Featured blog: Oh My! Your Skirt's Up Too High!

Maybe this doesn't look too bad at first glance.

The tree looks healthy. Lots of greenery at the top. So why is it in the Shame Hall of Fame?

Well it's a Coastal Redwood. The tallest trees in the world. The tallest of which is growing in northern California up near Eureka. Forestry Service won't say which one but they know. I know. I know. It's a conspiracy....yeah right.

Back to this tree. It's in the Seabright part of Santa Cruz and obviously a landmark in the neighborhood. A well-established tree company did this work. They probably called it "skirting" which is the correct term but in this case it is mutilation.

Typical skirting is much lower at no more than 30% up. I understand the owners wanted to remove the tree because it is "messy." Can't argue there.

Redwoods are amongst the messiest trees around here. They drop duff at the rate of an inch or more a year.

Since there's a Heritage Tree Ordinance in Santa Cruz, their application for removal was denied so they did the next worse thing by having all of the lower two-thirds of the foliage removed.

This is also a violation of the same protective ordinance. No more than 25 to 30 percent of the foliage may be removed and that is only done over a specific period of time.

This means the moisture collecting parts that collect it from fog are greatly diminished. Redwoods are very hardy trees but they can't stand this kind of hacking very well but it will survive.

The botanical name for Coastal Redwood is Sequoia sempervirens. Sempervirens in latin means "everlasting". The tree produces in three ways. Seeds, root runners, and suckers. That's how they can sustain themselves.
Besides the well-being of the tree being compromised, the aesthetic value is destroyed and the natural growth habit has been altered for the rest of its existence. There's even a good possibility the original owners that had this done have moved away and left us with this.

 What a shame.