[CANUFNET] String trimmer damage

[Alex Satel - UFI]

Hey Dwayne,

Ages ago as an undergrad I worked four summers on a groundskeeping crew at my university. We planted dozens of trees-walnut, beech, Freemans, and others-around the back campus and then promptly proceeded to weed whack the living daylights out of them, season after season. We were told by the lead hands to get rid of the grass because it looked bad and we simply didn't know any better at the time (my forestry education was still a few years ahead of me)!

Fast forward nearly 20 years and I'm pleased (and very surprised) to report that, as far as I can tell, all of those trees somehow managed to survive and thrive. This also despite our abhorrent planting practices and way-too-close spacing, but that's another story. Trees can, apparently, be amazingly resilient!

Now, none of this is to say that weed whacking trees isn't bad-it obviously is. Those trees just got lucky, I guess.

But in answer to your question, what worked in the end was when the manager eventually caught sight of what was going on, sat the whole crew down, explained exactly why and how what we were doing could hurt the trees, and directed us to pull up the grass by hand. Sure, it took a few seconds longer per tree, but the weed whacker damage stopped from that moment on!

I think it was the clear explanation that sealed the deal-it's not good enough to tell the crew "don't weed whack the tree"-you need to explain the mechanism of injury so that it really sticks in the operator's head next time they fire up that line trimmer. I'm convinced that no operator wants to harm the trees, they probably just don't know about phloem and cambium and all that stuff. We certainly didn't!

In the end, I think the best solution here is going to be education and communication. I'm sure it's not easy, especially with a rotating cast of contractors or staff who are used to doing things a certain way, but I think it's key to success here.

And of course, you can also put on all sorts of different tree guards or even Gator bags, but they have their own problems, especially when they're forgotten about, get packed with debris and start rotting the stem, or eventually girdle the tree.

Good luck!

Alex

Alexander Satel, MFC
Urban forestry and arboricultural consultant
ISA Certified Arborist ON-1353A
ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ)

Urban Forest Innovations, Inc.
1331 Northaven Drive
Mississauga, ON L5G 4E8
T: (905) 274-1022
asatel at ufis.ca
urbanforestinnovations.com


From: CANUFNET <canufnet-bounces at list.web.net> On Behalf Of Dwayne Gilbert via CANUFNET
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2023 8:25 AM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network (canufnet at list.web.net) <canufnet at list.web.net>
Cc: Dwayne Gilbert <Dwayne.Gilbert at mississauga.ca>
Subject: [CANUFNET] String trimmer damage

Good morning, I have a question for all but perhaps more so for municipal arborists/contract administrators who manage newly planted trees in city parks.


  *   Have you had issues with other city staff causing damage to young trees with string trimmers while performing maintenance?



  *   If so, did you come up with a solution or various solutions to remedy that problem with good success?



Thank you for your time!

Dwayne Gilbert
Woodlands and Natural Areas Technician
Certified Arborist
T.R.A.Q.
City of Mississauga
(905) 615-3200 ext. 4581
Dwayne.Gilbert at Mississauga.ca<mailto:Dwayne.Gilbert at Mississauga.ca>

City of Mississauga<http://www.mississauga.ca/> | Community Services Department,
Parks, Forestry and Environment Division

[tree 4][Spruce 2]
Studies show trees last longer when not cut down...

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