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| Three trees in our front yard |
We live in a rented apartment in a complex of 28, and we've enjoyed it very much during our time here. In September 2012, we moved from one end of the complex to the other, and I have grown fond of these trees since then. When I saw how much they have recently been cut back, I asked the manager if they were intending to remove the middle one, which now has NO branches and is just a trunk with some stumps above.
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| Closeup of the middle tree |
He told me no, it will grow back, that he saw it cut back this far during a previous winter cutting. I'm not sure what kind of tree it is, but I really did think it had been killed. The two trees on either side of it have been cut back, too, but not nearly so drastically. You can see the branches that have been cut off of the far tree at the right.
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| The far tree, closest to the steps |
Not knowing what this tree is named, I took this picture last summer in hopes of finding out from somebody what the heck it's called. After I took it, however, I got sidetracked and never did find out what it is. It won't look like this next summer, that's for sure. Take a look at that first picture again, and you can see how much of it is gone. I think the owners are doing what they can to keep the roof from gathering leaves, since the roof was replaced just the summer before last.
I will be interested to see what happens with that scalped middle tree. It's been raining here, but our temperatures are among the mildest in the nation, with even Florida experiencing cold weather. It's right now 40 deg F outside. I'll take it. Stay warm!
:-)
they really did scalp/butcher them.
ReplyDeletewe're hitting mid-40s here today and i'm happy! from the teens at night to sunny 40s. :)
The tree has been cut back very closely. People in this area do the our crepe myrtle trees much the same way, and I've seen it referred to as "crepe murder."
ReplyDeleteI cringe when I see a tree cut back so drastically. I do hope that it recovers its foliage.
Hugs to you,
Jackie
Fingers crossed. Our silk tree was cut back very, very hard after it became infested with borers. I couldn't see how it could possibly survive. And it is going gang-busters now, with branches everywhere, foliage and flowers. A risky business though.
ReplyDeleteThey cut a lot of the trees back like that up here on the main streets on the Canadian west coast. Willows, especially, love to be cut back! They grow so fast but stay shorter overall so they don't get tangled in the wiring. Your tree looks like a maple from what I can see. If it is, it will sprout out quickly but stay lower & bushier. And, yeah, leaf elimination is one of the reasons but height may be the real one.
ReplyDeleteI've seen trees around here trimmed to this drastic level also, and they do come back more shapely and rounded. I wouldn't be concerned. Yes, that's a good assumption about leaves on the roof...here, I think it's to keep them from blowing over in our tropical storms.
ReplyDeleteIt looks very drastic, but I don't know which trees need to be trimmed. In July, you can tell us if they trimmed it properly.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say, "You win," on temperatures, unfortunately, my area was 2 degrees this morning. I am hibernating.
ha. you are probably warmer than us....wow that is a pretty steep cut back on the tree...hopefully it will come back in over time...
ReplyDeleteWell, I am no tree expert so I'll refrain from offering an opinion. I do hope all of the trees sprout leaves eventually.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a maple to me...but I'm no expert.
ReplyDeleteWe've had the same issues with our trees until the power company hit one of the nicer neighborhoods in town and then the protests began.
Hopefully it will come back - sometimes the trees are more resilient than we think.
I have seen trees survive and thrive after such a severe scalping. Will be interested in seeing this summer's pictures.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of tree cut back here in the late fall and they all seem to come back come spring. From the leaves I would also say that's a maple tree. They are pretty resilient so it should be fine.
ReplyDeleteIt's 33 here at the moment. This morning we had a little freezing rain. Nothing like the rest of the country.
Some trees thrive on a severe pruning and grow back very quickly.
ReplyDeleteDon't be surprised if next summer this tree looks close to what it looked this summer.
If you ever see my yard you'll know I'm not much of a tree expert either, but I once read that as a rule of thumb you can cut a tree back by one third. I'm sure it depends on the age and type of the tree ... and the proximity of the nearest roof.
ReplyDeleteI think the tree will recover and come back. Last night in south florida the temp was in the forties. My mango trees are not happy about this. But we human welcome the respite from heat.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Seattle, but in Hawaii they sometimes cut the trees way way back and some how they come back. It amazed us the first time we saw them do this.
ReplyDeleteScalped for sure. It looks like a Maple to me too..but it could be a Chestnut or Buckeye. Only a few trees have Palmate Leaves...which those look like from your photos. I looked at the scalped photo and saw in the distance in front of that white car how another tree/shrub had been trimmed back...looked like it had lots of what I would call water shoots (Growth that is puny and goes straight up)
ReplyDeleteI suppose they were controlling height.
It looked like a fine tree before...Keep us posted:) They are not tree trimmers either. The cuts should have been made at an angle so the cuts could shed water instead of collect water and possibly get a disease. Off the soap box now.
I thought maple tree from the "leaved" pic. Never seen maples pruned like this, though. Some of the pear trees around here are pruned like this and they do grow back, and quite beautifully. Terry cuts our fruited mulberry way back each winter as the fruit produces on old wood. The tree comes back in full glory every summer. We need cooling shade here, whereas you all may not need trees for that purpose.
ReplyDeleteGood grief! We need to call Plant Amnesty! That is a terrible job of pruning.
ReplyDeleteI so hate it when trees are cut-back so much one wonders if they will ever leaf out again.
ReplyDeleteThe power companies are the worst, they cut two of our twenty six year old trees down this past summer, and I've still not gotten over the shock ;(
~Jo
Well, the important thing is that you still have the stump, and a promise that no trees are harmed in the management process.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness. Imagine; 40F. And we're trying to deal with -40F. They're fairly close, I suppose.
Blessings and Bear hugs.
When I was taking my master gardening course, our instructor said that anyone who tops a tree, and essentially, that is what has been done here, does not know what they are doing. It looks like a maple tree from what I can see, but I can't tell from the tree. Just for the record, this is NOT pruning. I have no idea what they were thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe will for trees to survive is as strong, if not more so than our own. It suspect he's right and it will flourish within a year or two. You sure are getting the better weather out your way. Enjoy it. :)
ReplyDeleteThe will for trees to survive is as strong, if not more so than our own. It suspect he's right and it will flourish within a year or two. You sure are getting the better weather out your way. Enjoy it. :)
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