The Parke Company

Stumps are an unsightly disruption to the topography of your yard, but their negative impact can go far beyond visual aesthetics. Stump grinding and stump removal are two different tactics to take this issue on, and both have their pros and cons. If you’ve got a stump you need to make disappear, which option is right for you?

Stumped

Stumps are ugly, and you certainly don’t need any other reason to want them gone, but did you know that stumps can cause other, more serious issues for your property? Some people don’t mind a stump. Large tree stumps might become the flat base for yard decor or a few planters for some pragmatic property owners. Whether you like the stump on your lawn or not, stump removal or stump grinding is necessary. Stumps are problems for a few reasons, but one of the biggest is that they can act like pest magnets. From insects to small mammals like chipmunks and rats, a stump is a haven for nuisance creatures. Since stumps are either completely or mostly dead trees, the defense mechanisms they had in life are non-existent. This means that the bark and core wood of the tree are now brittle and easily burrowed within. Insects like termites love setting up colonies in the dead wood of a tree stump because it’s easier to eat. Once their colony grows beyond the stump, however, they are going to start looking to spread out to neighboring trees or even your home.

Dead roots that are rotting in the ground can attract all kinds of insects that can move onto the other trees and grass roots in your lawn once they’re done with the stump. Chipmunks, mice, moles, and rats can all decide your property is a nice place to make a home after finding a suitable stump to nest in. This can lead to them spreading out on your property, eating your other plants, and even finding their way into your home. Stump grinding vs. removal boils down to an issue of the future.

Pests aren’t the only problem that comes with a rotting stump, either. Fungi like mushrooms love to grow on and around stumps because they’re soft and soak up moisture. This makes your stump the perfect place for a sudden explosion of fungal growth, which can spread throughout your yard. Some fungal life is fine in a garden or yard, but when there’s too much, it’s unsightly. Additionally, fungi can take over your yard and begin to kill grass roots by depriving them of adequate moisture. Mold and fungus can spread underground via dead root systems after taking over a stump, spreading to healthy trees and taking them over, too.

Stumps also pose safety risks for your family, as navigating around a low stump can be difficult. All it takes is forgetting it’s there one time to trip over it, and that can cause injuries. Additionally, lawn maintenance is trickier. Mowing around an old stump is difficult, and you’ll need to spend more time weed-eating around the stump to ensure it’s not an unsightly spot of long grass in your otherwise well-manicured yard. Eliminating the stump from your yard is the best bet, but is it better to grind or remove a tree stump?

Stump Grinding vs. Stump Removal

Stump Grinding

Stump grinding is probably the more popular way to handle a stump in your yard, and it’s mainly due to cost. Stump grinding is cheaper than stump removal because it only calls for the use of one specialized machine. Stump grinding can be done relatively quickly, usually on the same day as tree removal if you’re also having a landscaping company remove the tree in question. The process of stump grinding is simple. A large machine is positioned over the stump, and it’s lowered as it grinds the wood down. Stumps are ground down about 6-8 inches beneath your lawn, removing the unsightly and potentially dangerous stump from view. The area is then covered with topsoil and seeded. After a few weeks, it should look as good as new. Stump grinding is more affordable than full removal, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Since some of the tree remains behind in the ground, the risk of pests is not fully eliminated, though it is significantly lowered. Since all of the tree’s roots remain behind, they can prevent new growth in the area, stopping the proper growth of trees and even smaller plants and flowers.

Stump Removal

Consider stump removal the more intense option when it comes to addressing a stump. Removal is a more involved process than stump grinding, and the cost of the service will reflect that. Rather than grinding away the upper portion of a stump, full stump removal takes the whole thing out of the ground. Undoubtedly, this process is more time-consuming and will damage your lawn more than grinding.

The reasons for total stump removal are many, but most revolve around future planting. When you remove a stump entirely, you pull up many of the larger roots from the ground as well. This makes it possible to plant a new tree in that location. Stump grinding leaves too much of a tree’s subterranean system in the ground to allow for new growth in its place. Stump grinding usually involves digging and the use of machinery to pull the stump from the ground. This process can displace dirt and pull up roots that may in turn tear away the surrounding grass from the yard. The recovery time for stump removal takes longer, and you’ll need to spend some real time and energy rehabilitating your lawn in this area. Fortunately, tree services that remove stumps will also be able to set up a maintenance schedule for you, taking the worry off your plate. At The Parke Company, we’re well-versed in stump removal and lawn restoration, so you’re in good hands. Stump grinding vs. stump removal is mostly a matter of cost. The budget for stump grinding is usually a few hundred dollars cheaper than removal. Ultimately, the better option comes down to your specific needs.

Whether you need to remove a stump entirely or simply have it ground down to plant over it with grass, the pros at The Parke Company are here to serve your tree service needs. When the time comes to remove a stump from your lawn, give us a call for a free consultation and estimate.

Tree care is important for the aesthetic of your property. Deadwood is unsightly, but your primary motivation for regular tree care should be safety. Here is why regular tree pruning and deadwood removal is so critical for the safety of your property.

What to Know About Deadwood

Understanding Deadwood

Deadwood refers to any part of a tree that is no longer growing. While deadwood on a tree isn’t a good sign of its overall health, deadwood isn’t necessarily a death sentence for a tree. Trees can live for a long time despite parts of them being dead, and that’s part of the reason people think it’s not a big deal. A living tree can be made up of single limbs or sections of deadwood, or it may be composed of many deadwood limbs. The primary causes of deadwood include competition with other trees for sunlight, disease, and pests like insects. No matter how deadwood forms, it’s dangerous for the tree for a variety of reasons, and it also poses a risk to you and your property. In forests, fallen deadwood and the remains of standing dead trees play a critical role in their ecosystems. Deadwood helps nourish the soil, hosting animal, plant, and fungal life. In a home’s landscaping, however, deadwood is often considered an eyesore. Especially noticeable during the spring and summer months when leaves are abundant, these bald spots on a tree stick out like a sore thumb.

There are many reasons to want to remove deadwood from your property. While deadwood is sometimes benign in older trees as they lose some of their structure with age, it’s not beneficial. Deadwood attracts pests and infection due to its weakened structure, allowing them to enter an otherwise healthy tree and spread to living wood.

Spotting Deadwood

Deadwood is fortunately very easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for. Things are much more obvious in the warm months when deadwood won’t have leaves growing on it. These bare spots stick out and are often a cause for concern for homeowners (even if only from an aesthetic standpoint). In the winter, deadwood will appear drier than other wood, and it may be darker in color. If deadwood has been around for a while, you may notice pest damage and holes from woodpeckers, insects, and even fungal growth.

Spotting deadwood is much more challenging in tall trees or trees with many limbs, so it’s important to remember that you can’t simply rely on the untrained eye. Arborists are trained in spotting tree issues that nobody else would notice, and they can perform a tree inventory to ensure that your property’s trees are all healthy. Arborist consulting services will be able to assist you in determining which of your trees may have issues and how to best address the deadwood. In many cases, pruning and limb removal is the best course of action. In more extreme cases where much of a tree is dead, full deadwood tree removal may be necessary.

The Benefits of Deadwood Removal

Deadwood can benefit the soil in forests and can create sustainable ecosystems for small plants and animals. So why remove deadwood from trees? In nature, deadwood makes plenty of sense. In your backyard, it isn’t necessary and can cause issues. Fallen deadwood can damage other plants and property or even cause injuries to pedestrians or pets. Deadwood is highly unpredictable, meaning it can fall in severe winds or on a still day just as easily. Spotting deadwood and removing it early can prevent damage and ensure your tree’s health doesn’t continue to deteriorate. Deadwood is also unsightly. Trees with deadwood have bald patches in the spring and summer and look noticeably worse than other limbs, even without leaves in the fall and winter months.

How Deadwood Is Removed

Nashville tree removal services from The Parke Company can help you with your deadwood issues. Our staff of qualified, professional tree surgeons can help to determine which of your trees may need pruning and deadwood removal. Once the trees are assessed, the next step is to plan the removal. For smaller limbs and trees, ladders and pole saws may be all that’s necessary to conduct the pruning. On bigger trees, or in the event that total removal is necessary, more equipment and work may be required. Tree removal and pruning in Nashville can be conducted year-round depending on the severity of the issues, but it’s recommended to wait to prune less problematic limbs until the winter months. If you can afford to wait for minor deadwood removal, it’s usually less expensive to have it scheduled in advance. For pressing issues like extensive deadwood or complete tree removal, time is of the essence to ensure that the deadwood doesn’t damage your property or home.

The Dangers of DIY Deadwood Removal

It’s a dangerous prospect to remove deadwood on your own without the proper equipment and know-how. Deadwood can fall while you’re cutting it, and its brittle nature doesn’t mean it can’t harm you when it falls. Climbing a tree to remove deadwood or to remove the tree from the top down is incredibly dangerous and should only be done by experienced and insured professional tree surgeons.

The way that you prune a tree can also cause more harm than good to the tree itself. Proper pruning requires knowledge and specialized tools to prevent causing trauma to the tree. This is especially true in the spring and summer when the tree is not dormant. It’s advised that pruning occurs in the winter to allow the tree to devote its energy and resources to healing rather than splitting the duty between recovery and growing and maintaining its leaves. Removing deadwood from your trees regularly is a great way to keep your yard looking great and save money in the long run. Maintaining your trees with the help of The Parke Company can give you the peace of mind that your trees are free of deadwood and will remain sturdy during storm season.

Do Away With Deadwood — The Right Way

If you’re ready to have your trees assessed for deadwood or need deadwood removed, The Parke Company can help. Be proactive with tree and landscape maintenance and work with us today.

Pruning trees is an important practice in urban areas where environmental and man-made factors can adversely affect a tree’s health. Read on to learn more about what crown thinning is, what it does, and how it’s important to trees in Nashville.

What to Know About Crown Thinning

Defining Crown Thinning

A tree crown refers to the leaves, branches, and fruit that extend off from the trunk. A crown is perhaps more commonly referred to as the canopy of a tree, but the terms are interchangeable. A tree’s crown is the structure through which the tree gathers many of its nutrients. Leaves absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide, producing nourishment for the tree and “exhaling” oxygen. A crown also includes the fruit or nuts of a tree. Crown thinning is the practice of removing branches and limbs from the tree’s crown. This is a common pruning method in cities and suburban areas where trees need some help with pollutants, man-made structures impacting their sun exposure, and other urban environmental factors. Crown thinning is often necessary in urban areas because of how a tree may interfere with city infrastructure.

The Importance of Crown Thinning

There are many upsides to crown thinning trees in urban areas, and this practice can equally benefit the tree and the people around it if done with care. Consider crown thinning a tree haircut. It’s not a drastic act; in fact, removing too many limbs can be harmful to a tree. When thinning a tree’s crown, the canopy is thinned methodically and with purpose. Some of the main reasons for thinning a tree’s crown include improving views, reducing a tree’s wind resistance, and allowing sunlight to better reach the ground. Sometimes, a tree grows too big and blocks a landmark or a stellar view, and pruning it a bit can help restore the vista without harming the tree. Whenever an arborist is confronted with an aesthetic concern like this, their first priority is saving the tree if it’s healthy (and not a threat to its surroundings). Crown thinning is a big part of maintaining a city’s greenery while ensuring residents are safe and happy with their sightlines.

Crown thinning is practiced more in areas that are subjected to severe weather like thunderstorms, snow and ice storms, and high winds. Nashville is no stranger to any of these weather events, so it’s no surprise that crown thinning is a part of the city’s tree maintenance strategy. Crown thinning can allow wind to blow through a tree so it doesn’t get pushed over. This prevents homes and infrastructure from sustaining damage in storms and also ensures that the tree will live longer. Crown thinning can also give smaller trees and plants in the shade of a tree a fair chance to thrive. Trees can shade garden beds, plants, and developing trees and prevent their development and growth. By thinning the crown of a tree, you can effectively produce a greener space from the ground up.

One common practice in cities is a slightly more involved form of thinning called crown raising. What does raising the crown of a tree mean? To put it simply, it’s the act of removing lower branches from a tree. This is usually done to prevent the tree’s limbs from interfering with traffic, visibility, power and utility lines, and to prevent storm damage to city structures and homes. Chances are you’ve seen utility companies and arborists raising the crown of a tree before, but you may not have realized it. While it looks similar to general pruning, crown raising can drastically change the appearance of a tree over time. Fortunately, if done properly, this won’t harm the tree, and it can live on instead of being removed for impacting city living.

Proper Pruning

Crown thinning should be done in a controlled way to ensure the tree remains healthy. Improper pruning and thinning can allow disease and pests to damage the tree and eventually cause the tree to die. Effectively pruning a tree canopy is an involved process that requires the eyes and hands of a professional. The crown of a tree is critical to its health, and there are many things that can go wrong in the pruning process. The first pruning mistake that many people make when trying it on their own is over-pruning. Crown thinning should only account for a small percentage of the tree’s overall structure. Removing too much can greatly inhibit a tree’s ability to produce the nutrients it needs to survive.

The actual cuts a person makes when pruning a tree also matter. Remember: each cut on a tree is a wound, and it’s important to ensure that the wound is able to heal on its own. Improper cutting, whether from a bad angle or attempting to cut a branch that’s too thick, can allow diseases to enter a tree’s structure and kill it.

The time of year also matters to pruning. Winter is the best time to prune because trees lie dormant in the winter. Since the tree doesn’t have to focus on producing fruit or new leaves, it can focus its resources on healing the cuts from pruning. When raising the crown of a tree specifically, another mistake that you can make is pruning too quickly. Raising the crown of a tree can’t be done overnight. It can’t even all be done in a single season. Instead, getting a crown raised to the desired position can take many years. This prevents the tree from being traumatized too extensively. Much like people, trees can go into shock if their injuries are severe enough. Thinning the crown of a tree is best left to the professionals, so it’s important to consult an arborist when looking to prune your trees. If you’re looking for crown thinning in Nashville, you need to work with the experts.

Get It Right With Parke

The Parke Company has decades of experience pruning trees, and our arborists are ready to help you. If you’re ready to explore your crown thinning options, call us today for a free consultation and estimate. Your trees will be in good hands.