2 tree conundrum

[stang1911]

My brother in law was asking me about pruning the 2 maples by his driveway as the branches are growing into each other. After looking at them would it be advisable to remove the maple nearest the neighbors driveway and power lines?
I believe trying to keep up with the said tree would make it look misshaped and would be delaying the inevitable once it grew to sufficient size.

 

[DSMc]

View attachment 51565 View attachment 51564 ... would it be advisable to remove the maple nearest the neighbors driveway and power lines?...

I wouldn't. It is not a problem for trees to be close and have intertwining limbs (think forest). Can't tell by the angle just how close the power line is but it must be far enough away to have allowed the tree to reach its present size so future clearance pruning should be no big deal.
Things I would do is look closely at the codom of the closest tree pictured and assess. Remove dirt and planting material from the root buttressing, enlarge the mulch rings as much as possible and then replant them with tree-compatible species. A good resource for this is the USFS silvics manual.

 

[Santiago Casanova]

X2 for DSMc

I am not an arborist, but my opinion is that if they are managed as they grow to prevent rubbing branches, it shold be fine. I like the look of a yard with a bunch of nicely intertwined trees. It also makes for fun climbing. Both trees look healthy. Looks like a good spot for a slack line or hammocks. That thick canopy makes great shade.

 

[stang1911]

I mentioned cabling the closest tree in the future, also avoiding the mulch volcanos but they want to keep it that way.
The lines are just touching the tree now so I wasn’t sure if it would be a problem in the future.

 

[cerviarborist]

I'll bet that if you look closely at the space between those trees, you'll see that they haven't actually intertwined with each other. They'll get close, but once they touch, they stop growing in that direction. If they want to keep the mulch volcanoes, knowing the damage that can do to their trees, then they really don't seem to care about the long term health of the trees, so pitching preservation work is kind of a lost cause.

 

[DSMc]

... If they want to keep the mulch volcanoes, knowing the damage that can do to their trees, then they really don't seem to care about the long term health of the trees, so pitching preservation work is kind of a lost cause.

Yes. You need to make sure that they fully understand the consequences of their decision on this. This is an important part of what we do as arborists. It can still look good when done right.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Too often customers put professionals who have been asked for advice in an awkward position by totally ignoring the advice they're given

This seems to put the professional in an ethical conundrum...exactly where you're at it seems

This is where good sales skills come to play. Less science and more emotion

Or...walk away if the effort isn't worth it

One strategy that I learned was to find out what my clients expertise was. Then gently ask them why anyone would NOT follow Their expert advice

This is tricky. If it's not framed right it comes offike you're rubbing the experts nose in the dirt. Or the sales rep
Comes off as haughty and a 'Know Almost All'

Keep us posted on how this moves along

 

[stang1911]

Being family I didn’t want to push to much. Maybe wait til they go on a vacation and do it for them. Haha

 

[colb]

Left tree looks like it also has smaller codominant limbs that could still be corrected by pruning.

 

[guymayor]

Left tree looks like it also has smaller codominant limbs that could still be corrected by pruning.

Good observation: Subordination pruning is what is needed.

Intertwining crowns are a non-issue imo.

And yes please re-mulch when they are out of town.

 

[ATH]

I mentioned cabling the closest tree in the future, also avoiding the mulch volcanos but they want to keep it that way.
The lines are just touching the tree now so I wasn’t sure if it would be a problem in the future.

It is always hard to "prune from a picture", but I'd look first to correct the codominate through pruning so a cable is not necessary. From what I see there, I think that can still be done. It will take a couple of pruning cycles to do so without hacking away too much.

Like @colb said...the other needs some structural pruning too, but that will be less work and yield better results because the split doesn't happen as low on the trunk and isn't as big above the split.

Is it just the plants that they like. Would they really notice if the mounds were gone (I doubt it) and the plants were replanted once the ground is leveled?

 

[ATH]

PS: Is that lower wire phone or electric?

 

[colb]

when they are out of town.

 

[treebing]

not much to prune from either tree... but those mulch volcanoes have to go. why? why? why? I don't understand this phenomenon at all or this dyed chips thing either. mulch volcanoes with dyed chips. argh it drives me insane. Home depot doesn't even sell non dyed chips. who came up with that idea? I would like to slap him/her.

 

[stang1911]

Update, They are receptive to removing the volcanos. Heading over Saturday to show them what they can do.

 

[stang1911]

Showed them what they needed to do and their going to do it themselves.
I got a closer look at the trees and noticed this on the one closest the lines.
This is on 1 of the codominant stems.

 

[ATH]

That is a pretty significant codominate. Confirms it needs to be addressed.

The holes look like they are just sapsucker. Nothing to be concerned with...

 

[stang1911]

I was more worried about the vertical fissure. Poking around, it seems to be dead wood.

 

[ATH]

Oh I see the now! Looked at smaller pics before and didn't catch that area.

I'd suggest that just means you train the other leader as the main trunk. With that fork right above that and the lack of such fork on the other side that is the one I'd have likely chosen anyhow. Which side is closer to the wires?

 

[stang1911]

There about equal distance but other one is slightly closer.