tree surgery Archives - Sid Valley Tree Surgery

Reduction, thinning & crown raise – a video showcase

September 26, 2018 by adminsvts

Here is another video timelapse of us at work. This one os a reduction / crown raise / thinning job. Enjoy!

Video Transcript

Sid Valley Tree Surgery have been looking after Devon’s trees since 1990. We pride ourselves in the quality of our work, and wanted to give you another example of what we do.

In this job, we were asked to tidy up and thin this tree to let more light into the garden. After a detailed consultation with the customer, we decided to reduce the overall size, to thin throughout and to raise the crown to give more space underneath.

The centre of the tree had become too thick thanks to some poor pruning done by previous unskilled workmen. As a result, the tree was growing into a poor shape, and had to be corrected. We had to take out quite a bit from the centre in order to remedy this, but now the tree is on the right track and can grow with a better form than before.

This is really where the training comes in – to prune in such a way as to help the tree recover and develop properly. It is important to target the pruning in order to stimulate natural healing, and reduce the stress on the tree. This kind of work makes up the majority of what we do. It is not important in forests where trees can grow naturally without interferance – but in gardens, parks and other public spaces this kind of tree work is essential both in helping protect the tree from future problems – and also to make sure the tree is safe.

We also carried out a crown-raising – which means that lower branches were removed in order to give space around the base of the tree. And a reduction – which means that the overall dimensions of the tree were reduced.

After we finished, everything was removed and the garden was tidied thoroughly. Our customers often remark on what a good job we do tidying up afterwards, and also the nice manners of our staff. For us this traditional service is as important as the tree work – and we aim for complete customer satisfaction on every job.

We cover all tree work, from the very large to the very small – and we are only too happy to come and give you a free, no-obligation quote should you need something doing in your garden. The main area we cover is East Devon and the rest of Devon, including Sidmouth, Exmouth, Honiton and Exeter – but we also do jobs further afield in Somerset and Dorset.

If you’d like further information, or to request your free quote, please visit our website at Sid Valley Tree Surgery dot co dot uk.

The Oak Tree – An important part of the English countryside

September 25, 2018 by adminsvts

Oak trees have to be one of England’s finest tree species. They have characterised the English countryside for thousands of years, and continue to play an important role in the biodiversity of our countryside. They can grow over 30 metres high, and can live to be over 1000 years old. Oak trees, of the Genus Quercus, are not restricted to the UK – there are over 500 species throughout the northern hemisphere, and over 80 in the UK alone.

Native English Oak Trees

There are two types of oak tree that are native to the UK, and they are the sessile oak (quercus petraea) and the English oak (quercus robur), but many more have been brought here over the centuaries such as the evergreen Holm Oak, the turkey oak, the pin oak, the French oak,t he Cork oak and the Lucombe oak (being a Turkey oak hybrid raised by William Lucombe in Exeter around 1762.

Traditionally every part of the oak has been used in some way or another, most notably the tough, hard wearing timber for building and furniture. It has always been prized for it’s nice grain and it’s toughness, and also has high amounts of tannins which keep insects and rot at bay. Nowadays it is still used for furniture, but to a lesser extent because of the availability of fast growing softwoods such as pine. The oak tree takes a lot longer to mature, and so sustainable harvest of oak trees must happen over a much greater time period. With this in mind, there is more of a focus on preserving our much reduced oak forests, but there are a few examples of sustainable oak forestry. Mostly, we see this in France, where the oak tree is still the most common tree.

Oak timber production

France produces a lot of the worlds oak timber, and an ever increasing percentage of this oak is coming from sustainable managed forests who rotate on a 200 year life cycle!

Here at Sid Valley Tree Surgery, we often get to work on ancient oak trees. For the most part this involves removing dead wood and crown raising, particularly when located near buildings or footpaths. This is where our experience really helps because we can reduce the stress on a tree and extend the life, whilst making it safer for those around it. Knowing what to take off and where can help to preserve the tree safely for many years to come.

Beech tree dismantle – watch us work!

September 26, 2018September 26, 2017 by adminsvts

Back in the summer, we did some filming! We filmed the dismantle of a beech tree using a timelapse technique, so that you could view a job spanning 7 or 8 hours in just 3 minutes! We don’t work that fast in reality, but it gives you a good idea of hoiw we work, and explains what we are doing and why.

Enjoy the video!

Video Transcript

Sid Valley Tree Surgery have been looking after Devon’s trees since 1990. We pride ourselves in the quality of our work, and wanted to show you what we do.

Here we can see the dismantling of a tree from start to finish for one of our regular customers in the Bickwell Valley area of Sidmouth in Devon. Clear felling was not an option, as this tree was in a confined space – having precious flower borders, delicate shrubs and an immaculate lawn below.

In this situation, we use a special 1 ton rigging system to allow us to gently and accurately lower sections of the tree in order to protect surrounding plants, lawns, greenhouses and other delicate objects from being damaged. In almost 25 years, we have never been beaten by a tree in a confined space.

You can see in the video that each section is carefully prepared, cut, lowered and gathered by our highly skilled team – after which it is removed from the garden and either chipped or turned into firewood. Our team are fully trained and qualified, and have many decades of combined experience under their belts. Experience really counts with these sort of jobs.

As well as being experienced – our staff have a love for trees and the environment. We are lucky here in Devon to still have many wonderful trees left – and the majority of our time is spent looking after them by pruning, deadwooding, thinning, shaping, crown-raising and making them safe in public areas. We don’t like taking down trees – in fact it makes up a very small percentage of our work – but in this particular case this beech had grown into a poor form because it had been suppressed by other trees. As you can see it was very tall and thin as it reached up for the light. By taking it out, we have allowed the trees around it more space to grow properly.

The environment is important to us, and all waste is recycled locally. The thicker lengths are turned into firewood, whilst the brush is chipped for garden mulch. It is a nice thought that sometime next winter, this tree will be keeping someone in the Sidmouth area warm – and some time later, when it is ready to be used, the mulch will be giving nutrients back to gardens all over.

After dismantling the tree, everything was removed and the garden thoroughly tidied. We are often complemented on our nice manner, and the good job we do in tidying up after ourselves, and believe this to be as important as the actual tree work.

The customer was very happy with the end result, and being a local company, we aim for complete customer satisfaction.

We cover all forms of tree work, from the very large to the very small – and we are only too happy to come and give you a free, no-obligation quote should you need something doing in your garden. The main area we cover is East Devon and the rest of Devon, including Sidmouth, Exmouth, Honiton and Exeter – but we also do jobs further afield in Somerset and Dorset.

If you’d like further information, or to request your free quote, please visit our website at www.sidvalleytreesurgery.co.uk.

Reduction, thinning & crown raise – a video showcase

Recent Articles

Reduction, thinning & crown raise – a video showcase

The Oak Tree – An important part of the English countryside

Beech tree dismantle – watch us work!