Chapel St. Triangle Park Trees Benefit from Conservancy Care
Tree needs are huge in our City parks and Chapel St. Fountain Park is a prime example of the kinds of care needed in managing the trees. Keeping the trees healthy, safe and aesthetically pleasing is the goal.
These three reasons dictate what is done to the trees.
Pruning for safety – Remove branches that could fall and cause injury or property damage, trim branches that interfere with lines of sight on streets or driveways, and remove branches that grow into utility lines. Safety pruning can be largely avoided by carefully choosing species that will not grow beyond the space available to them, and have strength and form characteristics that are suited to the site.
Pruning for health – This involves removing diseased or insect-infested wood, thinning the crown to increase airflow which will reduce some pest problems, and removing crossing and rubbing branches. Pruning can best be used to encourage trees to develop a strong structure and reduce the likelihood of damage during severe weather. Removing broken or damaged limbs encourage wound closure.
Pruning for aesthetics – Pruning can enhance the natural form and character of trees and stimulates flower production. Pruning for form can be especially important on open grown trees that do very little self-pruning.
A large specimen tree in the center of the garden recently died leaving a huge stump taken out with a huge chainsaw and stump grinder.
Dead wood, damaged branches and sucker growth had left the live oaks in the park unsightly and leading to debris falling to the landscape below. The Conservancy staff met with the City’s Superintendent Urban Forestry, Danny Burbage to discuss the required work. After agreeing on the scope, the Conservancy staff contracted Rawson Services to complete the pruning. Like monkeys hanging from trees, these amazing tree climbers moved about cutting out dead wood, leaving piles below, later to be chipped and removed from the site.
Ropes and piles of branches are proof of the work happening above.
The completed pruning allows for more light to hit the grass below. The tree’s canopy is opened up to expose the beautiful branchwork of the live oaks.