Vegetation Management
Trees provide people with shade, food, beautiful flowers, decoration, and even oxygen. But if the vegetation that peppers neighborhoods and lines streets isn’t properly managed, it can pose a threat to humans, nearby buildings, and other infrastructure. The easiest way to ensure that your plants and trees are being maintained properly is to enlist the help of a vegetation management specialist, who can tell you what needs to be done in order to keep you, your family, and your neighbors safe.
What Exactly is Vegetation Management?
Trees can become a menace when they aren’t pruned properly, when they’re damaged during storms, or when they’re weakened by disease or insect damage. Vegetation management is the practice of tree trimming, pruning, and sometimes removing trees and plants so that they don’t interfere with things like power lines, buildings, homes, and other structures.
WHEN VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES ARE REQUIRED
Around power and phone lines: Power lines and phone lines run through many neighborhoods, and older and larger trees are often at risk of entangling themselves in these lines. When this happens, it can cause fires, safety hazards, and power outages. That’s why you so often see trees that appear to be growing perfectly around power lines: because a vegetation management specialist has been in and routinely trimmed branches so they don’t interfere with power or phone lines.
Around roadways and sidewalks: These areas are often lined with trees, and while this creates a beautiful effect and provides privacy for individual homes, the branches can be hazardous if they aren’t maintained. Unpruned limbs and branches can become tripping hazards for people walking by, can scratch pedestrians, and can block roadways if they droop too low or grow too far into the street.
After storms: High winds, hail, and storms can damage trees, can knock down limbs and branches, and can sometimes even uproot entire trees. In these cases, it’s often necessary to call in a vegetation management specialist, who can evaluate the tree for damage, remove a tree that’s fallen over, or remove limbs that pose a threat to people and buildings.
Weak trees: Trees are susceptible to damage and disease just like any other living thing, and sometimes these injuries can weaken a tree. When a tree becomes structurally weak, the branches and limbs are liable to break under high winds, in storms, or even just from their own weight. In these instances, cable bracing is used to support the weak tree and make it more structurally sound.
Vegetation management is all about controlling the growth of trees and plants, so they don’t interfere with buildings and infrastructures. If you have a tree that’s becoming too large for your yard, is growing too close to power lines, has been damaged by a storm, or has cracks or other signs of structural weakness, call a vegetation management specialist for an evaluation.
Ted Foley - Owner
ISA Certified Arborist #
WI-0979A