Liriodendron reduction

stig

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I've been asked to do a hard crown reduction on a Liriodendron tulipifera.
They are not native here and quite rare, so my experience with them is very limited.
I've killed a couple, that is all.

How well do they handle that kind of treatment?
 
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  • #3
Around here they are called Tuliptree, and people ALWAYS get confused and think Magnolia.
So I am in the habit of using the Linnaean name.
 
The ones that I have seen in the north east of the US have a single strong leader and branching starts pretty high off the ground. To reduce them would mean making them look even more like a mast with a pom pom at the top.
 
I agree...that's how they look here, too, in Georgia. They get plenty big, often 24" DBH or more and 80-100 feet high. Seem to be self pruning down low.
 
A rare duck in these parts as well but from what I've seen you can do drop crotch reductions on the leads but not really a heavy redux. Plus the biggest one I have seen here is only 12-14" DBH.
 
We don't have them in my area but I did a few removals in New Jersey many years ago. As I recall, they would not be a good candidate for crown reduction.
 
Agreed -- we've deadwooded a couple, but never did a major reduction on one, even in a tight backyard against a house. They seem pretty strong around here and not prone to failure (akin to sycamore). Similar sizing to Gary's experience -- 24" DBH, 80' tall.
 
Do you know their reason for wanting this? It's a gamble screwing with healthy tops of most hardwoods, no matter how proper your cuts are.
If customer is dead set on it, I'd wait til dormancy in January or February.
 
I have re reduced one or two. Initial reduction was heavy, presumably making safe after the storms. Not by me, might I add.

I was sent back to reduce the regrowth... very straight growing unlike the natural form of the tree. Cuts seemed to have healed resonably well, but IMO the character of the tree was changed by the visual presence of the regrowth.

So I suppose it depends on what they are actually trying to achieve.
 
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  • #12
I went and looked at the tree today.
No way can that be reduced as much as they want, so it'll be a removal.

They are building a new house right next to the tree.
That is why .
It has dropped several large branches, over the last years, so simply leaving it as it is will not be an option.
Hate pulling the trigger on a tree like that, but both Richard and I agreed that is is the only feasible solution.


It'll be a fun one to take down, as it is one of the largest in the country.
We'll probably find 3 Greenpissers and a bunch of Druids have chained themselves to the tree when we show up.

The old lady who lives on the other side of the road have already called us a bunch of barbarians.
 
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  • #15
Because they asked if that would be an option and we had to tell them yes, but when it eventually has to go, the house will be very much in the way and it'll cost a small fortune to rig and carry it out.

Now that the old house is gone, we can just drop it and use heavy iron to get it out.

So they opted for saving some money in the long run.

Would have been my decision too, had it been my tree.

This was ( For once) not a case of arborphobia.
 
They don't compartmentalize the larger wounds very well but they do just fine on reduction type cuts. The almost seem to self reduce when the hit a certain age. When they get really old they just tear themselves apart.
One thing to consider is how much crown you are removing. They will sucker out like crazy if you go too heavy.
 
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  • #21
Well, we ended up going with the heavy reduction.

P1060476.JPG P1060477.JPG P1060478.JPG P1060479.JPG

After seeing a crosss ection of some of the major branches, I'm glad we did.

Got a lot of flak from the local Druids, which got on my nerves a bit.
 
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