Formative pruning is a tree surgery practice where we shape the tree, at a young age, to a desired result. With deciduous trees, the best time to work on them is in the winter when there are fewer leaves. It is better to prune evergreen trees in April. Tree surgeons usually prune over a 4 to 5-year period. With experience in specialist tree work and all types of formative pruning, Angus Wilson Quality Tree Care, located in Chilworth, is ideally positioned to cover the Cranleigh, Godalming and Woking areas.

We would recommend pruning ‘stone’ fruit trees in the summer. Tree surgeons typically form ornamental trees to a central leader standard with defined trunks and canopies. This type of tree surgery trains a young tree to grow as a standard with a 1m to 2m trunk, and a central leading branch.

There are many reasons for pruning a tree:

• To regulate the size and the shape
• To promote faster growth
• To keep the tree healthy
• To improve flowering
• To remove dead branches
• To remove dangerous branches
• To arrest the onset of disease
• To maintain aesthetic quality
• To manage shading.

There are also several types of formative work we undertake on mature trees in the Cranleigh, Godalming, Guildford and Woking areas.

Crown Thinning

A process where our tree surgeons remove small branches throughout the crown to reduce the density of the crown, leaving uniform foliage around an even branch structure. Crown thinning works best for species with broader leaves and will not impact general shape. It is important not to thin crowns by more than 30% of their foliage. This type of tree surgery improves light flow, lowers overall canopy weight and significantly reduces resistance to wind.

Crown Lifting

The removal of lower branches, while avoiding the loss of larger branches from the tree’s trunk to prevent wounding and reduce the risk of disease. Crown lifting increases the flow of light into areas around the tree and has added benefits for nearby plant life. With this type of tree work, we never cut more than 15% of the crown height and always specify the job to a fixed point.

Crown Reduction

Tree surgeons reduce mechanical stress on branches, and the height and spread of the crown, to make species better suited to their environment. This practice retains the crown’s main framework, improves light flow and reduces shading. It leaves a smaller outline that is tidy but not necessarily symmetrical. This form of tree surgery should not be confused with topping, a crude practice that is both indiscriminate and harmful.

Deadwood Removal

Deadwood may break off during storms, leaving the heart of the tree exposed and risking damage to nearby property. Deadwood looks unsightly. It can accumulate water that encourages fungal growth, rot and decay, creating potential habitats for insect infestation, further compromising the tree’s health. Use our tree surgeons for deadwood removal on a standalone basis, or as part of a crown thinning or reduction service.

Please visit our website gallery to see examples of our tree work in the Cranleigh, Godalming, Guildford and Woking areas.

Directional Felling

Directional tree felling is a controlled practice performed by trained arborists and tree surgeons. Felling uses a variety of cutting tools. Statistics suggest that professionals clear around 1,730 acres of land using this practice every year. This is not deforestation, but a service provided to support sustainable logging programs or for safety reasons, such as an immediate threat to property or the general public.

Angus Wilson Quality Tree Care is a specialist in all types of tree work including directional tree felling and sectional dismantling. Located in Chilworth, near Guildford, we cover Cranleigh, Godalming, Woking and all Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire areas. This type of tree surgery presents a series of dangers, so we have to take a number of different things into consideration:

• Safety planning and organising use of the correct PPE
• Inspection of the tree and its condition
• Clearance of limbs and buttress roots
• Decision on a safe tree felling direction
• Planning the safest retreat route for our tree surgeons.

By taking these factors into account and implementing them consistently, we can fell the tree in a direction that is safe for the property owner and the public. The controlled fall of the tree keeps it away from surrounding property, and also stops potential damage to other plants and trees in the area. When working on tree felling projects in the Guildford and Cranleigh areas, we use a process that has 5 main steps:

1. Tree surgeons knock the tree to find out if it is live wood or dead wood. Finding areas of dead wood makes cutting easier so we take time to sound out the tree.
2. We make the first cut, which is horizontal. This is the first of two cuts made, no higher than hip height, to make a notch that leads to a perpendicular fall.
3. To complete a notch, arborists make wedge cuts above or below the acute angle of the horizontal cut to limit kickbacks. The two cuts meet to form a good hinge.
4. The back cut completes the directional tree felling process and determines the holding wood thickness. It is this cut that controls the direction of the fall.
5. The tree should fall on completion of the back cut. Tree surgeons have a safety route planned and will drop back into it quickly as the tree starts falling.

Directional Tree Felling | Equipment and PPE

All forms of tree surgery require the correct training and, just as importantly, the right tools, equipment and PPE. It should go without saying that you should only use a qualified professional for directional tree felling, or for any other type of tree work that has imminent risks and dangers.

We have an excellent safety record, and this makes Angus Wilson Quality Tree Care a preferred choice for services in Cranleigh, Guildford, Godalming and Woking. Please contact us on 01483 575585 or 07976 900437 for advice. The PPE used by our tree surgeons includes:

• Helmets and Visors
• Ear Defenders
• Forest Jackets
• Gloves and Boots.

In terms of tools, we use chainsaws, silky saws, felling axes and felling wedges on directional tree felling projects.

Sectional dismantling is a tree surgery practice where we use aerial operations to perform a safe tree removal. An aerial operation is one where tree surgeons must work off the ground, so they must have training in tree climbing and aerial rescue. The practice of sectional dismantling is one used when there is limited space to work in, or when there is property nearby that we could potentially damage using other techniques. Sectional tree removal is the alternative to directional felling.

Angus Wilson Quality Tree Care can remove trees in sections anywhere in Guildford, Cranleigh, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. There are many different techniques used with this type of tree work, each one as unique as the tree itself. We will assess the individual tree and plan the best techniques appropriate in each case, based upon the following:

• The size and the height of the tree
• The shape and form of the tree
• The amount of space around the tree
• The health and stability of the tree.

Sectional Tree Removal | A Safe and Controlled Process

Tree surgeons use a controlled technique for this particular process. Wearing a harness and equipped with ropes, the arborist climbs to the top of the tree and secures an anchor point. After returning to the bottom of the tree, he or she will work back up to the top, using specific chainsaws and handsaws, to cut the lowest and then the highest branches. On some tree removals in Guildford, Cranleigh and Surrey, the job may need rigging kit installed to an anchor point with enough strength to support the weight of limbs lowered by rope. The rope sits on a pulley system to reduce friction and the risk of wear. Tree surgeons attach branches and timber to one end of the rope while an assistant on the ground holds the opposite end. With the aid of a lowering device, the two professionals work together to bring dismantled sections of the tree down to the ground in a safe, controlled manner. Because we have a responsibility to the environment, we process the timber derived from this type of tree surgery project to create logs, firewood, woodchip and mulch.

LOLER Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
LOLER requires that all equipment used for lifting in tree surgery is fit for purpose, appropriate for the task, suitably marked and, in many cases, subject to statutory periodic thorough examination. Records must be kept of all thorough examinations and any defects found must be reported. Defective equipment is replaced. This covers all the climbing equipment. Tree surgeons use harness, ropes and karabiners. It also includes the ropes and pulleys used on sectional tree removal jobs in Guildford and Cranleigh, and in the surrounding Surrey areas. Equipment is independently inspected every six months by a Health and Safety Executive approved inspector. This complements our own checks before we use equipment for any type of tree work.

We’ve made quality tree care the very heartbeat of our company, but there’s just as much passion in our supporting range of services as there is in our tree work. Here, we look at our related services in a little more detail and explain how they help our customers. Free site visits are a part of these services and, if there is no work needed, we promise to be honest and upfront with you on this count at all times. Our friendly, customer-focused approach has won us plenty of friends in the surrounding Guildford and Cranleigh areas. Angus Wilson Quality Tree Care has an excellent regional reputation, one that continues to spread across Surrey.

Stump Grinding

A mechanical process to reduce the remaining stump of a felled tree to sub-floor level. It is a well-known fact that stumps can harbour bacteria and encourage the growth of honeysuckle. A stump grinder reduces timber to a mulch that we then use to backfill the hole. Should we have an excess of mulch left, we can leave it behind for your garden or remove it for green recycling. Stump grinding clears land of potential tripping hazards to make local gardens much safer.

Hedge Cutting

Keep hedges in good condition and pathways clear with hedge cutting services from Angus Wilson Quality Tree Care. We work on all hedge species, taking particular care to only cut at times of the year where our work won’t have an impact on nesting birds. We carry out pruning and trimming of wall shrubs and climbers such as Pyracantha and Wisteria.

Importantly, we can handle work at the opposite end of the spectrum, offering precision cutting for box hedges. Our hedge cutting services include cypress screen management.

Hedge Restoration

Over the years, all hedges get bigger. We offer a restoration service tailored to the needs of the hedge owner and the species involved. If it is a need for more space, such as along your driveway or reduction in height to let in more light, we can advise on the particular technique suited to your hedge and when is the best time to carry out the work.

We offer aesthetic conifer hedge overhang removal where one side of the hedge is required to be retained, keeping the neighbours happy. We see restoring hedges as one of our most important services and always plan our work around what you want from them.

Cobra Tree Bracing

Cobra is one of the most dynamic support systems in the field of tree surgery, based around insightful scientific research and with a flexible design that absorbs shock well. Cobra tree bracing is safe, inexpensive and preserves all species. The Cobra system uses high-strength woven tube to support weak parts of a tree’s crown that may be subject to storm damage, reducing the risk of damage or loss of amenity. Studies show that in the hands of a competent professional, Cobra tree bracing will not need replacing for up to 12 years.