Today was the day the volunteer Cottonwood tree next to the Japanese Maple fell to the ax. A second opinion, arborist Tom George of Evergreen Tree Care, agreed with Peggy, Tanya, Kevin, and even nextdoor neighbor Kris Swierz, that the tree should be removed before it hurts the brick planter. Sigh. No Lorax to speak for this tree.
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| No damage yet, but it's heading that way |
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| It was just a sapling in 2014--it's in the listing photos |
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| And...it's dead. Now to dispose of the corpse and deal with the trunk evidence. |
By the way, I also took Tom George's advice and cleaned dead wood from the Japanese Maple. He explained that the tree decides which branches it doesn't want and it withholds nutrients from them. They die and become brittle. So, just grabbing at a bunch of branches snaps off the dead ones. Trying to "wishbone" a living branch draws resistance from the tree. So I was able to gently remove about a half a yard waste bin and the tree looks much nicer. Probably still needs a professional "shaping," but I'll wait on that.
