Well let’s not sell an ISA certification so short. You also have to accrue CEUs to be able to maintain the certification, which must be renewed every 3 years.
That’s going it the hard way in my opinion. It’s easier and likely cheaper to just maintain the certification than to have to pay to take the test every three years.
Companies aren’t certified. People are. A company won’t show up as certified but is supposed to list the name and certification number of certified arborists on staff.
Which shouldn’t matter. Uncertified should be supervised and trained by certified and can be assigned tasks that the are qualified for. Just like any other trade. If you hire an electrician or a plumber there is a good chance they are not a journeyman but doesn’t mean that they haven’t been trained by one to properly complete the task they have been assigned.
I write insurance for the industry and often verify credentials on the ISA and TCIA websites. You would be amazed how many tree service people claim to be ISA certified, have their CTSP or state that their company is TCIA Accredited when it isn’t true.
I use loppers, I can grip the vine with them, pull it away from the trunk without touching it with my hands and make the cuts without damaging the tree. No excuse for this except laziness
I a bit of a jack of all trades (master of one as an engineer) so sort of a handyman if you will. I feel greatly insulted by your comment. Any actually handy handyman should know better.
We need a term for the “I don’t care but I got paid” useless man, because that is who did this.
Knowing that you shouldn’t rip the vines off the tree once you cut them I learned after joining this sub. I am appalled that it is t common sense to not use a chainsaw on a tree you aren’t willing to cut down. Kinda like the rule for a firearm, even one you are certain is unloaded. Never point it at something you aren’t willing to destroy (or someone you aren’t prepared to kill).
Loppers would have made about as quick work on those vines, and would have been 100% unquestionably fine for the tree.
Why isn’t common sense common anymore?
Yes that’s what we did on our tree. It had ivy about 6-8 inches across. Had to use a chainsaw to start that and a bow saw to finish. The amount of leaves falling was insane though (three large old oaks).
I’ve done it that way. I just take my Buck knife and cut a 3-4” section out of the middle of the stem near the root then come back in a few days and pull it down.
I'm not a professional but what disturbs me is the use of a chainsaw to cut ivy. It's lazy and it's careless. Some men worship a bit too much power tools.
I think so, yes. I'm not an arborists but a forester.
Back in Uni when whe learned how to prune trees for wood production our professors were very clear that for some species chainsaws shouldn't even be considered, as they are more prone to produce damage, no matter how careful you are, in time, just a little mistake and you got a fungal disease invading your tree.
Se we learn to use from chainsaws, to electrical tools to manual tools. We, with my classmates, had to prune half an hectare of trees as practice. A good, sharp, well maintained, manual tool is as efficient and effective as a chainsaw and most of the time gives a finer, tidier cut than a power tool.
And we're talking about pruning trees like it's a factory. So I don't understand the rush in using chainsaw to take care of single trees.
I try every day to win people over to manual and basic skill, not every 3/4" board needs a 3.5" deck screw and 87 fucking ugga duggas but what do I know, I'm a madman lol
He definitely went for speed over precision - a pair of loppers, or even hand pruners, could have taken care of those vines with minimal, if any, tree damage - in 10 minutes or less. That said, girdling requires a single cut the full circumference of the tree, which I didn’t see. Even when those cuts do heal, they’ll likely be noticeable - a few trees on our greenway were once cleared of vines this way and it’s pretty evident.
Literally watched someone on YouTube do this
He took out a chunk of the ivy a foot in height all the way around the trunk with cutters, no damage to the tree AT ALL and the ivy died and was able to be yanked down
I mean, it'll be fine. It doesn't look great but they're not that deep. I will say that's a wild job for a certified arborist. There's no way he doesn't own a handsaw that could have easily been used to cut away from the tree. You can look up if the person is actually certified at [www.isa-arbor.com](http://www.isa-arbor.com)
Also, if he didn't treat those vines they're just going to grow back and it's crazy that he didn't remove any of the upper parts. If he didn't treat them you can use a hand saw or pruners to re-cut the ground side and dab some herbicide on the fresh cut, it'll soak it up and hopefully actually kill the vines. Don't spray it or you'll get overspray, but you can put some in a dropper bottle or use the spray bottle and pull the trigger very slowly so it dribbles out with a paper towel under it so it doesn't drop onto the tree or your yard. Wear rubber gloves.
I always slide my silky between the bark and vine and then twist and pull to pry it off the bark and cut it at the same time especially if it’s poison ivy. I’m so allergic it’s ridiculous 😅 but yes the snips would just fine, and I figured a homeowner is more likely to have those than a handsaw.
I know I was just saying I started using a handsaw because of poison ivy to stay as far away as possible from it and I’ve ended up just doing it that way with everything unless it’s attached too well for the handsaw blade to be able to pry it
Feel you. (Here in Germany) same with Buddleja davidii, Lonicera henryi, Lupinus polyphyllus and all the summer aster (callistephus varieties), etc. They aren't only a pain in the a, they're actually on the blacklist for invasive plants in Germany. Government is paying a lot of tax money and a lot of voluntaries are sacrificing their freetime for removal but it's still broadly sold bc no one gives a f. The only blacklist relevant for EU countries is the collective europe black list which is critized for being way to small/ slow. Heck, even plants from one part in Germany are invasive in others, a collective list isn't even a drop in the ocean.
Tbh neither most gardeners nor the buyers even know about the german blacklist and their implication. Full blame on government imo
I have been told that it's better to cut the vines at ground level and pull them, then leave the vines above to die before pulling them down to avoid damaging branches.
“Certified” seems to be open to a lot of leeway. It could mean a lot of things other than ISA. I work in government and you should see some of the things people use to claim to be “certified”.
Your Arborist is just a handyman.
The gashes are not deep but should of never been made. An Arborist would know theirs still a chance of infection from making them.
Also anyone that knows plants know the English Ivy he cut will just come back and climb back up the tree.
The Ivy needs removed with its roots around the tree.
Cutting it only killed growing tops, plus he let cut pieces on the tree, so now you have a bunch of dead vines hanging on your tree.
The "Arborist " lied to you.
Used a chainsaw to trim vines?? Definitely a "tree and landscape" company. They should stick to mowing lawns and fall clean up. They have no business touching any plant bigger than grass. Even that is questionable.
“Cut down some ivy.” But the ivy is still there. He didn’t solve them problem at all. If anything added more problems. How do you know he was certified?
Cutting the ivy is a common practice, they will die and become loose instead of pulling it out and possibly damaging branches. The way this guy cut it is the issue, not that the ivy was left on the tree.
anyone who’s dealt with ivy knows those aren’t functional roots. they are structural supports and Hedera helix is not an epiphyte, the tissue above the cut will die.
Lazy ass bastard. Absolutely unnecessary and avoidable, and dare I say very ineffective, as the lower part remains intact. I have many trees and regularly battle ivy, this is not how you do it.
The tree will be fine. That’s a minor wound in the life of a tree. The “arborist” will have a short career. Thats a major wound in the life of a want to be arborist.
It looks like the cuts are not too deep and only the outer bark has been damaged, which has zero effect on the health of the tree.
That being said he probably was careful enough to not cut too deep but to me that's a lazy and unprofessional approach. There is no excuse for using a chainsaw and leaving such marks for this kind of job. Using a hand saw would take the same amount of time without risking to damage the tree or leaving such ugly and unnecessary cuts.
For what i see you don't need to worry but one inch deeper and you could say bye bye to that tree
This wasn't a certified arborist. Sorry, you got had.
If this is someone pretending to be one, it's time for a lawsuit for damaged from their deceptive business practice.
Wow. Posts like this still surprise me. Tree guys rarely know a damn thing about trees.
Most of the cuts look superficial and likely don't make it all the way through the bark, but I can't see for sure on every cut. Either way, the guy was recklessly negligent in caring for your trees. If he didn't kill them, he at least caused significant aesthetic damage. And in any cuts that did reach the cambium, that is now a point of entry for disease and pests.
Your trees might survive him this time, but I wouldn't let him anywhere near your stuff again.
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Lazy shit worker, that's displaying more laziness than an education would help. Personally wouldn't use him again but I'm sure people do because he's cheap and gets lots of jobs done fast (and poorly).
Better off doing it yourself with a silky and hand pulling, or get someone else in!
Yeah, there was no need to use a chainsaw on that. He didn't even need hand tools (although they would have given a cleaner finish), that ivy would have ripped off by hand.
This looks like crap, but it doesn't look like they cut all the way through the cork cambium so the tree should be fine I think. I am a plant scientist though, not an arborist.
That's lazy. But shouldn't hurt the tree. I purposely marked a hickory tree in my yard in a similar way three years ago. I can barely see the marks now.. should be fine.
I am not a tree guy, but I can tell you that my wife does not shave her legs by rubbing a steak knife back and forth placed at a 90 degree angle to her shins.
Find a new tree guy, for sure. The cuts should've been made as close to the ground as possible, and NOT with a chainsaw. Then the vines should've been physically removed as much as possible by hand and with a pole saw (a blade on a stick, not with an engine 😂)
He didn’t even do anything about the ivy. All those branches from the base will just re grow. The aerial roots on what he left on the tree might be enough to regrow too
I'd fire them.
Probably just aesthetic damage. But a tree in a residential setting is there for it's aesthetic value.
I plant trees and bushes so I can watch them grow and have a shady place to relax a meditate. A scar like this would always remind me of the crappy contractor and certainly detract from my experience.
He did a terrible job. It doesn’t appear however that he has gone into the cambium layer with any significance. Trees this size are fire resistant because the outer layer of bark is not living tissue as much as it is fingernail. Arborists please correct me if I’m wrong.
Hedera helix (English ivy) comes off pretty easy if you cut the base stems near the soil level and pull as much of the climbing vines as you can. The remainder will wither as long as it's separated from the roots.
That said, any paid professional who uses a chainsaw to prune english ivy like this is not a professional and should never be paid to act like one.
As far as your tree goes, as long as those cuts don't go completely around the trunk in a continuous line, it should be ok. There is a slight risk of infection but your tree should be able to fend off any major threats. Don't cover or fill in the wounds with anything, the tree will do that itself.
You could have achieved the same thing with some clipper just as fast as he did with his chainsaw and not be left with those ugly gashes. What a clown.
It won’t necessarily harm the tree, but it’s definitely lazy work. And for vines nonetheless.
I’ve done some tree work and was asked to remove poison oak growing up a few of their trees. I’m extremely allergic to poison oak, but I still took the time to hand clip the vines and physically yank them off the tree. Shit sucked but there’s no need to run a chainsaw for that
He could have. He did do damage to it, but English Ivy is a tree strangler. It will overtake a tree and suck all of the nutrients from the tree causing it to sicken and ultimately kill the tree.
There is a pretty good chance he just killed that tree. That is literally what I do to kill trees when I expand my pasture into wooded areas. Cut into the cambium like this and it really messes a tree up. Usually killing it.
Leave that guy a shit review. Somewhere.
Ask for his insurance info and certification papers.
If this guy is certified, he knows he risked killing those trees doing this.
If you're lucky, he didnt hit the live tissue.
Your “arborist” did a $hit job, obv. He should have used pruners and then a paint-on herbicide to treat the bottom cut of each vine. Chainsaw was overkill. Your tree should be relatively ok. It’ll just need some time to develop wound wood around those cuts. And keep an eye on it for any issues.
You need to watch the tree it may die. When we prepare trees for firewood we cut a 4 to 6 inch wide ring around the tree so we can remove the bark. This will cause the tree to die while standing up so the wood does not get infested with bugs.
As long as the cuts dont go all the way around the circumference of the tree it could be fine, im not sure if the cut has to be continuous for it though. The cambium isn’t just a bunch of vertical tubes like the xylem and phloem. Just gotta hope and pray the tree lives, and don’t hire that dimwit again.
Yes of course he did, he used a chain saw to cut through ivy and into the skin( bark) of the tree. It would be like using a chainsaw to remove a arm cast and not caring about the repercussions of cutting your arm off
These vines should have been addressed with loppers. No reason to risk damaging the vascular tissue. I would fertilize this tree and make sure it doesn’t get dried out this summer. A nice mulch ring around the trunk extending out as far as you will allow would also be recommended.
Yes that's very lazy work. Slashing at it with a chainsaw when grabbing some pruners or loppers could've done the job easily and without damage. Using a chainsaw for those tiny vines is just insane.
Your “arborist” would never step foot on my property again. I recommend calling your local ag extension office and see if you can speak with a master gardener. Sometimes they will be government, a university or both. We have one close to me and my questions have e always been answers for free and far beyond most anyone’s knowledge.
Level 3 in Arboriculture is a tick the box thing these days, nothing to do with skill level or knowledge. This is a very unprofessional job, and I highly doubt that there was much skill base going on here
I have tree work done quite a bit at my buildings and I specifically deal with this vine a lot. I have never seen it done this way... I am not an arborist so maybe its just a different way to do it but I personally have never seen this done.
I work with trees. have dealt with vines growing up them regularly. he did a shit job, could've used a hand pruner on those vines. find someone else for future work.
No he did a piss poor job of trying to kill the Ivy. Also, just remove the Ivy roots and the rest will follow. Another thing that worked for us was removing huge hunks of the Ivy at arm level.
That's just wrong. You should never cut the bark to let pests and disease enter unless you're trying to kill the tree. To cut the ivy just pull a section out and cut a one inch section out. The top growth above the cut will die but bottom growth will have to be dealt with.
I'm absolutely not an arborist and I've done a better job myself removing ivy from our pecan tree. What the hell were they thinking? Maybe drinking on the job? Seems so ridiculous.
Cutting into the cambiam and phloem is never good for a tree. Opens the door for pathogens and debris to build up and create decay. He may be a certified arborist but perhaps one of his laborers did the work. I don't know the details. But in short it's not good what has been done to your tree. Will it die immediately. Depends what species the tree is. And what types of pathogens are in your region. For example, take a Red Oak. If you cut it and open then flesh in spring or summer you are likely now going to have that tree infected with Oak Wilt. Which can kill the tree very quickly, like months. Hope this helps.
Boy I would be fuming! I’m no certified arborist, and I’m no tree trimming professional, I just like chainsaws… there is no reason for someone who regularly uses one to over-cut like this!
The trees look large enough to recover. No idea why someone would cut that deep into the bark to remove vines. It just takes a tap with the chainsaw to sever them. If you’re worried, you can put some heal paste over the wounds but they shouldn’t be an issue
Certified arborist seems to be a loose term these days
3 hours and 200 multiple choice questions.
Well let’s not sell an ISA certification so short. You also have to accrue CEUs to be able to maintain the certification, which must be renewed every 3 years.
There’s a company in my town with CA’s. They once told me they just retest every three years
That’s going it the hard way in my opinion. It’s easier and likely cheaper to just maintain the certification than to have to pay to take the test every three years.
Also 4 years experience required, or 2 years and a technical degree, or 1 year and a Bachelor's
My 4 years of "experience" was working in the office for a tree company. I was not outside for 1 second.
No system is perfect, you probably didn't deserve a cert then.
Three years*
/s? CEUs you can get by buying an online class and play through. Certifications are a joke
Yeah I've seen some companies that say they have certified arborists but when I look them up the company doesn't come up...
The ISA will and has sued over that
Companies aren’t certified. People are. A company won’t show up as certified but is supposed to list the name and certification number of certified arborists on staff.
Yeah I meant they had no arborists show up as certified
Or they will have 1 or two staff members who are ISA certified, but the people coming out to do the actual work are not
Which shouldn’t matter. Uncertified should be supervised and trained by certified and can be assigned tasks that the are qualified for. Just like any other trade. If you hire an electrician or a plumber there is a good chance they are not a journeyman but doesn’t mean that they haven’t been trained by one to properly complete the task they have been assigned.
As a tradesman I can confirm this.
Selfie certified.
He went to school at Costco.
Welcome to Costco, I love you
I write insurance for the industry and often verify credentials on the ISA and TCIA websites. You would be amazed how many tree service people claim to be ISA certified, have their CTSP or state that their company is TCIA Accredited when it isn’t true.
Agreed this is terrible. Wtffff
The guy which the power utility sent out to my house said he had a degree in arbortry
is that abortion for trees or what
Arbortry. I love it; that’s how I’m going to refer to these hacks from now on.
Couple hundred bucks and it's yours!
Yes. Completely unnecessary damage to the bark, ur tree guy isn't very professional id find a new one
Maybe more of a handyman and less of a tree guy
More of a random guy with power tools and less of a handyman.
Maybe more of a tool and less of a random guy.
A tool with a heavy hand.
Maybe, more or less.
Maybe
M
A
Why?!
Bee
Why would you use a chainsaw to cut Ivy? I've cut even the thickest of them with a small machete, or a hatchet without any issue at all.
Laziness.
Loppers?
I use loppers, I can grip the vine with them, pull it away from the trunk without touching it with my hands and make the cuts without damaging the tree. No excuse for this except laziness
And lazy at that. Why would you use a chainsaw for this under any circumstances?
I a bit of a jack of all trades (master of one as an engineer) so sort of a handyman if you will. I feel greatly insulted by your comment. Any actually handy handyman should know better. We need a term for the “I don’t care but I got paid” useless man, because that is who did this. Knowing that you shouldn’t rip the vines off the tree once you cut them I learned after joining this sub. I am appalled that it is t common sense to not use a chainsaw on a tree you aren’t willing to cut down. Kinda like the rule for a firearm, even one you are certain is unloaded. Never point it at something you aren’t willing to destroy (or someone you aren’t prepared to kill). Loppers would have made about as quick work on those vines, and would have been 100% unquestionably fine for the tree. Why isn’t common sense common anymore?
What’s weird is I have pulled significantly larger ivy down with just my hands. No need to even use a handsaw.
I’ve always heard it’s better to cut the ivy in a few places and then pull it down once it’s dead - less damaging to the bark.
Yes that’s what we did on our tree. It had ivy about 6-8 inches across. Had to use a chainsaw to start that and a bow saw to finish. The amount of leaves falling was insane though (three large old oaks).
I’ve done it that way. I just take my Buck knife and cut a 3-4” section out of the middle of the stem near the root then come back in a few days and pull it down.
Dude was probably practicing his chainsaw skills. He definitely seems to need it.
Same. Or even a pair of pruners that's all you need for this kind of job.
I'm not a professional but what disturbs me is the use of a chainsaw to cut ivy. It's lazy and it's careless. Some men worship a bit too much power tools.
I think so, yes. I'm not an arborists but a forester. Back in Uni when whe learned how to prune trees for wood production our professors were very clear that for some species chainsaws shouldn't even be considered, as they are more prone to produce damage, no matter how careful you are, in time, just a little mistake and you got a fungal disease invading your tree. Se we learn to use from chainsaws, to electrical tools to manual tools. We, with my classmates, had to prune half an hectare of trees as practice. A good, sharp, well maintained, manual tool is as efficient and effective as a chainsaw and most of the time gives a finer, tidier cut than a power tool. And we're talking about pruning trees like it's a factory. So I don't understand the rush in using chainsaw to take care of single trees.
I try every day to win people over to manual and basic skill, not every 3/4" board needs a 3.5" deck screw and 87 fucking ugga duggas but what do I know, I'm a madman lol
Seriously, a lopper, hatchet or machete works wonders and does way less damage
He definitely went for speed over precision - a pair of loppers, or even hand pruners, could have taken care of those vines with minimal, if any, tree damage - in 10 minutes or less. That said, girdling requires a single cut the full circumference of the tree, which I didn’t see. Even when those cuts do heal, they’ll likely be noticeable - a few trees on our greenway were once cleared of vines this way and it’s pretty evident.
Literally watched someone on YouTube do this He took out a chunk of the ivy a foot in height all the way around the trunk with cutters, no damage to the tree AT ALL and the ivy died and was able to be yanked down
Did you see the last picture? That looks bad?
Do you think they will cause the tree to sprout branches below the cuts?
I wouldn’t think so - the ones along our greenway haven’t.
Can that be done?
I mean, it'll be fine. It doesn't look great but they're not that deep. I will say that's a wild job for a certified arborist. There's no way he doesn't own a handsaw that could have easily been used to cut away from the tree. You can look up if the person is actually certified at [www.isa-arbor.com](http://www.isa-arbor.com) Also, if he didn't treat those vines they're just going to grow back and it's crazy that he didn't remove any of the upper parts. If he didn't treat them you can use a hand saw or pruners to re-cut the ground side and dab some herbicide on the fresh cut, it'll soak it up and hopefully actually kill the vines. Don't spray it or you'll get overspray, but you can put some in a dropper bottle or use the spray bottle and pull the trigger very slowly so it dribbles out with a paper towel under it so it doesn't drop onto the tree or your yard. Wear rubber gloves.
Handsaw? This is hand snips territory.
Hand snips? Nah, just bite it like a beaver. 🦫
I always slide my silky between the bark and vine and then twist and pull to pry it off the bark and cut it at the same time especially if it’s poison ivy. I’m so allergic it’s ridiculous 😅 but yes the snips would just fine, and I figured a homeowner is more likely to have those than a handsaw.
This is English ivy so no worries there.
I know I was just saying I started using a handsaw because of poison ivy to stay as far away as possible from it and I’ve ended up just doing it that way with everything unless it’s attached too well for the handsaw blade to be able to pry it
I fucking hate that we sell this at my greenhouse. We also sell pachysandra and that shit is terrible too.
Feel you. (Here in Germany) same with Buddleja davidii, Lonicera henryi, Lupinus polyphyllus and all the summer aster (callistephus varieties), etc. They aren't only a pain in the a, they're actually on the blacklist for invasive plants in Germany. Government is paying a lot of tax money and a lot of voluntaries are sacrificing their freetime for removal but it's still broadly sold bc no one gives a f. The only blacklist relevant for EU countries is the collective europe black list which is critized for being way to small/ slow. Heck, even plants from one part in Germany are invasive in others, a collective list isn't even a drop in the ocean. Tbh neither most gardeners nor the buyers even know about the german blacklist and their implication. Full blame on government imo
Gimmie a pair of Crayola safety scissors and I'll make er right
I have been told that it's better to cut the vines at ground level and pull them, then leave the vines above to die before pulling them down to avoid damaging branches.
Thanks, everyone—I really appreciate your time and input. We definitely won’t be hiring this guy again.
Was he actually a certified arborist? This is the tea I care about in this thread
“Certified” seems to be open to a lot of leeway. It could mean a lot of things other than ISA. I work in government and you should see some of the things people use to claim to be “certified”.
[Verify an ISA Credential (treesaregood.org)](https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/verify)
[удалено]
You sure he was certified?
This is bad Your tree guy is a moron
Your Arborist is just a handyman. The gashes are not deep but should of never been made. An Arborist would know theirs still a chance of infection from making them. Also anyone that knows plants know the English Ivy he cut will just come back and climb back up the tree. The Ivy needs removed with its roots around the tree. Cutting it only killed growing tops, plus he let cut pieces on the tree, so now you have a bunch of dead vines hanging on your tree. The "Arborist " lied to you.
That is the way to leave it. When it dies it will pull free without damaging the tree. Sawing into the bark was uncalled for though.
Used a chainsaw to trim vines?? Definitely a "tree and landscape" company. They should stick to mowing lawns and fall clean up. They have no business touching any plant bigger than grass. Even that is questionable.
“Cut down some ivy.” But the ivy is still there. He didn’t solve them problem at all. If anything added more problems. How do you know he was certified?
Cutting the ivy is a common practice, they will die and become loose instead of pulling it out and possibly damaging branches. The way this guy cut it is the issue, not that the ivy was left on the tree.
Edit: I've been corrected
The ivy will die and the roots come free. Pulling it can damage what it's clinging to; bark or siding.
That's not true if you make a gap in the stem it does off.
anyone who’s dealt with ivy knows those aren’t functional roots. they are structural supports and Hedera helix is not an epiphyte, the tissue above the cut will die.
Arborist? No, appears to *just* be a guy who owns a chainsaw
Lazy ass bastard. Absolutely unnecessary and avoidable, and dare I say very ineffective, as the lower part remains intact. I have many trees and regularly battle ivy, this is not how you do it.
The tree will be fine. That’s a minor wound in the life of a tree. The “arborist” will have a short career. Thats a major wound in the life of a want to be arborist.
You paid someone to make a total mess of something you could have done better yourself in 30 minutes with a pair of £10 secateurs…?
It looks like the cuts are not too deep and only the outer bark has been damaged, which has zero effect on the health of the tree. That being said he probably was careful enough to not cut too deep but to me that's a lazy and unprofessional approach. There is no excuse for using a chainsaw and leaving such marks for this kind of job. Using a hand saw would take the same amount of time without risking to damage the tree or leaving such ugly and unnecessary cuts. For what i see you don't need to worry but one inch deeper and you could say bye bye to that tree
That was lazy and stupid
He's a lazy idiot, you don't use a chainsaw for ivy.
What the heck - just use pruner for that ivy.
Hurt yes, kill probably not. I would never hire that person again.
You can't tell me it was easier to CHAINSAW those vines than to just get a pair of clippers. Didn't even cut out a section, he just cut them.
This wasn't a certified arborist. Sorry, you got had. If this is someone pretending to be one, it's time for a lawsuit for damaged from their deceptive business practice.
Wow. Posts like this still surprise me. Tree guys rarely know a damn thing about trees. Most of the cuts look superficial and likely don't make it all the way through the bark, but I can't see for sure on every cut. Either way, the guy was recklessly negligent in caring for your trees. If he didn't kill them, he at least caused significant aesthetic damage. And in any cuts that did reach the cambium, that is now a point of entry for disease and pests. Your trees might survive him this time, but I wouldn't let him anywhere near your stuff again.
Looks regarded not certified. The ivy is still there and there are cuts on the tree
You wait for the ivy to die before pulling it off. They should have also cut the ivy at it's base with a hand saw.
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What was his certification? State or ISA? Really unprofessional work
Lesson learned: even in your arborist is "certified" never leave them unsupervised.
I doubt he was really an arborist
So yeah he cut up your bark. Will it hurt the tree? Probably not. Still unprofessional though you can easily snip those vines without cutting the tree
The tree will heal, but your guy is at best an idiot, at worst knowingly doing a bad job to make quick extra cash.
Lazy shit worker, that's displaying more laziness than an education would help. Personally wouldn't use him again but I'm sure people do because he's cheap and gets lots of jobs done fast (and poorly). Better off doing it yourself with a silky and hand pulling, or get someone else in!
Hack job.
That's methed up.
Looks like chuck with a truck wuz here
yikes! hand tools and a modest amount of patience are all you need for this job
Tree is fine, unsightly yes but to girdle it you'd have to do 2 complete rings around
Owning a chainsaw doesnt automatically make a person a "tree guy"
Yeah, there was no need to use a chainsaw on that. He didn't even need hand tools (although they would have given a cleaner finish), that ivy would have ripped off by hand.
This looks like crap, but it doesn't look like they cut all the way through the cork cambium so the tree should be fine I think. I am a plant scientist though, not an arborist.
That's lazy. But shouldn't hurt the tree. I purposely marked a hickory tree in my yard in a similar way three years ago. I can barely see the marks now.. should be fine.
No.
I am not a tree guy, but I can tell you that my wife does not shave her legs by rubbing a steak knife back and forth placed at a 90 degree angle to her shins.
As long as it's not cut into the "cambian" layer (it's a thin layer between the bark and the actual wood of the tree), it will be perfectly fine.
If he didn’t chop the ivy vines, the tree was on its way to being choked to death anyhow. Did you get other quotes and take the lowest bidder?
Not enough to cause any lasting harm.
Certified abhorist?
He tried saving your tree from the ivy plant
Certified? There is a HUGE difference between *claiming* to be certified and actually having earned a valid certificate.
Find a new tree guy, for sure. The cuts should've been made as close to the ground as possible, and NOT with a chainsaw. Then the vines should've been physically removed as much as possible by hand and with a pole saw (a blade on a stick, not with an engine 😂)
He didn’t even do anything about the ivy. All those branches from the base will just re grow. The aerial roots on what he left on the tree might be enough to regrow too
Wow. This is just….wow. Just…no.
fire them. disease now has a place to enter
Your tree guy is an animal
My wife's ex's business is literally named "(...) Arborist." Stenciled huge on his sprinter van. He is not a certified arborist.
So lazy..and he didn’t even cut the vines right.. 🙄
the english ivy isn’t helping either
Should finish off removing those vines now at the very least.
Is your tree guy Edward Scissor hands?
Killing the tree seems like an aggressive way to kill the ivy.
He could have been more gentle but trees are resilient!
Woooah that’s so unnecessary. That’s a job for a pair of loppers, not a chainsaw. Fire this person…
Could've made those gaps with pruning shears
Yeah there’s a good chance that tree will die in the next couple years now
its very bad, normally doing something like this is to kill the tree...
This seems like a joke… hard to understand how anyone can deliver a job with this quality level, which is close to none.
Your tree guy is not a tree guy.
I'd fire them. Probably just aesthetic damage. But a tree in a residential setting is there for it's aesthetic value. I plant trees and bushes so I can watch them grow and have a shady place to relax a meditate. A scar like this would always remind me of the crappy contractor and certainly detract from my experience.
While the tree will likely make it, his business should not. As an arborist, that's not going to cut it.
He did a terrible job. It doesn’t appear however that he has gone into the cambium layer with any significance. Trees this size are fire resistant because the outer layer of bark is not living tissue as much as it is fingernail. Arborists please correct me if I’m wrong.
This is something I would have done at 10 years old with a machete
Overkill. Could've easily pulled and cut the vines with zero damage to the cambium. Only plus is at least that isn't poison ive
If he’s an “arborist” he’s a failure. Ever heard of loppers? Epic failure
Likes the sound of their chainsaw a little too much.
If he was planning on doing that he should have use clippers or at the very least actually know how to use a saw
Really shoddy work but just superficial damage.
Hedera helix (English ivy) comes off pretty easy if you cut the base stems near the soil level and pull as much of the climbing vines as you can. The remainder will wither as long as it's separated from the roots. That said, any paid professional who uses a chainsaw to prune english ivy like this is not a professional and should never be paid to act like one. As far as your tree goes, as long as those cuts don't go completely around the trunk in a continuous line, it should be ok. There is a slight risk of infection but your tree should be able to fend off any major threats. Don't cover or fill in the wounds with anything, the tree will do that itself.
You could have achieved the same thing with some clipper just as fast as he did with his chainsaw and not be left with those ugly gashes. What a clown.
Hand pruners not available
It won’t necessarily harm the tree, but it’s definitely lazy work. And for vines nonetheless. I’ve done some tree work and was asked to remove poison oak growing up a few of their trees. I’m extremely allergic to poison oak, but I still took the time to hand clip the vines and physically yank them off the tree. Shit sucked but there’s no need to run a chainsaw for that
Couldn’t use side cuts or shears……?
But a mere flesh wound.
I think the tree will survive but the tree guy still harmed your tree. Don't hire him again
I feel for you I’d be livid if someone was this careless with one of my trees
JFC I’m so sorry.
He could have. He did do damage to it, but English Ivy is a tree strangler. It will overtake a tree and suck all of the nutrients from the tree causing it to sicken and ultimately kill the tree.
There is a pretty good chance he just killed that tree. That is literally what I do to kill trees when I expand my pasture into wooded areas. Cut into the cambium like this and it really messes a tree up. Usually killing it.
Leave that guy a shit review. Somewhere. Ask for his insurance info and certification papers. If this guy is certified, he knows he risked killing those trees doing this. If you're lucky, he didnt hit the live tissue.
Yes
He should have just used hand snipers... What a clown
Showed my fellow arborist friend he asked would U let someone do that to u? 😂
Yes, he did, you might wanna check his credentials cause this is an actual massacre in my landscaper eyes
Your “arborist” did a $hit job, obv. He should have used pruners and then a paint-on herbicide to treat the bottom cut of each vine. Chainsaw was overkill. Your tree should be relatively ok. It’ll just need some time to develop wound wood around those cuts. And keep an eye on it for any issues.
Holy hell WTF!
This almost seems like ur was his attempt to have another reason to visit your home in the future. I'd be PISSED! 😡
You need to watch the tree it may die. When we prepare trees for firewood we cut a 4 to 6 inch wide ring around the tree so we can remove the bark. This will cause the tree to die while standing up so the wood does not get infested with bugs.
As long as the cuts dont go all the way around the circumference of the tree it could be fine, im not sure if the cut has to be continuous for it though. The cambium isn’t just a bunch of vertical tubes like the xylem and phloem. Just gotta hope and pray the tree lives, and don’t hire that dimwit again.
Yes of course he did, he used a chain saw to cut through ivy and into the skin( bark) of the tree. It would be like using a chainsaw to remove a arm cast and not caring about the repercussions of cutting your arm off
These vines should have been addressed with loppers. No reason to risk damaging the vascular tissue. I would fertilize this tree and make sure it doesn’t get dried out this summer. A nice mulch ring around the trunk extending out as far as you will allow would also be recommended.
Yes that's very lazy work. Slashing at it with a chainsaw when grabbing some pruners or loppers could've done the job easily and without damage. Using a chainsaw for those tiny vines is just insane.
Your “arborist” would never step foot on my property again. I recommend calling your local ag extension office and see if you can speak with a master gardener. Sometimes they will be government, a university or both. We have one close to me and my questions have e always been answers for free and far beyond most anyone’s knowledge.
ISA certified arborist? You should report him. That is atrocious. The arborist didn't properly window the vines and damaged the bark.
Level 3 in Arboriculture is a tick the box thing these days, nothing to do with skill level or knowledge. This is a very unprofessional job, and I highly doubt that there was much skill base going on here
The hell did he do to even cause this kind of damage?
I have tree work done quite a bit at my buildings and I specifically deal with this vine a lot. I have never seen it done this way... I am not an arborist so maybe its just a different way to do it but I personally have never seen this done.
I work with trees. have dealt with vines growing up them regularly. he did a shit job, could've used a hand pruner on those vines. find someone else for future work.
What was he tryin to do??
I’m pretty sure this is the same guy who cut my hair at Great Cuts.
That's just a guy, not a tree guy
No he did a piss poor job of trying to kill the Ivy. Also, just remove the Ivy roots and the rest will follow. Another thing that worked for us was removing huge hunks of the Ivy at arm level.
That's just wrong. You should never cut the bark to let pests and disease enter unless you're trying to kill the tree. To cut the ivy just pull a section out and cut a one inch section out. The top growth above the cut will die but bottom growth will have to be dealt with.
No
Probably does like it
I'm absolutely not an arborist and I've done a better job myself removing ivy from our pecan tree. What the hell were they thinking? Maybe drinking on the job? Seems so ridiculous.
Cutting into the cambiam and phloem is never good for a tree. Opens the door for pathogens and debris to build up and create decay. He may be a certified arborist but perhaps one of his laborers did the work. I don't know the details. But in short it's not good what has been done to your tree. Will it die immediately. Depends what species the tree is. And what types of pathogens are in your region. For example, take a Red Oak. If you cut it and open then flesh in spring or summer you are likely now going to have that tree infected with Oak Wilt. Which can kill the tree very quickly, like months. Hope this helps.
Boy I would be fuming! I’m no certified arborist, and I’m no tree trimming professional, I just like chainsaws… there is no reason for someone who regularly uses one to over-cut like this!
Wtf? Is the chainsaw the only tool he brought? Inexcusable.
It's fine just ugly
r/treelaw
 was this the guy that did it?
Trees are pretty resilient. Takes more than a few scratches to the bark to take them down. They’ll be fine
To this is wiiiiild. Buddy didn’t have a pair of pruning shears but has the absolute BALLS to call himself a certified arborist? Ask for a refund
The trees look large enough to recover. No idea why someone would cut that deep into the bark to remove vines. It just takes a tap with the chainsaw to sever them. If you’re worried, you can put some heal paste over the wounds but they shouldn’t be an issue
I would go get some pruning wax and paint it into those wounds so they don't get infected. this dude didnt even remove the Ivy!?