Having gone nearly a week without power after a January
ice storm a few years ago, I appreciate the need to prune trees
away from power lines. And Asplundh is all over the place this
month pruning away. They are doing a better job the last few
years than they used to do. My arborist, who is an honest to god
tree freak, landed a contract to train them in proper pruning
techniques. Yes, they still leave trees looking aesthetically
perverse, pretty much like Roger describes, but they now respect
the branch collars and such, leaving the trees with a much better
chance of thriving afterwards.
The key to keeping them from butchering your own trees is
to have it done at your own expense before they get to your
neighborhood. You don't have to do this every year; probably once
every ten years will do. That way you can choose an arborist who
is accountable to you and your tastes.

Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Snipes

Dale,
As someone who oversaw the power line reclearing division of a
contractor here for a number of years, I have heard these very
complaints many times.
One thing people need to remember is that the power companies
don't care what the trees that are in or near their right of way
look like. They have one main priority here -- keep the lines
safe from damage by nearby trees to avoid interruption of service
to you and your neighbors. They want to do this as inexpensively
as possible of course, any expense they have will ultimately be
passed on to you and the rest of the ratepayers.

Many years ago the round-over trimming method was the standard
approved pruning practice when reclearing lines in urban areas.
However when a tree is rounded over as you describe, it
subsequently puts out a mass of wild growth (think trunk chop or
drastic pruning in your bonsai), which soon is back into the
power lines, and is weakly attached to the tree and prone to
breaking off.

The latest accepted standard pruning practices for line clearing
are to V
out the center of the tree leaving the outside untouched, or trim
half of
the tree away, leaving the other half untouched, depending on the
location of the lines in relation to the tree. While this makes
the tree look
terrible, it is actually much healthier for the tree, and it
avoids
stimulating the tree to shoot out wild uncontrolled growth all
over. The
remaining apically dominant growing branches that are left do
their thing
and keep growing, regrowth back towards the lines is minimized
and the power company can go longer between trimming jobs,
thereby saving money.

They are really doing what we do with our bonsai, controlling and
directing growth with pruning -- without the artistic
considerations of course. :-)

I agree that the trees look bad when the contractor is done
trimming, but
think about how you would feel this January, its 10 below zero --
one of
your neighbors whined enough that the tree trimmers left some
branches that they shouldn't have, and one of those branches
comes down on the power line and takes it out in the middle of
the night. You and your neighbors are all freezing in the dark
without power until the utility gets a crew out to repair the
damage. I'll bet that the esthetics of the trimming job aren't
so important to everyone right about then.
Regards,
Roger Snipes
Spokane Wa. Zone 5, or maybe 6, depending on who you believe.

Standard disclaimer: I have no monetary interest in any power
companies, and I am in full agreement that the reclearing jobs
look like crap.

----- Original Message -----
From: "dalecochoy"

I wonder how many other readers have problems with tree trimmers
butchering trees near power lines as I seem to every 3-4 years.
....snip... I'm wondering if a "no" when they come and forcing
them to bring police the third trip would actually get them to
"trim nice" to avoid any further hassle or return trip.
Regards,
Dale "Play By The Rules" Cochoy
Wild Things Bonsai Studio, Hartville, Ohio

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