Black Willow Pruning – Livonia, MI

Salix nigra, common name black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America.  This giant black willow is growing down a flood plane in a Livonia, MI back yard.

I was called to assess this black willow tree in mid summer.  Upon my arrival, the homeowner expressed her great love for this tree.  She was quite upset because she had contacted other companies who suggested removing the tree due to the large amount of dead limbs.  I walked around back and started my assessment by identifying the hazards, the large dead limbs.  Next, I look for potential targets, if the tree were to fail, which could be damaged.  The tree is completely clear of the house, garage and patio, the only target is a large perennial garden.  Then, I assess the overall health/condition of the tree and present my findings to the homeowner.

We can prune the large deadwood, weak and broken limbs from the tree, mitigating the obvious hazards.  I explained that even after the trimming work is complete, it is possible for this tree to lose a large limb or even an entire trunk section in a storm or during high winds.  There will always be some risk of the tree failing, in this case, I think the risk is relatively low and the potential for any large dollar amount of damage is low.  As the tree continues towards the end of its life cycle, we can return periodically to asses the health and  continue to reduce any declining leads and prune any deadwood.  There is no reason that this tree won’t be around for a long time to come.

By simply listening to the customer, we were able to provide the service she was looking for a meet her expectations.

Below are pictures and a review of our work!