Ran into a retired guy at the supply yard last Thursday who told me about a job he messed up 30 years back by ignoring oak wilt season - lost a whole row of trees for a client. Kind of made me rethink my whole schedule, has anyone else shifted their timing based on something like that?
I was lowering a 200 pound limb from a white oak in Portland. Right as the load started to move, the pin sheared clean off. Limb dropped 15 feet straight down. Lucky nobody was under it. Turns out the pin had microfractures I never caught. Check your hardware before every single climb. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail like that?
I bought this high end soil moisture meter six months ago because I was tired of guessing when my client's Japanese maples needed water. It had digital readings, a long probe, and claimed to measure at three different depths. But after using it on about 30 different trees, I realized the readings were all over the place. Wet soil would show as dry and dry soil would show as wet depending on how tight the soil was packed. I finally went back to just sticking my finger two inches down like my grandpa taught me. The meter now sits in my truck gathering dust. Anyone else get burned by one of these gadgets and go back to the old school method?
I had five smooth days in a row removing three big silver maples in Portland with zero equipment failures or surprises. No broken ropes, no twisted ankles, just clean cuts and happy clients. Is anyone else worried that easy jobs make us soft for when the real chaos hits?
Was waiting at a bus stop in Austin last week and saw these guys dismantling a 40-foot live oak from the ground with a pole saw and a rope system. Took notes on their pull angle and now I'm trying it on my next big removal job - anyone else adapt stuff from municipal arborists?
I was grabbing supplies for a pruning job yesterday and this older guy was telling his buddy about grafting a branch from a mature white oak onto a young sapling he planted 4 years ago. Said the sapling is now producing acorns way earlier than expected, like 2-3 years ahead of schedule. Never really thought about grafting oaks for acorn production, always figured it was more for fruit trees or ornamentals. He mentioned using a simple whip graft and sealing it with regular pruning sealer. Got me wondering if that could help speed up growth on some stubborn oaks I've been trying to establish along a new development. Has anyone here tried grafting for more than just ornamental reasons?
I used to think grinding stumps down to the dirt was the only way to go. Then I walked through City Park last month and noticed all these old stumps left about a foot high with carvings and planters on top. They looked way better than the bare spots and seemed to help the soil around them. Anybody else leave stumps high for clients who want something different?
I've been roofing for 12 years but started doing tree work on the side last summer. A buddy hired me to clear some dead oak limbs at his place in Austin. I was cutting from the top down like I was trimming rafters. He watched me for about 20 minutes then asked why I wasn't making undercuts first. Felt like a total idiot. Any other new guys make bonehead mistakes like this when they started climbing?
I was grabbing supplies at the local tree supply shop in Portland yesterday and heard a guy telling his buddy he's still climbing on the same rope he bought back in 2017. He said he just washes it and it's fine. That scared me man. Rope degrades from UV, sap, and all that dirt even if it looks okay on the outside. I had a piece of line snap on me 3 years ago that looked fine but had a hidden core damage spot. About broke my back when I fell 6 feet onto a lower branch. The shop guy even chimed in saying they see ropes fail at about 5 years max if you use them weekly. Has anyone else run into older climbers who just refuse to replace their gear? What do you even say to them?
I drove past a job last week where some guy just lopped the top off a 50 foot red oak. Left those huge stubs sticking up like 8 inches. That tree is gonna rot from the inside out and drop big limbs in 5 years. I see this all the time in new subdivisions around here. Do these guys not know about the branch collar or are they just in a hurry?
Last month a storm dropped a massive limb in my client's backyard, and my 3-strand manila snapped after just two pulls. Borrowed a buddy's Dyneema sling and it held the whole load no problem, made me a believer. Anyone else switched rigging materials after a close call like that?
Guy I was helping on a job in Austin said I was burning the teeth and handed me a little oiler. Now my cuts take half the effort and I feel dumb for not figuring that out sooner. Anybody else find out late that they were missing a simple trick?
Been treating oaks for 12 years and always thought copper fungicide was snake oil, just couldn't see how spraying a tree could stop a root disease. Then last spring my neighbor lost 3 big red oaks to wilt, but the 2 I'd painted with copper wound dressing after a storm are still standing. Anyone else had a treatment they ignored for years that actually saved trees?
So about 3 months ago I had this big old maple on a job site in Burlington. It had a hollow spot about 2 feet up from the ground, maybe a foot wide. Client wanted it gone for safety reasons. But I looked at it and the canopy was still healthy, good leaf coverage, no dieback. I convinced them to let it stand and just monitor it. Figured the tree had walled off the decay and was stable. Fast forward to last week we got a heavy wind storm and it dropped a big limb on their shed. No injuries thank god but now they're second guessing me and I'm second guessing myself. I know there's research about hollow trees being structurally sound if the wall thickness is right but how do you really judge that in the field? Has anyone else gambled on a hollow tree and had it work out or end badly?
Last fall I had a clogged drain on a property I was working at in Cincinnati, standing water everywhere, and my leaf blower wasn't cutting it. I grabbed my pole saw extension, put a hook attachment on the end, and started pulling clumps out from underneath the grate like a giant fork. Anyone else ever repurpose tree gear for random non tree jobs and have it work way better than expected?
I've been running my own tree service solo for about 8 months now, mostly doing small residential jobs. Last Friday I counted up my logs and realized I hit 500 trees pruned since I started. Has anyone else tracked a big number like that and felt surprised at what it adds up to?
He said deep watering in July actually rots the roots and brings fungus. I tried skipping water on my two big oaks last August and they looked healthier by October than they had in 5 years. Anyone else been told to lay off summer watering on established oaks?
Last Tuesday I was pruning a big black walnut on a property in Oakville. I hit a branch that was under way more tension than I expected and it whipped back, knocking my helmet clean off and leaving a gash on my arm. Took me a full 10 minutes to stop the bleeding with my first aid kit. Has anyone else had a tree just surprise you like that with a hidden hazard?
I spent last Friday trying to cable a silver maple that had a heavy lean over a garage, and it took me over three hours just to get the hardware set because the wood was so soft the bolts kept stripping. Turns out the tree was way more rotten inside than I could see from the bark, and I ended up having to drill fresh holes three times before one held. Has anyone else run into a tree that looked solid but turned out to be mush once you started working on it?
I’ve been doing tree work for about 7 years and always felt like a handsaw gave me more control. Last Tuesday my buddy handed me his Silky Zubat to clean up a big limb on a red oak. Three cuts in and I was sold. The blade just glides through green wood without binding up, and my arm wasn’t fried after 20 minutes. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in fatigue?
I got a call last spring from a homeowner in Denver who thought her oak was dying. Leaves were sparse and small compared to the neighbor's tree. I did a deep root feeding with a slow release fertilizer around the drip line. Came back this fall to prune it and the canopy had filled in completely. She said the leaves were almost twice as big this year. Has anyone else seen a big change after a single feeding like that?
Last week I saw a crew spend 3 hours on a mature oak in Austin doing nothing but deadwood removal while leaving all the crossing branches totally untouched. Has anyone else noticed climbers focusing on looks over long-term tree health?
I tried leaving stumps 6 inches high on a job in Portland last month. Homeowner was happy. Saved 3 hours per stump. Everyone says grind them flat for safety but I never had a trip hazard complaint. My mower clears 6 inches fine. The extra grinding just makes more mud and mess. Has anyone else left stumps higher on purpose?
Too many guys are tying their friction hitch right onto their carabiner without a proper stopper knot underneath. You lose tension for even a second and that hitch can slide right off the end. Has anyone else noticed this becoming more common on job sites?
Bought a generic brand at Lowes last spring and the blade bent on the third cut of a 6 inch limb. Anyone else had a budget saw fail on them like that?