For an owner of shore property, making the wrong choice can have serious consequences. The money saved initially may pay dividends of disaster within a few years. Most of the pruning practices described later in this guide are hazardous operations. They should only be performed by qualified and well-equipped personnel. Most property owners should not attempt to perform the work themselves.
Different species have different characteristics.
The growth habit, rooting habit, height, shape, longevity, strength, durability, resistance to salt and climatic stresses, and tolerance to pruning all differ among species. Refer to the plant lists in the Appendix for a relative comparison of characteristics for trees commonly encountered on Puget Sound shorelands. Tree age in relation to expected longevity of a particular species, can be an important consideration when deciding whether or not a tree should be removed. Because alder is a fairly short-lived species that seldom survives beyond 70 years of age, it is probably not going to survive much longer. In this case, expensive view pruning would not be warranted.