Arboriculture is a highly skilled job requiring exstensive knowledge and training.
Both managing director Jason and senior Manager Mark, have had decades as climbing arborists in the utility, commercial and residential sectors, keeping infrastructure and property clear from encroaching vegetation along with pruning and removing large trees in difficult to access residential gardens and commercial premises.
Arboricultural work is at the heart of PLS Group UK’s expertise, offering a range of tree services across the north of England and beyond.
All our work is carried out to current industry standard, (click the link for a full explanation from the Arboricultural Association website) BS5837:2010 Tree work recommendations.
While some jobs are simple a site visit is essential to evaluate access and other important site related factors to ensure we can offer the safest and most efficient method for whatever arboricultural service you require
Know the service you require?
There are two methods employed to get a tree onto the ground
Felling - where a directional felling cut is applied to the base of the tree allowing it to fall onto the ground in the desired direction.
Dismantling - the removal of the tree in small sections from within the crown. This is carried out either using a MEWP (mobile elevated work platform), by ropes access - a climber working from a rope and harness or mechanical means such as a crane fitted with a grab and saw.
Probably an obvious question! Dismantling is for when access or space is limited and the risk of damage to surrounding property is high!!
There are lots of different tree work techniques to suit the given tree position, but the two most common methods used the majority of the time, especially where access is limited:
There are other methods which may be a better fit for the tree position.
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In an ideal world, trees would be left alone to naturally ‘prune’ themselves. In reality, human intervention is required where trees and people co-exist to keep people safe and property free from damage.
Branches should be carefully removed leaving the final pruning cut looking like the one in the image. This gives the tree the best chance of recovery and helps to limit the ingress of decay through the wound!
The number of branches to be removed is also critical. Removing too many can actually lead to crown die back, putting the tree under severe physiological stress.
As is with any profession, arborists must be highly trained and possess the right knowledge to make sure a tree is pruned correctly.
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There can be many reasons for pruning the most common ones are:
There are many examples of poor pruning out there!! When trees are not pruned correctly it can lead to future issues such as weakend crown structure, branch decay and even whole tree death!!
All pruning work, which includes work carried out by PLS Group UK, should be carried out with reference to the British Standard BS3998: 2010 Tree Work Recommendations
Please scroll down for a more detailed explanation of the different methods of pruning to industry best practice
This is where all or a portion of the crown of the tree is reduced to natural growing points. This must be undertaken so as to not remove too many branches and cause the tree to die back.
When is crown reduction needed?
One of the primary requests for this procedure is when clients require more light into their properties. It is most effective when the trees are a smaller size, usually in small gardens and confined areas.
In contrast, where a large tree is positioned in a small garden or directly next to the property, little effect will be gained from a crown reduction. In this case it would be better to look at CROWN LIFTING (see below) the tree if gaining more light is the required result.
Where safety is a concern though, crown reduction can be effective as it helps reduce the weight of the upper crown and in turn the wind loading effect, reducing the risk of branch failure.
Please also be aware that not all tree species react well when pruned excessivley. Some trees can have more branches removed, others less. This is the kind of advice you will recieve at the quotation phase.
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Crown lifting is the removal of selected lower branches of the crown to a given height. This might be to allow clearance from the road or a footpath or any other situation where the tree has begun to interfere with it's surroundings!
Crown lifting can be particularley effective for letting in light where a large tree is situated next to a property. Indeed, much more effective than crown reduction would ever be and therefore a more cost effective solution!
The other asthetic benifit is that it doesn't interfere with upper crown shape and eliminates the need for unecessarey crown reduction!
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The removal of dead branches!!
Dying branches are a natural part of tree growth, the issue is when a large branch dies and persist on the tree.
This dead branch has now become a hazard and its brittle nature could lead to it breaking off and falling to the ground or on to anything or anyone underneath!!
Removal eliminates the risk of them causing harm and damage to anything in its vicinity.
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Following the removal of a tree, the stump remains and in most cases is cut as low to the ground as possible, leaving it to decay naturally. However, there may be a situation where the stump needs to be removed usually for construction purposes or simply to remove the trip hazard!
Other reasons for removal maybe to avoid unwanted shoots growing from the cut stump, or just the need to be able to replant in the same spot.
A stump grinding machine will quickly grind away the main body of any size stump to leave you with a mulched area to re-use. Please be aware, this does not completel remove ALL roots from the ground (Removing branching roots other than the main stump would need to be assessed at the site visit at extra cost) It gets rid of the main, central woody part of the stem to below the surface allowing most operations such as turfing, flagging and replanting to be undertaken.
Storms and very windy conditions are usually the main factor in causing trees to become an immediate danger.
Hazardous trees arising from such conditions include:
Fungi and decay and other issues
Tree structure can also be compromised by decay fungi and pests/diseases. These pathogens and decay can cause the trees structure to become weak leading to an increased risk of limb or whole tree failure.
In severe cases the tree may be in a position (near to people!) where the risk of it falling over may require the it to be removed completely.
Carrying out work on damaged or dangerous trees requires an extra level of expertise and experience. Safety is our number one priority and at PLS that begins with carrying out a thorough risk assessment first as part of that process to allow us to ustilise the safest method when dealing with such hazerdous trees.
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Tree preservation orders and conservation areas are put in place by local authorities to protect high value trees from removal or indiscriminate pruning. It is essential to check for any protection in place prior to starting work. We can provide advice on the process or prepare and submit any applications on your behalf.
Annually, working at height is responsible for more injuries and fatalities in industry than any other hazard! As arborists, a large part of our work involves working at height. We take a risk based approach to all our climbing operations applying industry best practice to every job. As part of our commitment to a safer working environment.
While accessing trees using a rope and harness has been the norm in the Arboricultural industry for many years and still will be for years to come, the use of MEWP’S (mobile elevated work platform) has now become normal wherever access will allow, meaning a much safer mode of working.
By thoroughly assessing the risk of working at height on every job, PLS strive to create the safest working environment possible for it's team!
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