The Western Red-Cedar can stand to a graceful height of sixty to one hundred and thirty feet tall, but has been known to stand two hundred and seventy seven feet tall with a diameter of nearly fourteen feet. It can take over one thousand years to reach this size. The oldest confirmed Western Red-cedar was […]

When evaluating a tree for its potential to fail, it is important to understand the way a tree can fail, why it will fail, and the way a tree will react to defects that may increase failure probability. In this article we will explore the visual signs of these defects and combine these observations with […]

Tree mechanics is a very important and very difficult subject to summarize into a single blog, but I am always excited to take on a challenge. The first thing to understand in tree mechanics is a few engineering terms. After covering some of these basic terms, I will then attempt to explain how the reality […]

Last week I hope I was able to adequately impart an understanding of how trees deal with decay in their woody structures. This week we will discuss the types of decays that will invade the woody structures of trees. Decays that are caused by fungus have three basic stages that are useful in risk assessment. […]

Tree risk assessment can be a heavy burden to carry as life is always on the line. This includes the lives of your family, and the lives of your trees. I take this responsibility with great care and solemnity, and hope to impart to you the basics of risk recognition in the field of arboriculture. […]

If you are like me, it’s not enough to just know how to prune correctly – I need to know why this pruning is correct. This article will address the “why’s” of proper tree pruning in three main points; Where to make the cut, when to make the cut, and why it’s important not to cut too […]