Monday, March 29, 2021

Serious surgery of an arborial kind

My poor lime tree at the crumbly cottage has been surgically scythed, seriously sectioned and significantly sawn. Why? And was it really necessary? Well, given its proximity to the back of the house, and the fact it had grown substantially since we've been here, I felt it was time it had a trim. However, I didn't expect the cut to be quite so dramatic. 

In actual fact, it's taken more than a year to arrange it. I first made the enquiry to the tree surgeon in November 2019. The company concerned is Belgian and I think they work with quite a small team, so at first it was pretty difficult for them to find time to come and give me advice. We had a number of storms over the winter of 2019/2020 and they were very busy dealing with the (literal) fallout and then, of course, the pandemic threw everything for a loop. Eventually, we managed a visit in May last year in between lockdowns and a very nice man, one of the partners of the business, came and discussed the trimming with us. 

He said the tree was healthy and not likely to fall down, but he understood my concerns and agreed to come back in the autumn to do the job. We discussed methods and he drew us a diagram which gave us the idea that the tree would retain quite an elegant candelabra shape. He also told us it probably wouldn't flower for a couple of years, which would be sad for the bees as they love the blossom on the tree. I almost hesitated at that, but I hope I can provide them with more flowers in the garden instead. We talked about building them a bee hotel, but as the man said "it's not a hotel they need, it's a restaurant!" which made us laugh. In any event, they enjoyed a prolonged feast last May, for which I am thankful.

Anyway, the autumn came and went and we saw no sign of our tree man, so eventually I wrote and asked when they might come. Well, it seemed they were busy with storm damage again (we have a lot of those – storms, that is), so the job was once more put off until this year. Then, yes, you've guessed it, lockdown hit again, so I'd more or less resigned myself to having to wait another year when much to my surprise an email came.  Our man asked if they could come on March the 9th, and did we also want them to bring a shredder (hakselaar in Dutch) to chop up all the pieces? Yes and yes, I said, with some alacrity.

Well, they came, but it was two different men and they made short work of lopping all the branches off the tree to a much more severe extent than I was expecting. I even wondered if they knew about the candelabra plan, but by that time it was too late. Be that as it may, it was fascinating to watch. The tools the two men brought were scarily sharp and 90% of the cutting was done with small hand saws, which seemed to go through quite thick limbs like butter. The main man only used a chain saw to cut the top off where it was thickest, and even that was just a small, battery operated machine. Professional tools are deceptively and jaw-droppingly good.





 



While the one chap was up the tree, chucking the sawn-off branches into the garden, the other was carting them off to the shredder, another astonishingly powerful piece of equipment. It actually made wood chips of everything, which it spat out to form a huge pile in our passage. We still haven't managed to distribute them all yet, but quite a lot of them are now filling in a dip in front of the garden fence at the bottom of the dyke. I have a feeling the rest will find their way into the flower beds, but at the moment, they're tidied away in one of those big white bags.

And that's about half of them.


The tree now looks awful, but I know it will come back and I fully expect it to have at least some leaves on it by the middle of the summer. It is a prolific shooter so I'm not too worried about it, but I keep apologising to it as well as to the pigeons that have used it for their nests for the past several years.

As you can see from the photos above, the day was overcast and gloomy, so below are some sunnier photos of one of my walks last week.






Have a good week allemaal and keep well! 
 

20 comments:

  1. Dear Val I feel for your lime tree! What a prolonged planning saga and after all that not much sign of the candelabra shape! But lime trees are hardy! Please keep me posted on its progress! Best wishes Jean Henrickson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, thank you, Jean. I hate to see it as it is now, but I know it will recover. My sister said it probably enjoyed its first haircut after lockdown! I'll let you know how it goes later in the summer.

      Delete
  2. My that is, or was, a big lime tree. But does it have lime fruits? A lot of people grow lemons and limes here, including our neighbour who gives us lots of lovely limes - great for G&T, salads, and key lime pie. The tree loppers sound a lot like the new hairdresser I was given at my last salon visit. He chopped off three times what I was asking for, and my head is nearly as shorn as your poor tree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, Patricia, it's not that kind of lime tree. I don't know how they differ botanically, but these have seeds like peppercorns, flowers and then pods. But they aren't fruit bearing at all and are really big trees. I'm glad you can sympathise but I'm so sorry you were also shorn more than you expected. Thank goodness for growth!

      Delete
  3. Great pictures. Fascinating. The tree will forgive you! Pruning - us as well as plants - makes things stronger and more durable. (Steph)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Steph. I know you're right. I just have to get used to it!

      Delete
  4. Hi Val, Tremendous hair cut, it still looks good to me.
    Gary Archbold

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I keep telling myself that better this than being blown down in a gale, or cut down completely. Thanks, Gary!

      Delete
  5. Great blog as always, Val and coincided with me publishing mine for this month too. I feel your pain with the lime tree but I'm sure it will survive and be all the better for its trim! We have been doing major pruning and culling too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, I must pop over and see you on your blog, Margaret. I always enjoy seeing what you've been up to. It seems this is the time for culling and pruning, isn't it?

      Delete
  6. Oh, what a difference! But it will now grow quickly and become beautiful again. Sending love to and the the tree xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks, Jude. I will go and hug it for you :) xxx

      Delete
  7. Wow, I didn't know trees could be trimmed back by that much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They can be cut back even more, Lydia, but I'm very glad they stopped when they did±

      Delete
  8. Wonderful blog as always my friend.
    Wow that is a rather large lime tree you have there Val, and what a pruning it has had. Glad you can out the tree bark to good use.
    Stunning photos of your walk. Thank you, stay safe and well my dear friend xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Linda. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! You keep well too :) xx

      Delete
  9. Pruning is something that needs to be done, Vallypee. I am sure the tree and birds will understand that and pardon you :-) Lovely photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Pradeep. I do hope so, although the bees won't be happy at all, I'm afraid. I just hope there are plenty of other lime trees around.

      Delete
  10. Oh, your poor tree! However, I know it will come back in time, much fuller and more robust. We see it happen all the time here, especially when the power company decides the branches have grown dangerously close to the live wires; it's then that crews arrive to chop, stack and chip away for days, and days... a noisy crew they are, at that! Great pics of the progress at the Crumbly Cottage!
    Equally enjoyable are the routine photos of your own ramblings.
    Sending you and Koos lots of love, Dale xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you, dear Dale. Yes, I'm watching it already, hoping for some growth. It will recover, I know XXX

    ReplyDelete

Apologies for switching on comment moderation, but this is to make sure everyone can comment without jumping through captcha hoops!

If you aren’t a Google member, you can comment anonymously, but please would you give your name. I like to reply to a person personally :)