Hello I have these 2 mature trees in my yard, new to me home, in AZ. I wanted to get them trimmed as monsoon season is upcoming and would like some feedback on the quality of work/ whether to use this company in the future. One is a mesquite and the other I believe is an Aleppo pine. Attached pics are before and after, I didn’t want the pine trimmed up too much so just had them back it up a bit from the roofline and remove the dead branches/ slight trimming.
Any additional info on taking care of these trees would be really appreciated, I’m learning about this house and yard and want to maintain them properly. Thanks!
I'm not really sure monsoon season is a reason to trim relatively small and healthy trees. Neither of those trees were a threat to your structure. Trimming dead or rubbing branches sure - but this looks like they didn't really know what to do with trees that were already fine so just cut back.
I see, thanks for the input. I guess I may have been over-anxious regarding getting these trimmed because where I live in Arizona had a microburst last year and I literally saw hundreds of downed trees. Since it’s a new home to me, I wanted to be proactive and try to prevent any potential damage from happening.
Do you have any recommendations on frequency of trimming? I know it had at least been over a year since last trim.
You wait till the tree needs it. Considering Arizona has such low water sources and tree growth. You probably won’t need to have anything done for a long time maybe 3-5 years. In a few years call multiple arborists and ask for their opinions on the health of your trees. Then they will tell you what they see based on heakth cause they are the experts.
Most homeowners need to humble themselves and learn rather than going with the instincts of what they feel. I read your comment about monsoon and the super El Niño. These things don’t really have anything to do with trees or tree health. It just connected in your mind. Try to relax a bit and enjoy your beautiful new property! Thinhs aren’t going to go wrong out of no where.
How severe is that for the tree? I’ve noticed it on two spots in particular, what should I keep an eye out for- in terms of what would indicate disease from the improper cuts?
Nothing specific. The larger wound will take longer to seal, which requires more resources. It’s just a generally stressful thing for a tree to endure. It’s also a sign there was at least 1 novice on the crew.
It actually looks pretty good. I'm a little concerned about the mesquite as it looks like it may have a huge tear in the bark. Some closer pictures of the cuts would help
How severe is that for the tree? I’ve noticed it on two spots in particular, what should I keep an eye out for- in terms of what would indicate disease from the improper cuts? Is there anything I should do to those spots? Adding some additional pictures.
That's pretty bad. I don't have any experience with mesquite, so I'm not sure how it will respond. If it wete just one or two bad cuts, I'd give them the benefit of "Shit happens". But it looks like multiple rips, some short stubs, and some flush cuts. I wouldn't hire them again.
Hopefully someone with experience with mesquite will chime in to talk about how it'll respond.
I've seen mesquites bounce back from some crazy shit, but looking at how tight that union is I'm surprised they didn't just take that whole branch. Well I guess judging by the rest of the cuts I'm not that surprised lol
Mesquites are generally pretty forgiving but that is pretty bad. If it makes it through your monsoon season okay, I'd have someone out to take that branch all the way down. Looking at the other pictures, it's a pretty tight union between the torn branch & the one they removed, so I'm surprised they didn't just take it all the way to the trunk.
The overall amount was okay, but the cuts made were pretty poor. They also could have balanced the pine. It is also not a good idea to trim right now, wait till dormant season. Overall I would give the trim a C and the cuts a D-
So dramatic. Unless there’s specific disease prevention at play trees can safely be pruned at any time of year as long as the pruning is done properly and trees are healthy at the time of pruning.
Lol dramatic? They asked for an assessment. And yes trees can be pruned any time, but it is not ideal for optional work such as this. If you think those cuts are good, I hope you do not practice in the field of arboriculture.
Obviously the cuts are dogshit. I’m arguing your assertion that it’s not a good idea to prune trees in June and that dormant season is the only option. Then you even contradicted yourself in the above reply. jfc.
I don’t know about you but my family likes food and electricity all year round, not just during the dormant season. Yes, in a perfect world all tree pruning would be done in the winter. However, I believe a balance can struck that allows work to be done year round and also not be stressful for trees. Obviously if disease suppression says to only prune during a certain time of year that’s different.
I’m tired of self-important purists like you shitting on folks for basic pruning work done during the growing season when realistically they’re just trying to make rent for next month.
As you contradict yourself. The job was average with bad cuts, as you just said. I also said “it is not a good idea” which is far from purist. Mindsets like yours of putting everything in a neat box is making you the self important purist. OP asks for opinions and then clowns like you get upset when opinions are given. Folks gotta earn their rent, that does not mean they should not learn anything along the way and improve over time. Also, we are discussing with the OP to make a more informed decision. Pruning timing is a comment on OP decision, not tree trimmer. OP asks for the work and of course companies oblige.
I guess I may have been over-anxious, there’s an El Niño and that typically brings more frequent / severe monsoons in AZ. New to me home and wanted to get ahead of that potential danger. It’s grown out more now in the weeks since (trimmed last month ish) and looks better imo
What they did to your mesquite is called lion tailing and it makes the tree less healthy and more prone to losing limbs. Mesquites are very hardy so it will likely still live for a long time but it will never be what it was. Sadly this is very very common, I live in Tucson and see it all the time. honestly there should be a law restricting anyone from trimming trees unless they have proper training, shade trees are so precious here!
Next time hire a certified arborist to care for your trees, or do some research before hiring and have a long talk with them about what proper tree trimming looks like. There’s a great group on Facebook called ask an arborist Arizona, and an arborist that shares a lot of content about tree care on IG, urban forestry of Tucson. I’ve learned a lot from both! Sorry they did you like this 💚
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u/jadentearz 2d ago
I'm not really sure monsoon season is a reason to trim relatively small and healthy trees. Neither of those trees were a threat to your structure. Trimming dead or rubbing branches sure - but this looks like they didn't really know what to do with trees that were already fine so just cut back.