I'd like to remove a few high-flying branches on a mature Ash tree - they are at least 15' distant at lowest point and about 2-3" thick. I recall seeing (somewhere) an extendable tool with a saw edge blade on the end of it. Is this the kind of thing I can get from a tool hire place? - and what's it called :-) Any other advice about using one of these things appreciated.
LIDL have these on special offer about once a year for 6.99 (IIRC.) That's probably not a great deal of help.
In message , max writes
You should find Pruning Saws at any good garden centre. Wolf Tools do them (see ie
"dave @ stejonda" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@stejonda.freeuk.com:
Agreed. I have a 'saw on a pole' (sorry, can't remember the name either!) but there is a significant 'wobble factor' and it's quite hard to use. A bowsaw is usually quicker if you can climb up and sit on a handy branch. Though Ash is usually quite nice and easy to cut.
Incidentally, 2-3" thick branches only 15' up an ash tree doesn't sound fully mature to me, unless it's a pollard - I'd guess that tree has quite a bit more growing left to do, and if you take the branches off this year, chances are that in 2-3 years there will be more there just the same size or bigger.
Ash grows fast. So, if you don't have a suitable tool, it may be worth buying one, because it's unlikely to be a one-off job.
Victoria
Thanks for the info. The branches are in fact only the lower branches of this monster tree (50' or so high I guess). It's my neighbours trees branches that now extend 3/4 the way across my garden. The 15' is the lowest point of the lowest branches! Ideally I'd like to take those braches off where they leave the main trunk but my double extension ladder just can't reach it at that point - and there are no lower branches to climb to it.
max wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Ah, I see. Is it worth asking the neighbours if you can use a ladder to climb up into the tree in their garden, or are they unhelpful?
If you chop the branches off at the lowest point, you may get a whole spray of new branches sprouting from that point - if you are mostly concerned about shade /leaves in your garden, this could make things worse.
(I've used this technique on a small ash in my garden - keep cutting the ends off, and you get quite an attractive 'lollipop' effect as the new shoots come thicker and thicker, but that sounds like exactly what you don't want!)
Victoria
None of the ashes in my garden have shown much sign of sprouting anything from where major branches have been lopped next to the trunk.
To the OP - please consult and discuss with your neighbour so you are both sure what's ok and what isn't. I know the legal situation which is that you are entitled to remove overhanging branches (and indeed give your neighbour the cuttings), but it is best to proceed amicably. My neighbour asked if it was okay to prune some lower branches of one of my trees to increase the light on his side. I agreed, but had to almost physically drag his cowboy contractors down off their ladders when I found them about 30' up taking off absolutely everything. The tree responded by shedding large amounts of small branches on my side for a couple of years, and in the end I had to undertake some major pruning as well. It appears to be healthy enough now, but if their gung-ho spirit had killed it, I would have been after a pound of flesh at least.
John Laird wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
That's what I meant. As I read it, he was talking about lopping off smaller branches half-way along, (as not able to reach trunk) rather than taking them off completely at the trunk, where, as you say, they are less likely to resprout.
Victoria
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