13
March/April 2020
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
Eric Phillips, sales arborist, Akron R/C office, and his
father Mark Phillips, trimmer and International Society of
Arboriculture Certified Arborist
®
, East Cleveland R/C office,
never had the opportunity to work together professionally.
That was until a unique project presented itself: pruning
an indoor ficus tree 20 feet tall.
When Ken Cloutier, regional PHC manager, and Eric did
the initial inspection of the client's tree, Cloutier agreed it
would be beneficial to loop in Mark on the project given
his experience with ornamental pruning.
The tree was in an atrium, with glass walls and hallways.
The biggest concern during the project was making sure
a pole pruner or other equipment did not hit the glass and
potentially shatter it.
FATHER & SON ARBORISTS TACKLE INDOOR FICUS PRUNING
The client bought the house roughly 15
years ago and the tree was already planted
in the house by the original owner. The house
was built in the 1970s. The client has the
original documents for the house and a picture
of the tree from the 1970s. Ken Cloutier
examines the tree.
For Mark, the best part of the experience was working
with his son.
"He works at Davey, I work at Davey, but we've never worked
together on a project," Mark said. "It was a lot of fun for me."
Eric echoed the sentiment that it was a privilege to work
alongside his dad.
"The collaboration between the two offices and being with
my dad, that makes this project even more special," Eric
said. "Getting to see my dad in the field, it was amazing
to see what experience can teach you and the things he
knows instinctively."
In the end, the client was pleased with the work performed
and wants Davey to continue caring for this unique ficus tree.
The tree was in an atrium with glass walls
and a glass roof. The tree is the focal point
of the house and can be seen from almost
everywhere in the residence. The client
told Eric Phillips that he's never watered or
fertilized the tree. The house doesn't have
a basement and the tree is planted directly
into the soil. The roots had lifted the pavers
that make up the floor and they could see
the root structure. Eric's hypothesis is that
there must be enough residual moisture
beneath the house and humidity in the air
to keep the tree healthy.
Mark Phillips said the tree was incorrectly
pruned for quite a few years, with a lot of
stubs and poor cuts. The tree had to be
thinned out a bit to restore the integrity of the
branching. When the tree fills out it should
have a rounder shape and look more natural.
