PRUNING & REMOVALS

We specialize in high-risk technical removals, adhere to strict national standards regarding proper pruning techniques, and always prune with a clear objective in mind (i.e., reduce the potential for failure, provide clearance, maintain health, improve aesthetics, or a view, etc.).

What makes Snell Tree Experts the best choice for pruning and high-risk removals?

Safety: As a TCIA (Tree Care Industry Association) Accredited company, we hold ourselves to a higher standard of safety.

Training: *ISA Certified Arborist and CTSP (Certified Tree Safety Professional) credential holders on staff.

*Tim “Bo” Snell (#SO-2907A)

Experience: Snell Tree Experts has been operating in the Fuquay-Varina area for over 28 years.

Workers’ Comp & General Liability Insurance: Snell Tree Experts carries workers’ comp, liability, automotive, error and omissions, and umbrella insurance.

Specialized Equipment: Our knuckle-boom crane and bucket trucks allow for us to remove hazard trees in precarious locations and prevent damage to your property and home.

Pruning & Removals: Projects

TREE PRUNING WITH A PURPOSE

Tree Pruning with a Purpose

Pruning is an oft-needed maintenance treatment for good tree health and safety, but pruning without good reason is not good tree care practice. In fact, industry tree pruning standards (ANSI A300) say no more than 25 percent of a tree's foliage should be removed in a single growing season.

When determining how much pruning your tree can tolerate, a qualified arborist may consider if the tree:

is healthy
is still growing rapidly or has matured and slowed its growth
had its roots severed or damaged recently or in the past
suffers from disease
is a species tolerant of heavy pruning

A qualified arborist will work with you to set an objective for the pruning job. Pruning objectives usually include one or more of the following:

reduce risk of damage to people or property
manage tree health and direction of growth
provide clearance for vehicles or roadways
improve tree structure
increase or improve aesthetics
restore shape

(TCIA, 2017)

TOPPING IS FOR ICE CREAM, NOT TREES

Topping

Tree Topping Fiction vs. Fact

Definition: Tree Topping - the removal of main tree branches to stubs in either a straight-across hedge fashion or a complete delimbing of the tree, leaving only the main trunk or trunks of a tree.

Fiction: "Topping a tree is cheaper than having it pruned."

Fact: Initially, it might seem cheaper to cut the tree in half to get the result you are looking for. However, over time the tree will require more frequent maintenance and become a danger.

Drastic topping cuts create opportunities for epicormic shoots on the remaining trunk to grow quickly into large, poorly attached branches, if the tree doesn't just die outright. The potential for them to break off and cause a hazard to property or people is very high.

Fiction: "Topping is a time-tested way to prune a tree."

Fact: Topping is not the standard practice, and in fact is "outlawed" by national tree care standards.

Fiction: "The tree is too big and casts too much shade, and needs to be reduced by topping."

Fact: Proper selective pruning, NOT topping, can reduce the bulk of a tree, letting in more light and allowing wind to pass through the tree. Proper pruning does not stimulate regrowth, and the tree will not respond as drastically as when topped or over-thinned.