Gallery

Before and After (move cursor over photo):

High profile olive trees required aesthetic pruning and "crown cleaning"to improve air and light circulation throughout the canopy.	Landscape Bonsai Japanese Maple restored after years of neglect.	Olive tree "limbed up" to show more attractive trunk structure. Also improves health of the tree by increasing air and light circulation.
Gravenstein apple trees pruned in the French espalier form for a garden border.	Little Ollie	Dormant season restoration of specimen Japanese maple tree (under 'Completed Work' - see tree in leaf 6 months later)

Completed Work:

New Zealand Tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium 'Helene Strybing') - 25 yrs. old., 20ft wide and 10ft. high	Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicata tomentosum)	Olive trees ( Olea europaea 'Little Ollie') - standardized
Rosemary {(Rosmarinus officinalis 'Irene')- stylized	Ceanothus (Ceanothus 'Dark Star')- stylized	Japanese maple ((Acer palmatum 'Garnet')
Japanese maple (A.palmatum 'Inaba shidare')	Olive Trees - all the way down the road	Coral Bark maples (Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku')

Stem Girdling Root-
prevention is best:

During early formation of the tree, roots were deformed due to constriction in the growing pot. Root was successfully removed and tree is now thriving.

This root is girdling the main stem of the tree, inhibiting the flow of the vascular system between the roots and crown of the tree. Root was successfully removed.

Wire Baskets-
‘to basket or not’ that IS the question…

Wire baskets can often inhibit proper root formation and growth.

Gopher prevention with wire baskets can sometimes compromise the tree's root structure.

Using wire baskets can create aesthetic problems.

"The Girdling Effect"-
disfiguring, often fatal and completely preventable:

This irrigation line has been placed too close to the tree and is now girdling a buttress root.	This is what happens when nursery stake and ties are forgotten and not removed at time of planting.	This is landscaping weed barrier cloth laid down at the time of tree planting. As the tree grows the cloth girdles the expanding trunk flare.
Burlap cloth was forgotten and not removed at time of planting. Burlap does not disintegrate within sufficient time and holds moisture next to the trunk of the tree, predisposing the tree to rot and other difficulties.

Trees and Construction-
Do not always go well together:

Insufficient tree protection zone.

Storing construction material too close to the trunk causes soil compaction and often trunk and root injury.

Proximity of irrigation lines to the tree's trunk places excess moisture too close to the root crown.

However, with proper planning construction can preserve trees:

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)

Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)

Tree Failures:

Trunk failure of California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii)	Branch failure Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata)

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