Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, we can! First, however, you must determine whether the trees are on private property or public property and whether there are any restrictions. (The City of Calgary has a Tree Protection Bylaw which may limit tree removals; for more information go to www.calgary.ca.) The quickest and easiest way to proceed is to use our Digital Estimate service to submit images of your trees and construction site and, within one business day, you will receive some guidance from us and an estimate if we are legally allowed to perform tree removal services.

Removing stakes and ties is an often neglected job – even by people who plant trees for a living. Just look around your city streets if you don’t believe us! There are lots of trees choking to death out there. Stakes and ties should be viewed as temporary, in constant need of removal or replacement as the tree grows. We can help provide this valuable service, or here are some tips if you choose to do it yourself:

Stakes

When you come across a tree that has the original square nursery stake still attached, remove it. If the tree can’t support itself, tie the tree to support stakes loosely, in such a way that it is upright but can sway in the wind.

For trees you have planted, go back and remove the support stakes six to eighteen months after planting. If any stake is rotten or broken, or if it interferes with the tree’s growth, remove it and replace if needed.

Tree Guards

If the tree still needs protection from outside hazards but can stand on its own, try installing protective barriers or tree guards. For seedlings and small trees, a number of tree guards are on the market; you can also make them from wire and small stakes. You can use three or four short stakes (2 1/2 feet above the ground) around the trunk of a large tree to protect it from maintenance equipment. For more serious protection from vandals and vehicles, the stakes should be four or five feet tall, made of two-by-fours or equally strong material, such as metal pipe or rebar, and connected by cross-pieces at the top.

Ties

Fix ties that have broken or slipped down. Check for ties cutting into the tree. If the tree has grown around a wire, don’t try to remove it, but loosen it as much as possible and cut off any free ends. Replace ties made of materials that can cut into the bark.

1. Starvation: Good pruning practices rarely remove more than 1/4 to 1/2 of the crown, which in turn does not seriously interfere with the ability of a tree’s leafy crown to manufacture food. Topping removes so much of the crown that it upsets an older tree’s well-developed crown-to-root ratio and temporarily cuts off its food-making ability.
2. Shock: A tree’s crown is like an umbrella that shields much of the tree from the direct rays of the sun. By suddenly removing this protection, the remaining bark tissue is so exposed that scalding may result. There may also be a dramatic effect on neighboring trees and shrubs. If these thrive in shade. and the shade is removed, poor health or death may result.
3. Insects and Disease: The large stubs of a topped tree have a difficult time forming callus, the terminal location of these cuts, as well as their large diameter, prevent the tree’s chemically based natural defense system from doing its job. The stubs are highly vulnerable to insect invasion and the spores of decay fungi. If decay is already present in the limb, opening the limb will speed the spread of the disease.
4. Weak Limbs: At best, the wood of a new limb that sprouts after a larger limb is truncated is more weakly attached than a limb that develops more normally. If rot exists or develops at the severed end of the limb, the weight of the sprout makes a bad situation even worse.
5. Rapid New Growth: The goal of topping is usually to control the height and spread of a tree. Actually, it has the opposite effect. The resulting sprouts (often called water sprouts) are far more numerous than normal new growth and they elongate so rapidly that the tree return to its original heght in a very short time-and with a far denser crown.
6. Tree Death: Some older trees are more tolerant to topping than others. Beeches, for example, do not sprout readily after severe pruning and the reduced foliage most surely will lead to death of the tree.
7. Ugliness: A topped tree is a disfigured tree. Even with its regrowth it never regains the grace and character of its species. The landscape and the community are robbed of a valuable asset.
8. Cost: To a worker with a saw, topping a tree is much easier than applying the skill and judgement of good pruning. Therefore, topping may cost less in the short run. However, the true costs of topping are hidden. These include: reduced property value, the expense of removal and replacement if the tree dies, the loss of other trees and shrubs if they succumb to changed light conditions, the risk of liability from weakened branches, and increased future maintenance.