We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

Don't top your tree. Check this out:
http://www.plantamnesty.org/stoptopp...optopping.htm.

- Tristram Shandy

Don't top the trees. As I am sure many others will state, it will harm the
trees and make them look terrible.

Many people will limb fir trees as they get taller. On my woodlot tree farm
I do this because it tends to promote knot-free timber. However, on my
residence (where I have about 30-40 similarly sized trees that will never be
logged) I do this because (i) I would like a little more light to filter in
from the edges of the stand and (ii) I don't want to get injured by falling
dead branches - the lower branches will eventually die off anyway and become
so-called "widow makers" (you figure out the etymology of that term).

"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

Good site

"oxo34452" wrote in message
et...
"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

Don't top your tree. Check this out:
http://www.plantamnesty.org/stoptopp...optopping.htm.

- Tristram Shandy

My house is surrounded by 10 Douglas Firs that were topped many, many years
ago. The topping didn't stop the trees from growing taller (they're about
the same height as a couple of non-topped trees across the street), it just
created multiple trunks to grow up from the point they were topped.

So, unless you're going to have them topped every other year, (pretty
expensive for the height trees you have), it's definitely not worth it.
It's much more effective to spend the money thinning them out a bit to
reduce the "sail" factor. Unless the roots begin to rot, you're in little
danger from them falling over - Doug Fir roots are very strong!

s/Bob


"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

Thanks. Good reference link..

"oxo34452" wrote in message . net...
"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

Don't top your tree. Check this out:
http://www.plantamnesty.org/stoptopp...optopping.htm.

- Tristram Shandy

Thanks. Is there a limit to how high one should go with taking off
branches?

About a third of our trees have a double trunk roughly 4-6 feet from
the ground.
Whoever planted the trees and nutured them did not pay attention to
the "lean" of the trunk and the overall slant to the tree. SO a
couple of them lean toward the house, approx. 20 away.

They seem to be healthy now and I'd like to keep them that way. Will
removing the lower branches do much harm. I just need to go up maybe
10 feet.

Thanks again.

"homer" wrote in message thlink.net...
Don't top the trees. As I am sure many others will state, it will harm the
trees and make them look terrible.

Many people will limb fir trees as they get taller. On my woodlot tree farm
I do this because it tends to promote knot-free timber. However, on my
residence (where I have about 30-40 similarly sized trees that will never be
logged) I do this because (i) I would like a little more light to filter in
from the edges of the stand and (ii) I don't want to get injured by falling
dead branches - the lower branches will eventually die off anyway and become
so-called "widow makers" (you figure out the etymology of that term).

"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

Xref: kermit rec.gardens:234206

Thanks. How would one tell if the roots are rotting?

"Bob Muir" wrote in message ...
My house is surrounded by 10 Douglas Firs that were topped many, many years
ago. The topping didn't stop the trees from growing taller (they're about
the same height as a couple of non-topped trees across the street), it just
created multiple trunks to grow up from the point they were topped.

So, unless you're going to have them topped every other year, (pretty
expensive for the height trees you have), it's definitely not worth it.
It's much more effective to spend the money thinning them out a bit to
reduce the "sail" factor. Unless the roots begin to rot, you're in little
danger from them falling over - Doug Fir roots are very strong!

s/Bob


"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

(Ray) wrote:

Thanks. How would one tell if the roots are rotting?

The tree begins to die from the top. It is very unusual.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://www.users.fast.net/~shenning

I would say that root rot is rare. However, doug firs, expecially if they
have been part of a larger forest that has been thinned, are prone to being
knocked down by the wind during ferocious winter storms. Apparently their
root systems interlock, and when part of that connection is broken they are
more vulnerable to wind damage.
"Ray" wrote in message
om...
Thanks. How would one tell if the roots are rotting?

"Bob Muir" wrote in message
...
My house is surrounded by 10 Douglas Firs that were topped many, many
years
ago. The topping didn't stop the trees from growing taller (they're
about
the same height as a couple of non-topped trees across the street), it
just
created multiple trunks to grow up from the point they were topped.

So, unless you're going to have them topped every other year, (pretty
expensive for the height trees you have), it's definitely not worth it.
It's much more effective to spend the money thinning them out a bit to
reduce the "sail" factor. Unless the roots begin to rot, you're in
little
danger from them falling over - Doug Fir roots are very strong!

s/Bob


"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks

"gregpresley" expounded:

I would say that root rot is rare. However, doug firs, expecially if they
have been part of a larger forest that has been thinned, are prone to being
knocked down by the wind during ferocious winter storms. Apparently their
root systems interlock, and when part of that connection is broken they are
more vulnerable to wind damage.

It's not just the root system. Trees that grow together grow in
certain patterns in the wind. When you take down some of the trees,
the ones left are left without the protection they grew up with.
Their wind strength was established with their partner trees (for lack
of a better word).

--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************