Posts

Anita Chillmaid
Tree Spade: Big John /by

Large Tree Spade

Big John

4×4 Truck-Mounted

Machine details: Big John 1.6m (65″) 4 x 4 truck mounted Tree Spade. Practicality Brown imported the first Big John ’65’ into Europe from the USA where these machines are common-place on most large development sites.



What it does

  • Moves most species of deciduous and coniferous tree up to 160mm diameter stem (6 ½”) / 50cm stem girth
  • The powerful hydraulic digging action produces rootball sizes from 1m to 1.6m in diameter
  • When lifting a 1.6m rootball the blade tips reach down c. 1.4m
  • Now mounted on Mercedes 4×4 chassis with front and rear axle diff locks and centre diff lock for maximum manoeuvrability and far superior traction, with minimum ground disturbance
  • Fitted with the latest high specification extra wide flotation tyres which minimise ground compaction



Technical data

  • Machine width: ~2.5 metres
  • Machine height: 3.9 metres
  • Machine weight: 10,000kg
  • Trunk diameter: 100 – 160mm
  • Size of rootball: Up to 1.6metres
  • Weight of rootball: Up to 2,500kg
  • Depth of rootball: Up to 1.4metres
  • Trunk circumference: Up to 50cm
  • Water tank capacity: Up to 250gals
  • Tyres: Flotation

Lifting underway
Marketing
Craning trees into rear garden /in , , , /by

Craning trees into rear garden

Our clients were undertaking a refurbishment programme at their home in Kensington, London and wished to add trees to their rear garden, which had no vehicular access. We had been acclimatising their carefully selected trees at our Tree & Hedge Nursery in Iver, Buckinghamshire for the previous twelve months, waiting for the house renovations to be completed.

We called in an expert crane hire company, who used their 100 tonne mobile crane to lift the six large rootball trees into the rear garden using our own Newman Frame, which is a bespoke attachment for lifting trees with care, over the rooftops.  The trees were carefully positioning directly into the pre-prepared planting pit, in the rear garden.

The trees were:

The works, which were undertaken by in-house experts, included two days of onsite preparation, a full road closure, planting and project management.

This is an example of the complicated projects that we can undertake; from sourcing specific species, delivery using our own vehicles and planting using our own experienced installation team; that is the Practicality Brown difference.

 

Marketing
Root-balled Trees and Transplanting /in , , , , /by

Bare root trees

Autumn heralds wonderful colours and falling leaves but for growers the cooler soils signify the ideal time to start transplanting trees and shrubs. Specimen trees, typically too large for containers, are systematically transplanted by skilled growers and root-balled with a compact root system, which enables trees to be re-located without stress or shock. This process continues into the winter when the trees are fully dormant making it perfect to transplant them.

Practicality Brown’s preferred growers throughout UK and Europe are now preparing and shipping  those trees selected and reserved during the summer, either to our nursery in Iver or direct to site to satisfy clients requirements.

These trees have their root system carefully enclosed and held in place with wire-wrapped hessian, which ensures the soil remains in contact with the roots throughout lifting, transportation and planting operations. Our root-ball trees have been prepared by being ‘undercut’ i.e. root pruned or transplanted several times (every 3 years for Deciduous and 4 years for Evergreen) to encourage the development of a fibrous root system.

The root ball season is now open; please call us to discuss your requirements. We can advise on preparation, planting and aftercare too.

Marketing
Moving trees for Microsoft /in , , , /by

Practicality Brown moved and transplanted three semi-mature Pyrus Chanticleer (Callery Pear) trees at the Microsoft Campus in Reading, West Berkshire.

The trees formed part of the soft landscaping at the prestigious Reading campus, but had grown too large at their location, restricting potential building and extension plans.  Instead of simply cutting down and removing the trees altogether, PBL advised Microsoft that the trees could be transplanted to a new location within the grounds, using a specialised tree spade machine.  This enables the trees to be saved continued to be enjoyed by campus users and a greener environment for everyone.

Each tree was moved individually, in one action, using the tree spades to carefully lift the tree and roots out of its location and move it to a prepared hole of the same size and shape.  Great care and planning were employed with the machine working so close to the building and to safe guard the ground in the new planting area.

Practicality Brown
Oak Tree Planted for Diamond Jubilee Celebration /in , , , /by

With a reputation for sourcing specimen trees, we were asked to supply and plant an Oak tree in Datchet to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Celebration. We supplied a Quercus Robur (English Oak) which was 30 cm girth with a spread of about 3 metres and around 7 metres high. This village event started in the Church with a service of thanks-giving Read more →

Practicality Brown
Trees craned into small gardens in London /in , , /by

Practicality Brown was asked to plant two large trees into small residential gardens on a new boundary of a University in Camden Town, London.  The residents had their existing trees removed during the demolition of the old boundary wall to make way for the erection of a new one. Each replacement tree had to be carefully craned from over the building from street side to the small Read more →

Complete garden projects
Practicality Brown
Elegant trees for impact /in , , /by

A private client in Walton on Thames was seeking trees to complement their front garden and selected trees from our nursery, under the guidance of our experienced horticultural specialist. Five deciduous trees were chosen for appearance and suitability for their location. The chosen trees were a Purple Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’) with a girth of 35-40cm girth, a Sweet Gum Read more →

Practicality Brown
Large Trees for maximum impact /in , , , /by

With a reputation for planting big trees, we were asked to plant three very large, semi mature tulip trees (Liriodendron), at a private garden on the Oxfordshire/ Berkshire borders. Over 13 metres tall and girth circumferences of 100cm+, these trees required careful transportation, lifting and handling during installation. See the hedge & tree projects page for more images.

Practicality Brown
Unusual Specimen Tree Sourcing /in , /by

Our client in Wiltshire was looking for an unusual specimen tree to take pride of place in his beautiful cottage garden. We sourced and planted a beautiful Chinese beech tree (Fagus enleriana) which is a rare and graceful medium size tree with slender, sea-green foliage hanging from horizontal branches. The tree weight was 1.6 ton so we used a telescopic telehandler machine to safely unload and Read more →

Practicality Brown
New Build Tree & Hedge Planting Project /in , , /by

The client had built a spectacular new country home in East midlands on former pasture land and The Landscape Practice, based in York, designed the scheme. Practicality Brown won this project on a competitive tender basis; sourcing, supplying and planting 132 trees and 190 metres of Elveden Instant Hedge, together with an associated aftercare programme. This was an Read more →

Pages

Anita Chillmaid
Tree Spade: Big John /by

Large Tree Spade

Big John

4×4 Truck-Mounted

Machine details: Big John 1.6m (65″) 4 x 4 truck mounted Tree Spade. Practicality Brown imported the first Big John ’65’ into Europe from the USA where these machines are common-place on most large development sites.



What it does

  • Moves most species of deciduous and coniferous tree up to 160mm diameter stem (6 ½”) / 50cm stem girth
  • The powerful hydraulic digging action produces rootball sizes from 1m to 1.6m in diameter
  • When lifting a 1.6m rootball the blade tips reach down c. 1.4m
  • Now mounted on Mercedes 4×4 chassis with front and rear axle diff locks and centre diff lock for maximum manoeuvrability and far superior traction, with minimum ground disturbance
  • Fitted with the latest high specification extra wide flotation tyres which minimise ground compaction



Technical data

  • Machine width: ~2.5 metres
  • Machine height: 3.9 metres
  • Machine weight: 10,000kg
  • Trunk diameter: 100 – 160mm
  • Size of rootball: Up to 1.6metres
  • Weight of rootball: Up to 2,500kg
  • Depth of rootball: Up to 1.4metres
  • Trunk circumference: Up to 50cm
  • Water tank capacity: Up to 250gals
  • Tyres: Flotation

Lifting underway
Marketing
Craning trees into rear garden /in , , , /by

Craning trees into rear garden

Our clients were undertaking a refurbishment programme at their home in Kensington, London and wished to add trees to their rear garden, which had no vehicular access. We had been acclimatising their carefully selected trees at our Tree & Hedge Nursery in Iver, Buckinghamshire for the previous twelve months, waiting for the house renovations to be completed.

We called in an expert crane hire company, who used their 100 tonne mobile crane to lift the six large rootball trees into the rear garden using our own Newman Frame, which is a bespoke attachment for lifting trees with care, over the rooftops.  The trees were carefully positioning directly into the pre-prepared planting pit, in the rear garden.

The trees were:

The works, which were undertaken by in-house experts, included two days of onsite preparation, a full road closure, planting and project management.

This is an example of the complicated projects that we can undertake; from sourcing specific species, delivery using our own vehicles and planting using our own experienced installation team; that is the Practicality Brown difference.

 

Marketing
Root-balled Trees and Transplanting /in , , , , /by

Bare root trees

Autumn heralds wonderful colours and falling leaves but for growers the cooler soils signify the ideal time to start transplanting trees and shrubs. Specimen trees, typically too large for containers, are systematically transplanted by skilled growers and root-balled with a compact root system, which enables trees to be re-located without stress or shock. This process continues into the winter when the trees are fully dormant making it perfect to transplant them.

Practicality Brown’s preferred growers throughout UK and Europe are now preparing and shipping  those trees selected and reserved during the summer, either to our nursery in Iver or direct to site to satisfy clients requirements.

These trees have their root system carefully enclosed and held in place with wire-wrapped hessian, which ensures the soil remains in contact with the roots throughout lifting, transportation and planting operations. Our root-ball trees have been prepared by being ‘undercut’ i.e. root pruned or transplanted several times (every 3 years for Deciduous and 4 years for Evergreen) to encourage the development of a fibrous root system.

The root ball season is now open; please call us to discuss your requirements. We can advise on preparation, planting and aftercare too.

Marketing
Moving trees for Microsoft /in , , , /by

Practicality Brown moved and transplanted three semi-mature Pyrus Chanticleer (Callery Pear) trees at the Microsoft Campus in Reading, West Berkshire.

The trees formed part of the soft landscaping at the prestigious Reading campus, but had grown too large at their location, restricting potential building and extension plans.  Instead of simply cutting down and removing the trees altogether, PBL advised Microsoft that the trees could be transplanted to a new location within the grounds, using a specialised tree spade machine.  This enables the trees to be saved continued to be enjoyed by campus users and a greener environment for everyone.

Each tree was moved individually, in one action, using the tree spades to carefully lift the tree and roots out of its location and move it to a prepared hole of the same size and shape.  Great care and planning were employed with the machine working so close to the building and to safe guard the ground in the new planting area.

Practicality Brown
Oak Tree Planted for Diamond Jubilee Celebration /in , , , /by

With a reputation for sourcing specimen trees, we were asked to supply and plant an Oak tree in Datchet to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Celebration. We supplied a Quercus Robur (English Oak) which was 30 cm girth with a spread of about 3 metres and around 7 metres high. This village event started in the Church with a service of thanks-giving Read more →

Practicality Brown
Trees craned into small gardens in London /in , , /by

Practicality Brown was asked to plant two large trees into small residential gardens on a new boundary of a University in Camden Town, London.  The residents had their existing trees removed during the demolition of the old boundary wall to make way for the erection of a new one. Each replacement tree had to be carefully craned from over the building from street side to the small Read more →

Complete garden projects
Practicality Brown
Elegant trees for impact /in , , /by

A private client in Walton on Thames was seeking trees to complement their front garden and selected trees from our nursery, under the guidance of our experienced horticultural specialist. Five deciduous trees were chosen for appearance and suitability for their location. The chosen trees were a Purple Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’) with a girth of 35-40cm girth, a Sweet Gum Read more →

Practicality Brown
Large Trees for maximum impact /in , , , /by

With a reputation for planting big trees, we were asked to plant three very large, semi mature tulip trees (Liriodendron), at a private garden on the Oxfordshire/ Berkshire borders. Over 13 metres tall and girth circumferences of 100cm+, these trees required careful transportation, lifting and handling during installation. See the hedge & tree projects page for more images.

Practicality Brown
Unusual Specimen Tree Sourcing /in , /by

Our client in Wiltshire was looking for an unusual specimen tree to take pride of place in his beautiful cottage garden. We sourced and planted a beautiful Chinese beech tree (Fagus enleriana) which is a rare and graceful medium size tree with slender, sea-green foliage hanging from horizontal branches. The tree weight was 1.6 ton so we used a telescopic telehandler machine to safely unload and Read more →

Practicality Brown
New Build Tree & Hedge Planting Project /in , , /by

The client had built a spectacular new country home in East midlands on former pasture land and The Landscape Practice, based in York, designed the scheme. Practicality Brown won this project on a competitive tender basis; sourcing, supplying and planting 132 trees and 190 metres of Elveden Instant Hedge, together with an associated aftercare programme. This was an Read more →