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I think crown cleaning gets way too much hype compared to structural pruning

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?
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3 Comments
aaron_gonzalez
aaron_gonzalez7d agoMost Upvoted
@finleyfox sees it different than me but I've actually found crown cleaning buys time before you need the heavy cuts.
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patricianguyen
I've seen the same thing way too many times lol. A buddy of mine works for a crew that does nothing but deadwood and crown cleaning on every tree they touch, even oaks that just need selective reduction to let light through. It's like they're scared to make big cuts or something. For a mature oak in Austin, three hours of deadwood removal while leaving crossing branches is a waste of time and money. That tree's probably gonna need structural work next storm season anyway.
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finleyfox
finleyfox7d ago
Honestly is it even that big a deal or just tree guys overthinking it
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