Looking out my window tonight I see snow, snow and more snow. The row of Leyland cypress’ that we planted a few years back is bent over under the weight of all this heavy white accumulation. The high winds don’t seem to be adding any peace to my worries of the poor trees breaking apart.
Then…I remembered..I remembered the enormous Sugar Maple trees that we had just pruned on our farm in Cambridge, NY. As I look up the weather in NY. I am so glad that we pruned those trees.
Sure, they have survived plenty of heavy winter storms, but the one right next to the house had me worried. Two enormous leaders, stretching up above the roof, and branching out to fill the air above. A quick inspection revealed, even to the untrained eye, the extent of decay advancing into the trunk was too much to ignore. Especially considering the fact that just the week before, a Maple of the same species and girth had come crashing down, just a few houses down the road, taking out all of the utility lines with it, this tree’s safety was seriously being questioned.
“If this goes, it’s gonna take out half of the roof!”
“Yeah, but the tree really makes the property. The house won’t look the same without it.”
So the question was, do we completely remove it, eliminating the hazard, or can we make the tree safe? Pruning a mature tree too hard can possibly shock it into decline.
But the alternative….? Remove the tree. Agreeing on a plan, we decided to save the tree.
Looking out my window at the Cypress tree getting heavier, I imagine the weight of that snow breaking the camels back and sending that huge leader of the Maple tree into the house. I am so glad that I pruned that tree! I have total confidence that the house is absolutely safe, and, as a matter of fact, the tree didn’t look to bad either when I was finished. I think that the tree is going to respond to the pruning well, but we will wait and see.
I only wish that I had taken photos of the whole procedure. Oh well….I’ll have to start thinking about that kind of stuff I guess.