Last winter The Tree Company pruned an old Acer capadocicum for one of our longest standing clients. Our client’s home is located right on the banks of the river Thames in southwest London and boasts a lovely collection of trees. We have enjoyed being their preferred tree surgeons for over 15 years, and it means we have got to know their trees very well.

The Acer is a great specimen and is fully-grown. Over the years we have thinned out the middle of the tree to allow light to the lawn. Sadly the tree is now getting on a bit and we need to manage its eventual decline.

The best way to do this is to carry out light reductions over a long period of time. So at the beginning of this year we did a 15% crown reduction using only hand tools, the trusty Silky saw and Felco secateurs.

In around 3-5 years time, depending on the response from this year’s reduction, we will carry out a further light reduction.

The aim is to reduce the size of the crown without shocking it too much, and to promote some growth lower down in the crown (which is lacking due to the historic thinning) thus creating a smaller more compact crown which should lead to a longer life for the tree and extended enjoyment for our client.