Snap o' the day: Butchered tree in autumn
Bury my heart at wounded tree: Railroad Avenue in Crozet, photographed November 21.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE
Despite an unfortunate proximity to power lines and a brutal haircut, this Crozet oak hangs onto its dignity with its fall foliage.
15 comments
yep, there's beauty there...
Yep. The tree hackers took care of us pretty nicely out here. My Red Maple out front is shaped like an "L" I think I'm actually going to have it cut down. I don't think it's going to make it. They've "pruned" almost half of the tree. The experts even decided to cut some power lines on my street while they were taking such great care on out trees.
I grew up in the house in the background and remember that tree very well. In fact me and the Schultz girls had many glorious times playing in that tree. I know that progress has to come but it is a shame that they have to do this to a tree that is as old as this one.They might as well have cut it down than leave it like this. What a shame. There are not many of those trees that old around anymore.
Arthur: Thank you for the lesson on who trims out trees. It is very interesting to learn how it is done and by whom. I still say it is a work of art. I live down the block from the tree. What I see is a tree reaching for the skies, shaped a little different from others, but truly a work of art.
How truly sad for the future of the Shenandoah Valley if the butchering (no other word for it) to what could have been a tree in full autumn glory is viewed as a work of art by a trained arborist. Do you seriously want this "trained arborist" doing his work across your city?!
Susan
Every time you turn on your lights, you take part in the tree trimming process. There are certain codes that must be met when clearing power lines. There is also a budget that must be kept. They can not come back every 2 weeks and trim the tree. So I thing what the writers are trying to say, is there is beauty in what is left after the "necessary evil".
To Well Now, I appreciate what you're saying about the lights, utilities, etc. but have seen too many similar "trims" to maples, oaks, and magnolias over the years. In most instances, I believe the trimmers just "hack" the trees when they could do some more conservative trimming. Sure, it costs more. I think the beauty of a city's streets is largely in the landscape--espcially in an area such as Charlottesville.
I've noticed a strange phenomenon with electrical service: The same people who complain about the power companies taking preventative measure to minimize disruption to service (i.e. butchering trees) are the exact same people who moan and complain when they go without power for four hours. You can have the trees or electricity. Take your pick. I choose electricity.
why take the time to leave a mess? Time can be used to top and shape the tree for a healthier outcome (particularly for a motorist that could have the tree through their body in a windstorm)-
Butchering is not at all the proper word. Corrective pruning is what is being done. The men who now do the power line trimming are trained arborists although in decades past this was not always the case. They take great care to help the trees to heal properly and to maintain their health. In fact in some cities the pruning is done with such care as to be Topiary at its finest. Beauty is always there with a tree... think of it as a rather large Bonsai. But a word to the new homeowners in our area... give good consideration of mature tree size when planting trees around your new homes and power lines to reduce unneeded future work.
...especially in the science of creating maximal topgrowth adjacent to the lines they've cleared; independent contractors have been ripping off municipalities by encouraging this rapid regrowth, which increases the chance of snow/ice damage to lines and requires more frequent heading.
The State crews had more pride and cost concern than these guys.
"Butchering is not at all the proper word. Corrective pruning is what is being done."
It is most definitely not pruning.Pruning improves a tree. Turning a tree into a monstrosity uglier than Art-In-Place rubbish and necessitating the now dying trees to be removed, is a whole different thing.
uuuuummmmmmmmmmm”Š anyone who has had that done in their front yard, which is a group that is regularly enlarged...
It is a work of art!
I'll go by this tree myself and take a look at the pruning job. I'm thinking perhaps this tree has not been recently cut out like this but has grown into this shape after years of keeping it clear of the lines. I wasn't trying to entice facetious comments, simply to note that usually better care is taken of these trees than most would suspect considering it has been growing up under these lines. Regardless it shows the importance of proper planting of trees so these radical prune jobs are kept at bay.