I was dead set against air spading for root work... now I'm a convert

For years I thought air spading was just another expensive toy that tree companies use to justify higher bids. Then last month we had a 60 year old oak that was slowly declining, and the owner wanted a second opinion before cutting it down. I brought in a buddy who does a lot of urban tree work, and he spent maybe 20 minutes with the air spade around the root flare. Turned out there was girdling roots that had been choking it for probably a decade underneath all that compacted soil and turf. We cleared it out, mulched it right, and three weeks later there's new growth at the tips. I've been doing this trade 12 years and I missed it completely just looking at the crown and trunk. Anyone else have a piece of equipment they were skeptical about that ended up changing how you diagnose problems?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant8269d ago

Yeah, turns out my expensive eyeballs aren't as good as an air spade.

parker_jones509d ago

Seems like overkill @grant826, but hey whatever works for you.