Blog: Instead of cutting down a tree, try this method first
If a woody plant is blocking light from your home, there are alternatives to chopping it down – here’s how to crown lift a tree, for example.
Lifting the crown of a tree simply means removing the lower branches to let in light and air. For trees, you will usually have a single stem. For large shrubs, you could keep multiple stems, removing the smaller branches from them. I once saw a Forsythia treated like this, and it was stunning, quite unlike the common shrub we’re used to.
This may sound like something for a tree surgeon, but lifting the crown of a tree or shrub is easy to do yourself, and there are no roots to dig up. This is something that’s best done in late winter when trees are dormant. However, exceptions are the Prunus family, which should be pruned in summer to avoid silverleaf disease during winter.
Generally, autumn’s not the best time to do this, but I was in a fix. The Japanese blood plum Lizzie, which lost a huge bough earlier in the summer, was looking ridiculously unbalanced. It was also shading out (on one side) a Mahonia just getting ready to flower. As a member of the Prunus family, it was now or never! You’ll need sharp, clean tools – ratchet secateurs, loppers and a pruning saw. If the boughs are thick enough to need a chainsaw, that’s my cue to call in a tree surgeon.
How to crown lift a tree – pruning techniques
It’s good to have a helper to bear the weight of heavy branches so they don’t tear. When using a saw, cut underneath the branch one-third of the way through, then finish off cutting it from above. This saves tears where disease can be introduced. Work in a balanced way, going around the trunk so you don’t take off too much.
The second tree was a self-seeded elderberry that has managed to shove itself through a fence in the front garden. I would have preferred to leave this until February. However, the tree has really upset our postman, as it’s overhanging the front path.
It’s been a boon for pollinators and birds, but it’s shaded out a holly, which is not chuffed! Elder wood is easy to cut as it’s quite soft. You can hack elderberries right back (coppicing), and they will come away next year. This is best done in late winter. I do want to do this eventually, but lifting the crown is a good halfway house.
With Vanessa’s help, we got rid of the growth up to 6ft from the ground, and you can see the holly now! I may leave it as it is or coppice it to a stump in February. Maybe the postman will decide for me.
