How to know tree is dead. With the amount of people and property in the urban environment, it's often not safe to neglect a tree's health. In a town or city, the likelihood of a tree or a part of tree hitting someone or something if it fell can be quite high. This will make tree management necessary. This following Blog post was inspired by an article in the Daily Herald entitled “Old trees will tell you when their time is up”. The article interviewed several Arborists based in the Eastern States of the USA. They talk in reference to some prominent old trees in their area including some that are at the White House and Arlington National Cemetery. From the article: “The decision to take down or at least dismember an old tree is neither easy nor always objective. However professional … [Read more...]

Growing your own fruit at home can be a very rewarding experience. In the age of farm to plate eating, you cannot get much fresher than tree to mouth in seconds. Growing productive fruit trees can seem like a daunting process but it need not be. Learning a few basic principles can really help you get the best out of your orchard. This Blog post will discuss what time of year is best to prune your fruit trees to ensure you have a healthy crop of fruit for years to come. This seems logical as the trees are in a dormant period and so pruning will not disturb their other processes. Winter pruning is suitable for some trees at some stages of their lives; however, it is not true for most fruit trees. This can be undesirable in most cases as much of the tree’s stored energy is put into … [Read more...]

If you are a fan of Avocados, it can be a very satisfying experience to eat fruit grown from your own tree. Besides from knowing exactly where your food is coming from you can also save some money in the long term. Given the right conditions, Avocados can be relatively easy to grow. This Blog post will discuss how to get an Avocado tree started at your home and how to maintain it as it grows. Avocados are native to the rain-forests of South America. As such they like free draining, fertile soil and lots of sunshine. They do not like wind and will not tolerate frost or having roots in waterlogged ground. Lack of sun and cold temperatures can be hard problems to deal with and may determine if it is possible to grow Avocados at your site. The wind protection and soil conditions can be … [Read more...]

Read our where to plant trees Blog post. There is a saying that goes “there is a tree for every garden..." basically meaning no matter the size of your space, the aspect of your garden or the soil it has, there will be a tree that is suitable. If this saying is true, it means there are far more trees that are not suitable for your garden. Often as Arborists, the reason we are removing a tree is because it is no longer appropriate for the space it is growing in. This can be a real shame when you are stood looking at beautiful specimen of a tree that has outgrown its environment. Overgrown trees can create a nuisance or pose a threat to the local inhabitants. This blog will discuss ways to avoid this situation by choosing a tree that is suitable for your site. Accurate assessment of … [Read more...]

Just because you own a tree does not necessarily mean you have the legal right to prune or remove it. Trees in Auckland can be protected in several ways. This Blog post will help you determine if your tree is protected. Here we explain the process for working on protected trees. Your trees may be protected in the following ways: It is a notable tree or tree in a Significant Ecological Area (SEA). Tree protected by a condition on a past resource consent. Tree protected by a covenant or a consent notice on a Certificate of Title. Tree or vegetation near a body of water. Trees or vegetation (non-pest species) are likely to be protected if: on or near (within 20 metres) steep coastal cliffs. if the cliff is within 150 metres of the high tide mark, on or near (within 20 … [Read more...]

Arboricultural terminology - How to understand by the tree experts. Sometimes a single word or a phrase can be very useful in describing something complicated. Arboriculture (tree work) is full of these phrases. When we are out on a tree site, we do our best to describe our intentions in simple language that can be easily understood by our clients. However, we are not perfect and sometimes technical terms can slip out. Or words fail us, and we instantly result to the one word or phrase that we know explains what we mean. As a client, having knowledge of Arboricultural terminology can be very useful. It will help you achieve the exact result you want for your trees. This Blog post is designed to shed some light on some of the common arboricultural terms. Arboricultural terms that you … [Read more...]

Smart tree attachments - How to carry out tree attachments the right way. I must make a confession about the motivation for this Blog post. In part we help tree owners and the trees in situations where items need to be attached to trees. However, another factor is so that as an Arborist I no longer must deal with situations where less than ideal methods have been used for decorating trees. There is a quite unique emotion that all Arborists share when you hear a “tink” noise as you are cutting through a piece of wood and you know instantly that you have just hit metal. The time it takes to recover from the situation is directly proportional to the amount of time it will now take you to re-sharpen your chainsaw. This Blog post is to help this situation be a thing of the past. In my … [Read more...]

Read about if lichen harm trees. The title of this blog has come about as a result of a similar question that has been asked by our customers on a number of occasions. Trees in most property owner's gardens will have a good covering of moss and lichen. Many concerns are raised as to whether this is hurting the tree and what if anything can be done about it. This Blog post will aim to shed a bit of light on the situation and answer some of those questions. So, what is moss and lichen? And does moss and lichen harm trees? In basic terms they are green growths that may appear to be infesting the trunk and branches of your trees. Another similar looking culprit can be algae. In reality they are all quite different. They are sometimes confused or mis-identified as fungi (see our fungi blog) … [Read more...]

How to stop tree leaves falling. This Blog post is written in response to a common request for tree work that we get from clients. Often the reason a client has contacted us is because they are overwhelmed with the amount of leaf fall on their property. So they call us to provide a solution... Attention is usually trained on the nearest source of leaves followed by a request to either kill or behead the offending specimen. These are just two options that can be applied to this situation. This Blog post will discuss the two options and alternatives for anyone who has a mountain of leaves where their garden used to be. The solution might simple... When leaves are the problem... Remove the tree... The trouble with this view is that it ignores all of the other qualities that trees provide. … [Read more...]

How to trim a hedge Blog post from our "How To Series". Welcome to another Blog post in our series of “how to” instructional guides. These guides are aimed for tree owners who are keen to get their hands dirty. Get stuck in on some of their own tree maintenance. Carrying out minor upkeep on your own trees can be very rewarding. Will also give you an opportunity to notice the health and condition of your trees. A well trimmed hedge can provide a variety of functions. Such as a crisp clean back-drop to your garden. When managed correctly a hedge can be a great wind barrier and can act as a natural divider to create different zones or spaces in your garden. To keep a formal hedge looking in its best condition regular trimming is key. This how to trim a hedge blog is for those people who … [Read more...]

Learn about how to care for trees in summer. We all look forward to those long summer days of endless sun and time at the beach. Weeks can go by without a drop of rain with beautiful blues skies to wake up to each morning. This makes for great holidays but it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Trees are pretty good at adapting to their environments. However during extended periods of hot, dry weather they can begin to suffer. This how to care for trees in summer blog post discusses a few measures you can take to give your trees a helping hand during any drought conditions. Learn about how to care for trees in summer. Although trees slow down a bit during summer they are still working away. They have just been through a time of large energy expenditure during spring as they … [Read more...]

This months How to Blog post is about how to plant a tree. Planting a tree and watching it grow is a very satisfying experience. It’s also a great activity to involve children in. Do it right and you will need minimum intervention with maximum enjoyment. This how to post will offer good advice for anyone wanting to plant tree. Most importantly you'll learn how to give a tree the best start in life and every chance of surviving into the future. First, have a good look at your site. It may be that you only have one available position and must work with what you’ve got. If you do have a few options select the right site that has free space, good drainage and adequate sunlight. With some form of shelter from the wind and has the best soil. You can try and change conditions if they … [Read more...]