Gardening & Landscaping
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Cutting down a tree questions
We have 4 huge trees in our front yard. Two persimmon trees and two pear trees. We are going to do some major landscaping changes to the yard, and cutting down the persimmon trees. So, my DH is thinking we just cut the tree down with a chainsaw (in small pieces of course, not just all at once), then drill a hole into the tree base, and then pour "stump killer" into the trunk...
Anyone done this? Any tips, tricks, advice?
Thanks!!
Re: Cutting down a tree questions
The only way you can cut it down, one little piece at a time, is by climbing it and beginning at the highest point. So, your DH would need the harness and riggings to do that. I'd also not attempt it without a helmet and face shield.
Exactly how "huge" are these trees? Ornamental fruit trees seldom top 30'.
And stump killer won't remove the stump, it will just kill it so it doesn't resprout. You'll still need to have the stump ground if you're landscaping.
Now this may be a silly question, but are you sure they need to come out?
Oh, not really "huge" sorry...lol... The one is about 25 feet tall, and the other one is about 15 feet tall. Yes, they are definetly coming out. Right now our entire front yard is shaded by these big, leafy trees, and we want to have some sun areas. Our back yard is for our 2 big dogs, and we are fencing in the front yard to use as "our yard", so our patio furniture, fire pit, etc will be there, and I don't want to be in 100% shade all the time.
Plus persimmons are NASTY when they drop in the fall/winter, and after living in our house for 4+ years, we are tired of picking up the persimmons. We will still leave the pear trees though, as they don't actually bear fruit (wierd huh, but the arborist guy says they are definetly pear trees...).
The trees aren't very strong at all (def not for climbing), so what we were thinking, is to tie a rope around the tall branches, and then pull it down towards the ground, and start sawing. Then once we get most branches out of the way, to then cut down the main trunk.
Does that make sense?
Yes, but persimmons are edible and if you don't want them, your local food bank would.
Ornamental pears are an invasive "nuisance" species that will spawn more of themselves every year. I'm just saying.
Ok, so... You have this rope tied around this limb, and you're sawing... so what about the recoil?
There is not just one branch... when you tie one branch and pull it down, you're pulling the whole tree. It will take a lot of pull. Who is holding the tree down while your husband cuts it? You?
You're exerting a lot of force, which will all be released very suddenly, while your husband is holding a device capable of cutting through his whole body in 2 seconds flat. ALL the branches will whip back suddenly. The recoil of the limbs can cause serious injuries: huge, life-threatening lacerations. And I say this knowing it's a small tree.
What happens if the branch knocks the chainsaw back into him? Or out of his hands? This DOES happen, it is called the "barbers chair" effect. The saw could hit him still spinning, and he could lose an arm, a leg, or his life.
More people are killed doing tree work every year than the next 5 deadliest jobs combined.* And those are professionals.
*John Ball, Ph.D., Professor of Forestry, South Dakota State University
Think long and hard about how very dangerous this could be.
Ack!
1. I just realized that I wrote "chainsaw" in my OP... I didn't mean chainsaw...just a saw, old-fashioned one.
2. Re: the persimmons: I have a neighbor that picks all of the good ones and takes them, but her ladder doesn't go all the way to the top, and we can't reach that high either, so we still end up with a TON on our yard, driveway, cars, etc. Yes, the tress are coming down...lol
3. The pear trees...2 were planted, roughly 20 years ago, and no random trees have popped up in our yard...is this what you're tying to say? That they will just randomly start growing on their own?
4. Maybe we should hire an arborist to cut it down??? We have one that trimmed them years ago...
5. The tree is very weak. The wood isn't strong at all. Right now we could reach up with our hands and just pull branches down and break them off.
Gretchen Evie, born 7/8/2012 at 35w5d
Ok, I'm very happy to hear you are not using a chain saw!
I understand that you want to save $ and do this yourselves, but be careful. Maybe the larger trees should be left to a licensed, insured, Certified Arborist.
And abt invasive trees- the babies won't necessarily happen in YOUR yard.
Yes, those ornamental pears are becoming an invasive nuisance.
They were thought to be sterile, but nature has a way of getting around things. The pears are hybridizing, so many of the characteristics that were "bred out" are reappearing in the offspring. Birds are dispersing the seeds in their feces, so the trees are spread far and wide. They are aggressively invading natural woodlands and displacing native plants and the animals that depend on the native plants.
So while your pear trees aren't causing YOU any problems, they're a problem for your community.
And for the native plant and tree species!
And PLEASE! Look for any birds/squirrel nests before you cut them down! It is that time of year...and technically federally illegal to disturb native bird nests.
Leopard in Acacia Tree, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 2009
Crafty Owl Blog
Here's what we did last fall:
http://threeacres.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/5-chainsaws-4-guys-a-bobcat-a-bucket-lift/
Renting a bucket lift is really the best way to go. Then you'll need some harnesses to tie to the bucket lift and the extendo-chainsaw thing was extremely handy! But I also want to add that both of our dad's and my husband have experience cutting down trees.
If you hire someone to cut down the tree they usually give you a deal on grinding out the stump and they clean up after themselves. Just make sure to call around and get a good deal for your area.