I ran into a 150 year old oak last month that had this massive cavity with a cable running right through it. I spent 4 hours just figuring out if the cable was live or dead before I could even start cutting. Then another 2 hours dealing with the structural cuts because the tree was leaning bad. Has anyone else ever had a job that took way longer than you bid it for? How do you estimate for hidden problems like that?
Went with the silky after my old coworker in Eugene swore by it for 12 years and honestly I haven't looked back once, but I still wonder if I'm missing out on something with the manual ones.
I took a conservative approach on a Norway maple last spring, thinning maybe 15% of the canopy, and now it's got way more uniform growth and fewer dead spots compared to the unpruned one down the block that's all lopsided and full of crossing branches has anyone else seen results like that from just a light touch?
I was up in a big oak in St. Louis, about 40 feet up, and my old Buckingham saddle just gave out on the left side strap. The stitching started ripping loose with a sound like tearing canvas. I had to hug the trunk and slowly work my way down while calling my ground guy to grab a backup rope. Has anyone else had a harness fail on them like that, or am I just unlucky with this brand?
Was reading a Stihl maintenance guide last night and realized I've been filing at the wrong angle the whole time. Has anyone else been doing their chains backwards or am I the only clown out here?
Yeah I know, I know. Shoulda known better. Picked up that cheap little handheld sharpener for like 12 bucks because my Stihl was getting dull and I didn't feel like driving 40 minutes to the dealer. Used it on my 18 inch bar and the first cut I made after, the chain started smoking and the wood looked like I chewed through it. The angles were all messed up, filed one side way deeper than the other. Lesson learned I guess. Has anyone else had a similar experience with those budget sharpeners or did I just get a lemon?
Studied for 3 months straight, every night after work. Aced the tree biology section which I was most worried about. Any tips for a newly certified climber?
Figured it would save time on root flares. Ended up blowing mud everywhere and barely exposed the collar. Has anyone else had bad luck with air spade in heavy clay?
Got a call from a lady in Toledo last month who said her maple was getting too tall. Showed up and she pointed at the tree, said "take it down a bit." Thought she meant a light prune, right? Nope, she wanted the whole top half chopped off. Left it looking like a giant toothpick. How do you guys handle vague instructions from homeowners without sounding like a jerk?
I was trimming this big red oak in Arlington last Thursday, and the homeowner came running out yelling about a knot I left on a limb. She said I ruined the tree's look and wanted it perfect, even though the knot was structural. I tried explaining that removing it would weaken the whole branch, but she wasn't having any of it. Has anyone else had clients get mad about things that are actually good for the tree?
I fell for one of those high end Japanese pull saws last spring. Figured it would be amazing for detail cuts on ornamentals. First time out on a Japanese maple I snapped the blade trying to twist it through a tight crotch. Then I realized my old Sandvik bow saw does everything I need for way less money. The replacement blades cost almost as much as a whole new saw. Now that fancy saw sits in my truck toolbox as a reminder not to chase gear. Anybody else got a tool they bought based on hype that just disappoints?
I was on a job in Richmond last Tuesday, trimming back a big red oak over a driveway. Got a little too confident with my notch cut and didn't account for a rotten spot in the hinge wood. The branch twisted hard on the way down and punched straight through the windshield of my Ford van, missed my chainsaw bar by maybe 2 inches. Total repair bill came to $1,200 and I spent the rest of the day roping everything down piece by piece instead of dropping it clean. Has anyone else had a close call from hidden decay messing up a hinge?
He told me I was leaving too much stub on my branch collars and showed me his flush cut method that's kept his oaks healthy for 30 years. Has anyone else found that changing their cut angle made a big difference in how fast wounds seal up?
He told me I was cutting too close to the collar on every single limb (you know, the way everyone online says to do it) and then showed me on a huge water oak how leaving a tiny bit more actually seals faster - has anyone else been taught differently by an old timer that contradicted everything you learned from YouTube?
Last week I took down a monster silver maple in a tight backyard in Portland. The owner wanted it gone but the drop zone was tiny - like 12 feet wide between a gazebo and a fence. I spent a whole afternoon going back and forth on whether to rent a bucket truck for $350 or just use my rope gear. Ended up going with the rope system cause the ground was too soft for the truck anyway. Took me about 7 hours total but I had to be super careful with every cut. No damage but my arms are still sore three days later. Anyone else have to make this call and regret going the cheap route?
Last month in Portland I pulled my saddle out of the truck and noticed the buckles looked weird. Turned out a AA battery had leaked in my gear bag and corroded the metal on my D-ring harness. Never thought to check for that. Has anyone else seen battery damage on hardware before?
I was up at 6am for a removal in Oak Park, got all my gear on and started rigging until the homeowner came out yelling that I was on his neighbor's property. The city had put the wrong street number on the work order, has anyone else had a dispatch mix-up that threw off their whole morning?
I hit 50 trees removed this month for my company in Columbus that were killed by stakes left on too long or tied too tight. People always focus on pruning cuts or planting depth but I swear stakes cause more problems than people admit. You see this in your area too or is it just here?
I went cheap and bought a $150 harness off Amazon last spring for my tree work. Thing frayed after like 6 climbs, almost dumped me 30 feet up on a red oak job. Now I'm looking at a $500 Petzl harness but wondering if it's just hype or actually safer. Budget guys swear you can get by with basic gear if you inspect it. Anyone else get burned by saving a buck on safety gear? What's your take on price vs. protection?
I used to hand-prune everything with a manual pole saw for like 8 years. Last fall I finally bought a Stihl gas pole pruner after my right shoulder started aching every single night. That thing cut my time on a big live oak job from 4 hours down to maybe 90 minutes. I should have done it sooner but I was stuck in that 'manual is fine' mindset. Now I look back at all those achey evenings and just shake my head. Anyone else fight upgrading to a power tool for way too long?
I've been running my own landscaping business for about 5 years now, mostly focusing on smaller stuff like pruning and removals. Last spring I took on a contract for a new housing development outside of town. They wanted oaks planted along every street and in the green spaces. I figured it would be maybe 50 or 60 trees tops. By the end of the season I had personally planted 200 oak trees. That number shocked me. It was a lot of digging in clay soil and hauling burlap balls. The thing that made it work was having a good planting crew and a plan for spacing them out so I didn't burn out. Has anyone else surprised themselves with a big season like that? What kind of tree count did you hit?
Chased a crown dieback for three seasons, swapped soil, checked roots, even sent tissue samples to the lab. Turns out a $15 pH meter from the hardware store would have told me the soil was way too alkaline the whole time. How long have you spent on a simple fix you overlooked?
I used to think cable bracing was a waste of time and money, just a way for companies to upsell homeowners. Then a huge red oak I passed on bracing last spring in Nashville split right down the middle during a storm in August. The whole thing took out a fence and part of a porch, cost the homeowner about $4,000 in damage. That was the moment I realized I was being stubborn and ignoring the data from ISA. Now I actually recommend it for trees with bad crotch angles over 40 feet tall. Anyone else have a job that made you totally flip on something you were sure was bogus?
Used to just wrap my rope around the trunk and wing it, but after a close call where a branch slipped on a live oak in Austin, I bought a proper saddle harness. My lower back feels way better after 8-hour days now. Has anyone else made that swap and noticed a big difference?
I've been keeping count since I started trimming residential oaks back in 2019, and hitting 500 trees today in this one lady's yard in Brookline made me realize I've climbed more trees than I've had hot dinners, has anyone else ever bothered to tally up their climbs?