Here we show our work reducing an ash tree. It was early May, and the tree was about to come into leaf.
Ash grow back relatively quickly and will take a pollard. This is a heavy reduction, removing all leaf bearing structure, cutting back to stumps. In this case, the customer did want the tree reduced significantly to increase light penetration. However, he also wanted it left looking natural. The tree had been reduced before. Therefore the approach we took was ‘reduce back to previous reduction points, maintaining smaller branches’. So, immediately after our work, the tree still provided privacy from and for the neighbouring houses and gardens to the rear. Here are the before and after photos:
The before photo was taken from further away than the after photo, so the reduction in size is not as noticeable. We probably took about 3m or 40% off the height, and thinned out the density of the remaining canopy. As usual we also removed any significant dead or dangerous branches, and left the work area and access route clean and tidy.
For further reading, click here for the Royal Horticultural Society’s page on ash trees.
If you’ve liked our work reducing an ash tree, please get in touch.