Tree Surgeons in Leatherhead | Regional Specialists for Crown Reducing, Crown Thinning and Crown Lifting
Trees are a fantastic addition to gardens and grounds. When in good shape and health, there isn’t a more wonderful sight than trees to bring out the best of land in Leatherhead. Without the attention of a tree surgeons, however, they can grow quickly and start to lose their shape. The crown is a particular problem because branches over-extend to leave the tree looking unsightly, and there is the risk of damage to other trees and nearby properties.
The canopy also becomes an issue and can block out sunlight to impact the natural growth of a tree, or it stops the same sunlight from reaching plants.
Tree surgeons can offer formative pruning services in Leatherhead and there are three different techniques that a company like Shipton Tree Services will use. These are called crown reduction, crown thinning and crown lifting.
Pollarding is another skill that we have at our disposal.
We work on tree crowns to achieve the following objectives:
- To keep trees safe and at a manageable size
- To reduce the weight of the tree’s limbs
- To add balance to a tree’s shape
- To prevent damage and obstruction
- To address issues with excess shading
- To maintain sufficient overhead space
- To keep limbs away from overhead power lines
This blog post explains how our tree surgeons address work on crowns.
Crown Reduction
Our tree surgeons use this technique on projects in Leatherhead to reduce a tree’s dimensions, usually when the tree itself has grown beyond its allocated space in a garden or on grounds. At Shipton Tree Services, we remove live branches to lower the overall height that makes up the crown’s spread.
By cutting back to specific points, trees cope better with foliage loss and the technique addresses excessive shooting at the back of the canopy.
Crown Thinning
Another technique used by our tree surgeons is crown thinning. Thinning the crown is different to a reduction and requires our team to select a proportion of branches and to remove them. This technique is often used on land in the Leatherhead area to let more sunlight into the crown of the tree,
Crown thinning also creates more dappled sunlight beneath the tree, which is beneficial to understorey plant life struggling beneath a thicker canopy.
Crown Lifting
The third formative pruning technique used by our tree surgeons on projects in Leatherhead is crown lifting. This involves the removal of lower branches to improve access underneath the tree for pedestrians and passing vehicles. We undertake this work without excessively impacting a tree’s overall shape.
If it is possible to do so, our tree surgeons cut back the secondary branches instead of taking off the branch all the way back to the individual stem.
Tree Pollarding
Pollarding is one of the more extreme techniques used to control tree growth so tree surgeons will only apply it when crown reduction, thinning and lifting are unsuitable. Pollarding sees us cutting back all branches from trees in the Leatherhead area to leave behind a framework of the primary branches.
Over time, the tree shoots once more from the cut ends and dormant buds. This technique is often a last resort and is only used on certain species.
If you have a garden or grounds in Leatherhead with trees that have started to become unruly, please contact us today and book in for a formative pruning service from our accredited and qualified tree surgeons. We always take the health of the tree into consideration but will also identify potential for damage to property or the impact of the crown on other plant species.
Additional services from the team at Shipton Tree Services include seasonal hedge cutting and stump grinding using mechanical equipment.