We had our arborist in again this week and there is nothing like getting some tree work done to refresh an area.
The catalyst was this leaning gum tree which carried the weight of a rātā vine. The host tree was in poor condition and the lean was certainly getting more pronounced. We worried that the weight of the rātā at the top of the tree would bring it all down, potentially bringing down other trees with it and, in the worst case scenario, cutting the power lines to the house. With increasingly frequent extreme weather events these days, we err on the side of anticipating risk and trying to avoid damage.
I just looked up rātā, which are a native plant. The Department of Conservation site tells me we have 11 species – 3 are trees, 1 shrub and 6 climbing vines. It is probable that ours was Metrosideros fulgens. It did bloom for us but was never as showy as its cousin, the pohutukawa and the flowers were always right at the top of the canopy so only visible from a distance.
We chose not to fell the gum completely but left about 3 metres of it to keep the rātā. While here, we asked the arborist to drop the last remaining silver birch tree nearby which was not in good health. Once it was down, we could see from the stump that it was completely rotted out in the middle of the trunk with a hollow centre. Silver birches are not good in our climate and their only redeeming feature, in my eyes, is that beautiful tracery of the bare branches against the winter sky. And we dropped a third small tree that had died. It was one Felix had brought back from New Guinea in the late 1950s but it was never as interesting as the lovely Schefflera septulosa, Ficus antiarus and Rhododendron macgregoriae that we still have from that intrepid plant hunting trip.
Dropping trees lets light in again and opens up areas that then need a touch of renovation. In mature gardens, getting light back in to shaded areas is a constant issue and often requires some quite major work on large trees. Not many plants are happy to grow in deep shade, and few of those are desirable ornamentals.
Our arborist is very good at cleaning up after himself so he left that day leaving clear space. Empty, but clear. Lloyd, bless him, removed the lengths of firewood to our enormous woodshed the next day and Zach moved in to replant. It was all done and dusted in a couple of days but, with more light, Zach and I are now turning our attention to somewhat messy areas beyond that immediate zone. Which brings me to Zach’s orchid structure.
The wood from the felled New Guinea tree was too light to use for firewood. It needed to be stowed elsewhere to break down naturally and I suggested to Zach that he use it to make a base for some orchids as a punctuation point at the uninteresting end of an adjacent garden bed. Zach is a keen orchid man. A couple of hours later, I came back to find his construction which exceeded all my expectations. That is all waste wood, already filled with cymbidiums and dendrobiums which are divisions from other plants around the garden. What was a dull space is now a feature which will look charming as the orchids come into flower over the next months and already looks as though it has always been there.
Dropping trees is not a cheap activity but it opens up new possibilities.
A postscript, for those of you for whom chainsaws are a part of life. Our arborist used an electric chainsaw and he declares them to be an absolute gamechanger in every way – safer, quiet, much cheaper to run and a massive improvement in environmental terms. We are still using petrol chainsaws here but Mark was saying that next time we need to buy one, we will buy electric. I have heard others praise them but to have a professional give such a glowing reference convinced me they are the way to go.
Tikorangi The Jury Garden 
100% agree about electric chainsaws, especially for those of us advancing in years at an alarming rate. My husband would never let me near his old petrol one considering it a blue machine not a pink one. I still get the “safety” message everytime I go to use it, but at least now I feel able to contribute more to the upkeep of our rapidly maturing garden. And indeed the whole is starting to look much better than the part.
I have never used a chainsaw. They scare the beejeezus out of me. But the comment was made that if we get an electric one, ‘even’ I may wish to use it instead of my handy pruning saw. The other thing about petrol chainsaws is that they are high maintenance – easily the most prone to needing repair and maintenance of any of the equipment we have here but there is much less to go wrong with an electric one.
The thing about electric chainsaws with the quietness makes me uneasy. Stealth machines for people who take it upon themselves to destroy trees they feel inconvenience them. Public trees, heritage trees. I speak as someone who lives in an old suburb with increasing intensification. The sound of a chainsaw always makes me go and check.
I admit that aspect had never entered my mind! But I can see it could be an issue in more urban areas.
Hello.
When discussing an electric chainsaw, is that the same as a battery-operated chainsaw? I have a STIHL battery-operated leaf blower and a STIHL battery-operated hedge trimmer, both of which I like very much.
Thank you.
Anne Guelker
Yes.
I think you were very brave leaving that gum tree until now with that much lean on it! We’ve had 4 big trees (20 to 30 metres) felled by our arborist recently, but to save money we are doing all the clearing up, which is likely to take many weeks. What else is there to do in the garden in a New Zaland winter (I say in jest)?
I bought an electric chainsaw a couple of years ago after having marvelled at the capabilities of the electric pole saw that I’d bought a year earlier, used to cut branches from the ground. They both get used whenever possible for tree pruning and firewood, but I still revert to petrol power for the bigger logs. All our new equipment since then has been battery powered, not petrol, but you certainly need 2 batteries as a minimum, and for chainsaw use a battery needs to be fairly hefty too, or it runs out much too fast.
Zak’s orchid installation looks fantastic: well done Zak!
We have already had the discussion about batteries. The arborist was using a saw with a battery twice the power of that which power sour weedeater, hedgetrimmer and other electric- powered gear. I don’t envy your cleanup. Four large trees is a whole lot of clearing up, especially without an industrial grade chipper.
It would be quicker with a bigger chipper, but I can manhandle mine to places that you couldn’t tow a bigger one and that makes it more versatile, albeit slower.
I think you are correct in being nervous about using them. I agreed to a present of one on condition that it came with the experienced and trained donor on the end of it!
I feel I may be a bit long in the tooth to take up chainsawing! Besides, I have 3 men in my life who are all experienced operators and I pay the wages of two of them.
That was a big job and on such occasions I fear for the plants under the trees to be cut as damage is not uncommon even with the most careful of workers. I have in mind to purchase a small battery-powered chainsaw but the head gardener here has vetoed the idea, fearing widespread desctuction. Perhaps she is correct!
Ah. We lifted the small plants to give clear space. Just one small shrub destroyed and that was unexpected but I am not complaining because our arborist takes great care to avoid damage. I think his new assistant lacks experience and is not as aware of plant damage yet.
Everybody with a battery powered chainsaw seems to swear by them.