Tree work in Aylmer

Aylmer has the largest trees in Gatineau and the largest lots to hold them. Along chemin d'Aylmer and in the streets near the Ottawa River there are mature oaks, white pines and maples of 60 to 90 cm diameter, often older than the houses. These are high-value trees, and the right decision is almost always maintenance rather than removal.

The typical job here is therefore different from the rest of the city: selective reduction of an over-extended limb above a roof, removal of large-diameter dead wood from a high crown, bracing of a union with included bark. This is experienced climber's work, and it is the sector where the ISA Certified Arborist credential makes the greatest difference to the result.

Wooded lots create a regulatory constraint particular to Aylmer. The zoning by-law sets a minimum number of trees for a lot, and a removal that would take the lot below that minimum obliges you to plant a replacement, at least 2.5 m for a broadleaf or 1.5 m for a conifer. On a wooded lot it is worth having the trees counted before deciding which one goes.

Wind off the river is the last factor. Properties exposed to the west along the shore take gusts with nothing in the way, and a tree that grew up sheltered by its neighbours becomes markedly more vulnerable as soon as the woodlot around it is thinned. Many tree failures in Aylmer happen two or three years after a partial clearing next door.