A Real Pity!

Yesterday morning we had to be in Calgary for a medical appointment for Jim. We left at 6:45 a.m. and got home by noon. Later in the day we happened to notice that we had a message on our answering machine, but it was badly garbled. The only clear part said something about "power" and "be there in half an hour. If you have any questions call ----" and gave a phone number. The time recorded was about 9 a.m.

We tried calling that number to find out what it was about and got someone else's answering machine. It said it was "Jason for Asplund". Asplund, as far as we know, is a road construction company.

Since he said he would be here that morning, Jim went out and asked S. if she knew about it, as she was here all morning. He came in and told me sadly, they've been trimming the trees near the road. Apparently the power company sends someone around at intervals to be sure no trees are encroaching on the power lines.

Here's the result:

There's row of Schubert Chokecherry trees on the southern end of the property, between the dugout and the road. They aren't even under the power lines, but "Jason" saw fit to chop the tops off them. Here's a close up of one of the tops, chopped off between the upper limbs:

See in the very center of the picture how the main

trunk ends abruptly

between the two limbs branching out from it?

It's doubtful that these trees would ever grow

high enough to interfere with the power lines at all, as that is not the growth habit of this species.

It seems such a pity, and such a violation to have your trees so badly "pruned," especially since Jim is knowledgeable about pruning, and would have done it

himself, if they had only asked!

It's also terrible to cut out the "header" of a tree. The growing point at the top of the tree sends out hormones that prevent the other branches from trying to be the highest point on the tree. With the top of the main trunk gone, the natural shape of the tree will be destroyed.

There's also the concern that the flat top is open to rot now, as it was sawed off level horizontally. The trunk has no protection from water that may begin to seep into the wood and rot it.

It's so bad that a person who doesn't know about the habit of growth for tree species, and isn't trained in proper pruning techniques is given this job. I hardly dare tell Jim how sad I am that this happened. I'm sure he feels bad enough about it!

Another casualty was the really beautiful tower poplar right at the end of the drive. This picture doesn't show very well how the main trunk is simply cut off at a certain point, but that is what happened. You can see a picture of this tree is its full autumn glory if you go back to the posting of November 16, 2009.

So, Linda, (see the comment on the last post) it wasn't us working on our trees. It wasn't even our choice, and wouldn't have been.