oak Leaf singleOxfordshire Tree Removal Dismantling & Felling

Often trees are removed because they have simply outgrown their situation. They may have become alarmingly large for their proximity to your house, their branches may be interfering with your property, or you may be concerned that the root system is affecting your home’s structure (particularly on shrinkable clay soils). Or it may simply have grown to block off so much light that it spoils your enjoyment of your home and garden.

We are fully competent, skilled and equipped to remove your tree using whichever method is most appropriate. Our extensive tree surgery experience and training means we are very happy to provide our services handling big difficult trees, and ensuring the safe completion of what could potentially be very dangerous work

Most likely your tree will require dismantling in manageable pieces, enabling us to avoid obstacles and minimize disturbance. Wherever necessary we use the latest rope and rigging techniques to cut and lower each branch safely to the ground. This is complex and technical work for the tree surgeon, and you can rest assured that we have been trained in the latest and safest techniques available.

 

oak Leaf singleOxfordshire Tree pruning (crown reduction, crown thinning, crown lifting, pollarding and deadwood / branch removal)

Tree Pruning
There are many different forms of tree pruning, each appropriate to different situations. The most significant ones are described below. We are happy to advise you on which type is most suitable for your requirements and the health of your tree. The term ‘crown’ is often used when describing tree pruning techniques – it refers to the tree’s canopy, ie the leaf and branch area but not the trunk/stem.

Crown Reduction
To reduce the overall volume and visible size of a tree, while maintaining the natural balance and shape – ensuring that it still looks like a tree. It may be that you would like to keep your tree but you need more light in your garden , or you feel the tree is too large given it’s proximity to your property. Sometimes a tree with a potentially hazardous disease or unstable rot may be spared removal by reducing it’s volume and thus greatly reducing it’s susceptibility to high winds or it’s collapse due to excessive branch weight.

Crown Thinning
This process leaves the overall size of the tree as it is, but removes selected branches within the crown. The branches that are removed are often those that are dead, rubbing, split or defective in some other way. Combined with increased airflow within the canopy this is a good way to maintain the health of your tree, while also increasing the light passing through to the ground below. Crown thinning reduces the ‘cluttered’ appearance of an overly thick canopy.

Crown Lifting
To remove the lowest branches of a tree, providing increased clearance below. Often carried out on roadside trees as there are statutory height clearance requirements that local councils/highway authorities can enforce. Can also be a good way to increase the light below garden trees.

Pollarding
A traditional method of tree management, this involves pruning the tree quite dramatically, often to only a few metres high, from which shoots will often re-grow with surprising vigour. It can be an effective way to greatly reduce the size of a tree while also leaving it in an easily maintained condition (so long as this is done on a regular basis). While it is not appropriate for all species, it can increase the health and longevity of other species – indeed, some of our best known ancient trees are old pollards.

Deadwood / Branch Removal
The removal of dead tree branches greatly improves the safety of people and property below. Trees naturally produce deadwood as branches die and decay, indeed in an area of untravelled woodland this provides excellent wildlife habitat. Unfortunately deadwood branches have a tendency to fall out of trees and above public areas, roads or gardens this can be a hazard. Having a tree cleaned of deadwood greatly reduces the hazard to those below. Individual selected live branches can also be removed if they have grown in an overly heavy or weakened manner, or if they cause other problems such as light obstruction or rubbing on property.

 

oak Leaf singleOxfordshire Stump Removal & Stump Grinding

Once a tree has been felled the end product is an ugly stump, which can cause all manor of problems from lawn mower damage to an unusable area of ground or garden. Stumps are also an ideal food source to harbour fungi; these fungi can be a serious threat to other trees within the immediate proximity to the stump. It is therefore beneficial to have the stump removed. Stumps are removed by the employment of a Stump Grinder, which is a machine that is driven hydraulically. This machine is capable of removing any size of stump and will access them over almost any terrain.

 

oak Leaf singleOxfordshire Woodland Management

Some clients may have areas of woodland that they own or are responsible for. They may require woodland management for reason of public or personal safety and we have plenty of experience in this type of tree work. By taking an overall view of your woodland combined with use of the techniques described in the tree surgery sections of this website, we can easily help you achieve your aims.

Equally it may be that you wish to manage your woodland for wildlife. Removal of selected trees and creation of woodland glades can encourage diversity of native woodland wildlife species of flora and fauna. Tree stumps that are left to decay, rather than being removed, provide valuable habitat for woodpeckers and invertebrates. Deadwood piles are essential for endangered stag beetles, while tree cavities provide excellent roosting sites for bats.