[Roly Poly]

I am hoping some gardeners on here might chime in with an opinion. Pruning is both an art and a science and requires at minimum a basic understanding of plants and how they grow. My housemate took it upon himself to prune my lilac bush with a chainsaw. Previously he removed half the branches on a huge fir tree, his hypothesis being that more light would promote the vigorous growth of new branches down below. The tree is now dying. What are the chances of my lilac tree ever having the beautiful blooms it once had. It has been severely pruned into a conical shape, much like a laurel bush or other highly manicured evergreen shrub.

[Randito]

Ouch There are so many things wrong with what they did. If you want the best prospects for the tree, consult an arborist.

[touron]

I am a rank armature gardener, but I think the lilac bush has a chance and might even recover sooner than you think.

[IanB]

The flower buds will have mostly been on the top and exterior where the plant was getting the most sunlight. If it's as severe as you describe, all of that is probably cut off, and the plant's response is going to be pumping out watersprouts (arrow-straight, juvenile growth) in an effort to replace the mass that was removed. Eventually, it will settle down again and begin producing mature wood, and on that, blooms. But the plant will be almost the same size it was in the first place, and likely less-attractive for the trauma. Your housemate is now 0 and 2. Do not let him near anything else that's green.

[Bird in Hand]

Your only hope is to plant your housemate under the lilac and fir tree he/she has massacred. They can use the nutrients.

[Roly Poly]

Yep, I am NOT calm right now. When you get old like I am, there are not many more years left to plant from anew and see the trees and plants mature. I am out of time. And if anyone has any recommendations for an arborist to prune my other lilac that is blocking my neighbors view, please let me know. Preferably one that prunes without use of chainsaw,

[NacMacFeegle]

Ouch, I shuddered a little bit when I read that! I'm going to echo IanB with his suggestion that you restrain him from partaking in the art of gardening ever again.

[touron]

[Ski]

relax. my neighbor across the alley hates lilac, but inexplicably bought a house with two wonderful old specimens just inside the fence line. she goes out every year, and whacks them off about 3 feet from the ground. every year, by the time they're in bloom, they're back up to their normal 6-foot height. the lady next door to me has a beautiful white lilac (Alba) just inside her fence, and she whacks hers down to about 5 feet high every year right after it blooms. same with the two purple ones she has out in front. every year, they're back up to 7 or 8 feet and in full bloom. just water the hell out of it. conifers do not replace limbs cut off at the bottom. it is their nature to slough off the lower branches as they mature - that's where you get that beautiful clear-grain wood: from old Douglas Firs that have dropped all their lower branches. there are "free firewood" ads almost every day on Craigslist this time of year. I would suggest to your housemate that they avail themselves to the free wood available through Craigslist for their chainsaw practice. (particularly if it is really green wood, because that will gum up the bar and chain good and proper and the chainsaw won't work nearly as well.)

[treeswarper]

I love it! I have an old logger friend who jokes about pruning the roses with his 660. The evergreen tree? Water it and maybe use a little bit of fertilizer. What species is it? How old? Tree farmers with extra time on their hands DO prune the lower branches off. It makes for a higher grade (worth more money) tree in the future. If it dies, your friend has a tree to cut down . That can be fun to watch. The same thing can also be done with hand tools. I get a pruning saw or loppers in my hands and I must USE them on something...anything and off with the limbs we go. Ski, if you have a sharp chain, saws don't gum up. I've never had one gum up. Depending on where they live, a load of firewood logs could be delivered for a nice chunk o change and a "project" is born. I'm gonna copy the original post and send it to my friend. He'll get a good chuckle out of it.

[Backpacker Joe]

I have one of those one handed Stihl saws that works very well. Just have to be careful.

[treeswarper]

Whilst pedaling through a failed cedar plantation, this question came to mind. What are the symptoms of dying? Is the leader (tippy top) of the tree intact and green? I've got cedar seedlings that were severely "pruned" by deer and have managed to stay alive. I've lost some growth, but they have new growth on them and might (fingers crossed) make it if Bambi does not munch them again.

[IanB]

You might find a pruner who can do a good job through: http://www.plantamnesty.org/referral-services The situation you describe with the second lilac - needing to reduce the height of a mature plant - is an unhappy proposition. Any significant reduction is inevitably going to be removing the best bloom and triggering watersprouts. If the plant can be gradually transitioned off of the old wood onto new, then the silver lining is that healthy, young buds will bloom stronger than decrepit old wood, and there's a chance of training a lower, more spreading form - but the "tree whisperer" approach takes time and money. This type of pruning can't usually be found for less than $50/hour, and it means an annual commitment, and it means the neighbor won't get their view anytime soon. (Just a slow, steady gradual improvement in the situation year by year.)

[joker]

Plant Amnesty is a good resource. The founder wrote this book, which may be worth bringing into your household and sharing with your housemate...

[IanB]

That is the best book available for beginners. Clear, concise, humorous even. I've recommended it to many people. Best line in the whole book: "You have one opportunity to choose the size of your plant - the day you are picking it out at the nursery."