Every now and then you will want to remove a tree from the garden. Maybe you possess an old tree that’s diseased, an apple tree that doesn’t produce apples any longer, or a tree that is uninteresting or in an bothersome spot. Although it is tempting to give it a bit of chain saw action and destroy it all in one go - avoid! Take care and you’ll get the tree down safely and make life effortless for yourself.
Now, before you start, take notice. Make sure that you are allowed to take the tree down. If you are not sure then you’re going to need to call your local council. Furthermore, if the tree is over 20 ft or 6 metres in height, don’t even think about it. Far too big and dangerous for an beginner. You will need a skilled tree surgeon to deal with that. They will be able to talk to the council for you as well.
OK, so you are determined to go ahead yourself. You’ll need some tackle. Thick gardening gloves - ideally leather. Rope, a chain saw, a pruning saw, a good ladder and safety glasses. You should actually have a helmet but you probably will not bother. But for crying out loud wear your safety goggles. A wood chip in your eye is a genuine day spoiler.
1. Get your ladder and thread it among the branches to the top of the tree. Make sure that it is secure and at that time get a friend to hold the base of it. If you do not have any friends - well that’s the topic for another article. If this is the case though, fasten the ladder to the trunk of the tree so it won’t fall or move when you are on it. I’d spend some time making sure it is nice and tight if I were you. You will be untying and re-tying this ladder a lot all through this exercise if you’re on your own.
2. Start cutting at the pinnacle of the tree. Use the pruning saw or the chain saw to cut branches into handy lengths. don’t cut pieces that are too large and heavy to lift comfortably. You do not need me to tell you that you are at the top of a ladder!
3. Move the ladder around the tree as you work. This will mean getting down the ladder and untying and tying it if you’re on your own. don’t be tempted to stretch or reach for branches that are beyond you. Get down that ladder. People have very serious accidents with chainsaws. In fact, in August 2004 a man accidentally cut off his wife’s head with a chain saw, do not take chances.
4. Carry on cutting back the branches, but bear in mind to leave at least one major branch to support the ladder. Once you have taken off most of the branches, use a shorter ladder or fold a down the one so that it can stand on its own.
5. Move the stand alone ladder into location so that you can start to cut down the trunk piece by bit. Keep the pieces small to make disposal simplier and easier. Cut the tree to within 6” of the ground.
6. You will now be left with a base. The best way to remove a tree base is to pay somebody else to do it! Failing that, hire a stump grinder from an equipment rental shop like HSS. It will make quick work of a base but it can be a messy and sweaty business. If you do not need to deal with the base straight away, you can buy a root killing product from a garden centre. Once applied to the base it will work its way to the roots to eradicate the plant. It may need a few applications. Eventually your base will rot, making it less difficult to get rid of.
7. Finally, burn the branches and small logs or put them in the boot of the car and take them to the local recycling centre - where they’ll probably burn them someplace else.
Author Resource:
My garden is my passion. I just like to walk around the garden and lose myself in amongst the flowers and the vedgatables, shut the rest of the world out. My garden has not always been as nice as it is right now, in fact without the help of a gardening companies help and advise it would still look a tidy mess as I used to call it. I always search on the internet using the term - gardener london . This always gets me in touch with the best people for the job.
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