’s work is done, to lessen soil compaction and to keep space clear. Inspect any materials that might spill, dissolve, or leach into soil and damage trees to make sure they’re properly stored. Keep an eye on your trees – Verify that any work near existing trees is being performed correctly, that tree-friendly tools such as air spades are used whenever possible, and that any trenching or excavation work that requires inspection and approval has its soil volume replaced as soon as the work is approved. Communicate clearly – Reiterate to any uninformed crew members the importance of protecting trees. Document any tree damage – Document any damage to trees as you find it, and make sure your contractor is aware. Any corrective tree work should be done as soon as possible, and any damaged tree should be fully evaluated. What to Do When the Project is Completed When all construction is finished, walk through the site and document any changes or damage caused by construction. Comparing finished conditions to the “before” photographs will verify what’s new and what was existing. Here are some specific things to check: Check that all debris and construction materials have been removed, and that debris such as concrete has not been left in the soil where it can change soil pH. Check all new irrigation or water pipes to make sure they’re working as designed, and that there are no leaks that can saturate the soil around trees. Check around the trunk flare at the base of your trees to make sure that no “extra” soil from excavation has been spread over the existing soil. If so, ask to have it immediately removed to prevent root damage. Trunk flare on a tree before construction begins Check your tree trunk and roots to make sure extra dirt hasn’t piled up during construction – you should be able to see the trunk flare What to Follow Up on After a Construction Project You should monitor the health and vigor of your trees after construction is complete to ensure their seasonal growth patterns are continuing as usual and that they don’t exhibit symptoms of stress. If you notice any signs of decline, call your tree care professional right away to evaluate the tree. Your trees will also benefit from some additional care in the year after construction: Make sure existing trees have the same level of irrigation as they did pre-construction Keep mulch replenished around the base of your trees Apply compost to your soil for slow-release, long-term nutrients for your trees And monitor any tree damage so that if problems develop you can treat them right away. These include: areas where tree bark was gouged or removed, any pruning cuts that were made accommodate construction, and the overall appearance of trees where their roots may have been damaged. Some trees enter a period of slow decline after being damaged and don’t regain their previous vigor. However, with proper care, many trees will slowly recover and continue to grow for years to come. Ideally, both you and your trees will survive the disruption that construction projects cause and come out of the experience with a healthy, structurally sound, and beautiful landscape.

When considering tree care services, many people look at price as the primary consideration. There’s an assumption that choosing a less expensive company or service option will give you a “better deal.” But the fact is that when it comes to providing tree care services, you usually “get what you pay for”. Lower cost often equals lower quality, with worse outcomes for your trees and, in the long run, higher ongoing costs for you. In this article, we look at how low-quality tree care can affect your trees, your safety, and your wallet. If you’ve ever heard some say any of the following, you’ve heard one of the many justifications for hiring the lowest-cost tree service provider. “It’s just a tree …” “It costs too much to do …” “The tree will recover …” “Trees in nature don’t need pruning …” What these statements miss is that trees are an investment that keeps appreciating over time. Not only does a well-maintained tree increase the value of your property, but it can also lower heating bills, protect you from storms, clear the air you breathe, and reduce stress levels. We think those are all things that make getting the best tree care services a worthwhile investment. Common Examples of Poor Tree Care Practices There are some tree care practices that are, unfortunately, still used today although they’ve long been discredited by tree care experts. Below are some of the problems we’re often called in to fix after the initial work is done. Tree Topping We often see trees that have been topped in an effort to make them smaller. No reputable tree care professional will top a tree; we know that it causes irreparable harm to the tree and will eventually kill it. But uneducated and inexperienced “tree guys” still offer this service. Improper Pruning There’s so much more to proper tree pruning than simply sawing off limbs! At the most basic level, pruning involves removing damaged, dead, or structurally weak limbs to improve tree health and minimize damage caused by falling limbs. More advanced pruning methods involve improving the tree’s structure and long-term health. All pruning work should follow the National Standard for tree pruning. This standard recommends, and in some cases requires, the use of specific tools, cutting techniques, and pruning methods to help keep trees healthy and safe. Professional tree care crews will follow the proper standards; others won’t. And the difference is highly visible. For example, poor pruning includes: Lion tailing Stub cuts Flush cuts Heading back large branches Torn bark Pruning too much off Pruning at the wrong time Painting over pruning cuts And much more! Aside from the aesthetic issue (poorly pruned trees don’t look good!), a bad pruning job can compromise the health and longevity of the tree. Here are some of the usual outcomes of poor pruning: Each pruning cut causes a wound that opens the tree up to fungal and bacterial infection, as well as attacks from insect pests. The bigger the wound, the bigger the risk – especially when pruning is done during the growing season. The stressed tree responds by putting out watersprouts and suckers. These thin, upright stems are weakly attached (so they’re likely to break off in windy conditions), grow in unattractive clumps, and look nothing like the rest of the tree. They’ll need to be cut out every year to prevent the tree from becoming overgrown (and dangerous), costing you far more money in the long run than what a proper pruning job would’ve cost. Cut branches can’t be stuck back on and they don’t grow back. Pruning too much, or pruning the wrong branches, can permanently disfigure the tree – and even make it so unbalanced that it becomes a safety hazard. Parts of the tree that are damaged by improper pruning cuts die back, leaving stubs and dead branches throughout the canopy. Painting Over Pruning Cuts We still see trees with bright white “tree paint” covering pruning cuts. Or, sometimes, cuts are coated with a tar-like material. The reality is that painting pruning cuts doesn’t help anything except the company’s profits. In fact, it creates a nice, moist space for fungi and bacteria to destroy the underlying wood; we’ve often peeled away tree paint only to find a totally rotted area beneath it. The one exception is branches pruned during the growing season in areas where oak wilt is prevalent. Oak wilt is heading our way but hasn’t yet been found in our area – and the better solution is to avoid pruning oaks until they’re dormant. Filling Hollow Trees Yes, people used to fill hollow trees, usually with cement. And yes, people still do this today. Cavity filling (filling hollow trees) was practiced by arborists for many years but isn’t done any more by professionals in the tree care industry. Recent research has shown that cavity filling isn’t helpful. In fact, we now know that filling a hollow tree or a cavity in a tree with cement can damage the tree. The cement inside the tree is solid – it doesn’t move or bend. However, the tree moves constantly, rubbing against the filling and causing ongoing internal damage to the tree. This creates a perfect environment for the wood decay fungi that created the hollow in the first place to invade the remaining healthy tissue of the tree. Instead of saving the tree, the end result is a declining tree that’s more expensive to remove because of the cement inside it. There’s no reason to fill a cavity other than for aesthetic reasons; it doesn’t improve the tree’s health and doesn’t offer extra support. If a hollow tree needs structural support, a tree care professional will recommend cabling, bracing, propping, tree guying, or removing the tree – not cavity filling. Piling Mulch Around Trees Extension educators, arborists, and horticulturists have warned about the dangers of “mulch volcanoes” for decades. We know that mulch piled around the base of a tree is extremely harmful and, in many cases, lethal to the tree. The piled-up mulch creates a warm, wet environment against the tree’s trunk and root flare. It’s the perfect environment for fungal pathogens, which quickly start to rot the base of your tree. After a few years, the tree is usually beyond salvage and you’ll be faced with an expensive tree removal job. Yet in neighborhood after neighborhood, we consistently see tall piles of bright reddish mulch carefully placed around trees in a deadly, decay-inducing ring. Any tree care professional who understands what mulch is and how to use it would never suggest or create a mulch volcano around your trees. Just because the neighbor’s landscaper or “tree guy” does it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do! Using Climbing Spikes When Pruning Trees Climbing spikes are sharp steel spikes attached to a tree climber’s leg by leather straps and padded supports. They make it easier to climb a tree, especially for inexperienced climbers. A tree worker should only use spikes to climb trees that are being removed. When these spikes are used on living trees, it traumatizes the tree and creates unnecessary damage. Each puncture from a climbing spike kills tree tissue (though this varies from tree to tree). In most cases, isolated wounds caused by spikes will seal. However, over time, groupings of spike holes can cause the entire area on the trunk to die back with no chance of recovery. This happens when a tree is repeatedly pruned by someone using spikes. Professional tree care companies understand the dangers of spikes and only use them for tree removal (or in a few specific situations where there’s no reasonable alternative). Instead, they use the proper tree equipment to ascend the tree, such as ropes and climbing harnesses. This, coupled with their training and experience, contributes to the future health of the tree. Other “Red Flags” Indicating Poor Tree Care Low-Priced Tree Removal There’s a vast difference between what you get on a lowball quote for tree removal versus a reasonable quote. We get it – no one likes to pay to have a tree cut down. And many people think they can do it themself. But when you’ve seen as many disastrous DIY or low-cost tree removal failures as we have, you realize that it’s not worth risking your house, car, or even your life by choosing the cheapest option. When you get a tree removal quote, what you don’t see is: all of the hours of skills and safety training the crew members go through regularly, years of on-the-job experience with all kinds of trees in all kinds of situations, the well-maintained equipment that’s used to take down a tree (cranes and bucket trucks aren’t cheap!), insurance premiums that protect not just the workers but the clients as well (tree work is one of the most dangerous professions on earth and insurance premiums reflect that), licenses and business registration fees, and more. It’s all of those things that make the difference between a job well done and a tree that lands on your house (yes, we’ve had to lift trees off houses after a DIY or poor tree removal gone wrong). Not using PPE Personal protective equipment (or PPE) is a phrase many people are familiar with in the COVID era. But it also applies to tree workers. Proper PPE is essential for ensuring the safety of anyone working in and around trees, particularly if heavy equipment or cutting tools are used. At a minimum, tree care workers should wear: a hard hat, safety glasses or face screen, ear protection when working around loud equipment, and chaps (when using a chainsaw). Quite aside from the potential insurance costs associated with a serious injury on your property, watching an injury occur (or seeing the aftermath of an injury) can be devastating. You don’t want to see someone lose a leg – or worse. Opt for Better Tree Care While poor tree care practices may cost you less in the short term, they’re considered to be poor practices because they harm the tree – and cost you more in the long term. If you want your trees to remain healthy, safe, and attractive for the long term, only hire experienced, knowledgeable tree care professionals who will do the job right. Yes, it may cost you a little more up front, but it’s well worth it!