Pruning Seattle’s Heritage Trees

Trees - particularly large trees - are a fact of life here in the Pacific Northwest.  Maintaining them, including pruning, can be a real art, especially for those considered exceptional or landmark trees such as those that fall under the City of Seattle’s Heritage Tree Program.

Started in 1996, this cooperative program between the City and Plant Amnesty is designed to celebrate Seattle’s special trees.  We recently had the opportunity to observe the pruning of one of the program’s landmark trees, a Giant Sequoia measuring more than 120 feet tall and more than 30 feet in circumference, and what an undertaking it was!  While this tree is exceptionally large, many of the same principles for pruning and maintenance apply to all trees in general, no matter their size.

The project, handled by Seattle-based Grun Tree Care, an arborist firm specializing in urban tree management for more than 20 years, involved multiple arborists who repelled up and down the tree to remove deadwood and branches overhanging the street and sidewalk to keep clearance to city code.  Yes, there is a clearance code for tree branches in the city - 14 feet over the street to accommodate vehicles and 8 feet over the sidewalks to accommodate pedestrians.  For large trees in particular, pruning them to maintain the clearance is a regular, ongoing process.

Grun is one of the select, city-approved Seattle Tree Providers permitted to do tree pruning in the city.  Not everyone who says they offer tree pruning services are arborists, and selecting someone who isn’t properly trained can lead to a pruning disaster that can take years from which to recover (you can see some examples on the Plant Amnesty website in its “Gallery of Pruning Gone Bad”).  Grun’s owner, Patrick Storey, for example, is an ISA Certified Arborist and Licensed Tree Risk Assessor - both certifications that require rigorous study and testing.  And within that group, if you are in the city, you may want to look for one who is trained in urban forestry too, like Grun is.

Trees are a beautiful part of the landscape, be it urban or rural.  Whether you have a large tree or small, one that is a city landmark or simply exceptional, providing the proper care, maintenance and pruning of your tree will keep it in top form for years to come!