Basic Tree Surgery Terms

CHURCH STRETTON TREE GROUP

Basic tree surgery terms explained

One of the aims of the Church Stretton Tree Group is to encourage a culture of tree care and to provide access to good quality tree advice. This section gives some commonly used terms which will assist you if you have to put in an application for tree works in a Conservation Area or for instructing a tree surgeon.

If you are engaging a tree surgery company it is useful to know some of the basic terminology accepted by the industry, so that you get exactly what you want, and they know exactly what you mean. There is a British Standard for Tree Work (BS 3998:1989), which qualified tree surgeons should be aware of and work to.

Below are some of the more common tree work terms:

Crown Cleaning Removal of any or all dead and dying wood; stumps of broken or poorly cut branches; unwanted epicormic shoots; climbing plants such as ivy; and any foreign objects such as wires, boards and old signs etc. You can be specific about which of the above you want removing. Thick ivy should be cut at the base and allowed to die before removal, as it may damage the tree to remove it alive.

Pruning This is the correct term for the removal of any live part of the tree, and pruning should preferably be carried out at a branch collar to give the tree its best chance of healing the resulting wound. Try to strike the word “lop” from your mind.

Crown Lifting Lower branches are removed to effectively raise the crown, which is the whole branch structure of the tree. This can be to avoid an obstruction, such as telephone wires, or tall vehicles next to the roadside. This is a very useful treatment of large garden trees where shading is a problem, as the light can come in underneath the tree.

Crown Thinning Crown density is reduced by removal of selected branches from the whole crown, but the overall shape and size of the tree is maintained. This is normally done as a weight reduction method if a significant structural weakness is identified in the stem or major branches.

Crown Reduction and Reshaping The crown is made smaller without spoiling the shape of the tree. This is very skilled work and often involves a method of pruning referred to as “drop- crotching”. Again it is done to reduce the weight in potentially dangerous trees, but can also be useful if trees are obstructing or damaging buildings or power lines.

Further information

The Shropshire Council website has information and guidance about trees and planning and links to other useful websites.

They also have a list of approved tree surgeons. Information can be found under ‘Trees and Woodland’ which is listed under ‘Environment’ which is under ‘Environment and Planning’: www.shropshire.gov.uk

Email enquiries to: [email protected]