Protecting Your Trees During Construction

When re-landscaping or fixing irrigation, it is very important to protect the root system of existing trees on your property. Trenching for new irrigation or electrical can damage the root system on established trees, damage that may not be noticed for many seasons after the construction has been completed. Severing large diameter roots can cut off water and nutrients to a large area of the tree, potentially causing branch and limb dieback.

As you can see, a large diameter root was severed to make way for a new lighting system. The root was cut a few years ago, but the tree did not start showing symptoms for at least a year after the project. The upper portions of the tree also contained flatheaded borers, causing additional damage to the mesquite tree. These branches will not likely survive and should be removed to prevent borers infesting other portions of the tree. To make way for the new electrical line, air trenching would have prevented the extensive root damage, borer infestation and branch dieback.

Yeah, these trees are happy. One tree is channeling the Hamburglar!

Please put it out of its misery!

Now all of us have seen such horrendous acts of plant abuse around town, but really, do they think this looks good? This poor homeowner thinks he got a smokin' deal by paying a fraction of what a professional tree company charges. They probably told the homeowner they would prune a bit more so he wouldn't have to prune again for some time. Obviously, this tree will never look the same. The structure, health and vitality has been destroyed. Little does the homeowner know that by saving a few bucks on trimming that he has greatly devalued his property. They also don't know that when plants are over-pruned, it actually promotes the plant to grow more, smaller and weaker limbs which will likely break in a wind storm. How utterly humiliating this is for the poor mesquite! Can't we all agree that this tree should be put out of their misery?