September Recap: Spring Has Entered the Chat

Well... that escalated quickly. One minute we were wrapping up winter, and the next the trees were waking up, the days were getting longer and September had us running all over the Western Cape.

Spring has officially entered the chat.

And with it came one of those months that really showed the full spectrum of what arboriculture looks like, from large removals to careful pruning, tree health treatments, training and, very excitingly, putting a few new trees into the ground too.

Spring means pruning season is in full swing

There was a lot of pruning happening in September.

We worked across everything from mature Oaks and Wild Olives to Yellowwoods, fruit trees, Milkwoods, Gums and plenty in between.

Some needed fairly straightforward shaping and maintenance, while others required more technical work, correcting structure, reducing heavy limbs, fixing storm damage after the winter, improving clearance or selectively thinning crowded canopies.

And that's really where good pruning matters.

It's not about making a tree smaller for the sake of making it smaller.

Every cut should have a reason behind it, whether that's improving structure, reducing load, managing risk or helping the tree coexist a little better with the space around it.

Basically: less chop chop, more thinking. 😅

The big trees certainly didn't take September off

While pruning kept us busy, there were still plenty of bigger jobs scattered throughout the month.

Pines, Gums, Poplars and other large trees kept the ropes, rigging gear, chainsaws and chipper moving, including uprooted trees and some that had simply reached the point where removal was the safest option.

We also dealt with hazardous storm-damaged branches lodged high in the crown of a large Gum towards the end of the month.

Those are the jobs where experience, planning and communication between the climbers and ground crew really come into play.

From the ground, it can sometimes look like a branch just needs to “come down”. Getting it down safely is the interesting part.

A little tree TLC

Not everything this month involved a saw.

We also carried out tree health work on a group of White Stinkwoods, combining a systemic soil treatment with organic mulch application around the root zones. Healthy trees start below ground far more often than people realise.

Mulching can help regulate soil moisture and temperature, improve soil conditions and support all the tiny organisms doing their thing beneath our feet. Not particularly dramatic, but very important tree work nonetheless.

From knots to actual trees at Ruens

Remember last month when we mentioned that our visit to Ruens College might not be the last? 👀

Well... we weren't bluffing.

After spending time with the learners doing knot training in August, September saw us head back, this time to start putting trees in the ground through our Plant a Tree Project.

There was measuring, marking, hole prep and finally planting day itself.

And this one was pretty special for us.

A large part of arboriculture is caring for trees that have already been growing for decades.

Getting the opportunity to be involved right at the beginning of a tree's story is something completely different. Now we get to watch them grow.

Keeping the skills growing too

September wasn't only about the trees.

We also made time for pruning training within the team, using quieter pockets in the schedule for a bit of theory and practical work.

Because no matter how busy things get, there should always be room to sharpen skills, ask questions and keep learning.

The trees certainly aren't all the same, so we can't afford to stop learning either. 😉

September, you were lekker!

Looking back, this month had a bit of everything. And somewhere in between all of that, spring properly arrived.

To our clients, thank you for keeping us so incredibly busy and trusting us with your trees.

And to our crew, another solid month in the bag. Plenty of kilometres, plenty of sawdust, plenty of time in the canopy and, judging by the photographic evidence, perhaps a little too much time amongst the wildlife. 😂

All in all, not a bad way to welcome spring.

October, we're ready for you.