Reductions/Shaping

An operation that entails the reduction of height and spread of the crown maintaining an aesthetically pleasing shape. It is an effective method of managing a tree within an urban space, and is always carried out sympathetically, taking into considering the trees health and natural form. Often combined with other operations such as crown thinning.

 

This is Gabriel finishing off a reduction of an elm street tree in February '07.  The final picture is the same tree taken in September of the same year.  The street trees in Eastbourne are pruned every five years to maintain a manageable crown size for an urban area.  Elms are an extremley hardy tree (discounting the devastating effect of Dutch Elm Disease) and can easily withstand being cut quite hard, as can be seen by the vigorous growth the tree has put on in only six months.