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14 Arbor Age / May 2014 www.arborage.com Would you, as a tree care professional, plant a juvenile sycamore tree directly underneath the overhang of your roof and snug the trunk of the new planting next to your foun- dation and exterior wall? Probably not, because you know that within a short period of time it will cause problems. The sycamore will want to grow taller than the roof overhang and wider than your exterior wall will permit, and it will likely desire to intrude into your house's foundation. If, on the other hand, you did think it was a good idea to plant a sycamore in this unlikely location, you would obvi- ously have to set up a regular and frequent pruning schedule to manage that tree in that ill-suited location. But no self-respecting arborist would ever plant a big tree in a confi ned location, right? We would match the mature size of the plant to the specifi c site (both above and below ground). At a minimum, we would follow the advice of the late great Dr. Richard Harris who said, in his classic book "Arboriculture": Pruning can reduce shade, the danger of wind-throw, and interference with utility wires, can simplify pest-control spray- ing, and can prevent the obstruction of views and traffi c. If you choose plants that will be an appropriate size at maturity, this will minimize the need for pruning. If a plant must be pruned more than every fi ve to seven years to control its size, it is the wrong plant for the particular location or use. Dr. Harris said this, in large part, because we know repeated pruning for size reduction will ultimately kill an ornamental tree long before its time. If you did act against all we know regarding plant and site selection, and did indeed plant the sycamore in the wrong location, how would the tree look after a period of several pruning cycles? If the tree has the genetic potential and reso- lute capacity to grow in excess of 100 feet tall, what will it look like after it reaches the overhang? Let me cut to the chase here. Over a period of time the sycamore will look like it has been "butchered." Notably, it will look that way to laypersons and professionals alike. Let me offer up another interesting fi nding I uncovered related to the Midwest lawsuit. As it turns out, the overwhelm- ing majority of trees that were claimed to have been "butch- ered" were actually planted after the lines where installed. In other words, and very much like the sycamore example above, these big trees were planted under or adjacent to existing power lines with no regard to the long-term implications of trying to manage a genetically large tree in a confi ned space. This brings me to my main point and strong personal con- viction. There are many folks out there who are quick to raise the "tree butcher" accusation against utility arborists when looking at the results of their efforts to clear the energized lines. However, the pruning techniques are not the reason the INDUSTRY INSIGHTS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS