Live Oak Project

[Fireaxman]

In April I posted a thread titled "Can This Live Oak be Saved". I got a lot of good advice from several of you. Wondered if you might be interested to know She Still Stands. The tree has survived 3 thunderstorms with gusts above 30 mph. The split in the base opened up another quarter inch after the first thunderstorm, but the cables have taken more of the load and the split has been stablized for the last 2 storms. The cables still do not seem excessively tight, since we can see them flex in moderate winds.

I installed two "Dynamic High Density Polypro" cables (20,000 lb tensile) on slings in an "X" configuration across the 4 major leads and did a moderate amount of thinning. There was a lot of discussion about installing an external brace, but the height and angles made it pretty complicated, and the homeowner nixed it.

If you look close on "split081506" you can see about an inch and a half of new growth coming out from under the bark. The pruning cuts are also already showing calluses at the edge of the cuts, and some water sprouts are up to about 24 inches. If we dont get a bad storm this year, I think the old beast might provide another year or two of shade and another acorn crop or few.

The plan going forward (unless any of you have better ideas) is to let it re-foliate a year or two, then thin out the sprouts and maybe think about taking a little more weight off the outside diameter.

 

[treeseer]

Thanks for the followup. I'll bet the owners are happy to have it around, and I hope that it stays around for decades, not years.

I still don't understand the thinning vs. reduction strategy. It's hard to tell from a 2-D picture, but those ends look thick and heavy, while the inside looks way open. No wonder the sprouts are jumping out like that.

Maybe the next step could include lightening up those tips a bit?

 

[Fireaxman]

Thanks for the followup. I'll bet the owners are happy to have it around, and I hope that it stays around for decades, not years.

I still don't understand the thinning vs. reduction strategy. It's hard to tell from a 2-D picture, but those ends look thick and heavy, while the inside looks way open. No wonder the sprouts are jumping out like that.

Maybe the next step could include lightening up those tips a bit?

The 2D really is a mis-representation, because it shows the North face of the tree, and most of the work was done on the South face. Could not get good shots of the South face because of the proximity of the garage and tool shed. I actually took several thousand pounds off of the right side on leads that ran back more toward the garage, but that work is hidden by the foliage left on the remaining lead.

I took out all the broken except a couple that were split lateraly, but still supporting pretty good growth. I reduced the South and SouthWest corner of the West side of the tree, focusing on the South side more to shift the COG away from the garage and shed. I then removed a few badly crossed limbs (example attached). By that time, between me and Katrina, the tree had lost over 50% of the canopy. I decided to let it rest a while before I try any more drop crotch work.

I, too, hope for decades rather than years, but I was careful not to be too optimistic to the homeowners. They were well pleased. This was a volunteer project, but they insisted on a donation that, I suspect, was very generous for their means.

(Edit 10:04 PM - Nuts!! Can't get my attachments to show up! Some kind of glich in the system. I'll have to try again later.)

(Edit 082206 @ 8:58 PM finally gor the picts to upload)

 

[arboralliance]

Nice...

Awesome job Fire,

My .05c (IMHO):

Would have been nice to see some of that "several thousand pounds" of debris cut out go back around the critical root zone (after fixation in a mulch pile) as this tree will be drawing heavy from stored reserves in the larger roots and basal plate now...

She (the tree) is shooting water shoots for a reason, listen carefully to her, you may have to do this with your eyes and the eyes of the owners for a few years before "cutting" her again...

She needs good ol' carbs and naturally and she needs water and oxygen and she don't wanna be burnt by that bright old star over head and neither do all the fibrous roots in the top 6 inches o' soil exposed to ol' mumma sun from the trim..

Grass is an insidious domesticated noxious weed and no other vegetation on Earth competes more vigorously with tree's than grass...

And on, and on...

Peace...

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

It is not only the weight you remove; but their leveraged distance X angle from pivot and or defect that really matters. Also, whether that weight is lean/ load or ballast/ counter balance. All those are static concerns; as windloading/ dynamic concerns come into play; we now must view the outside/ exterior/ most extreme handles that is left for the wind to grab on to; to give loading to same pivots/ defects. Also, if the carriers of these forces (branchings) to pivot/ defects are more elastic or stiff; to figure how much of the load is buffered by elasticity or directly passed on to pivot/ defect.

Dynamic cable under hard stress can lose part of it's dynamic capability though i think. But, on the flip side; dynamic support of defect is said to not be best; then it is tearing at defect; as opposed to the dynamic motion exercising healthy wood by same action. So, dynamic support can degrade defect, or 'upgrade' healthy wood to be stronger.

Good story and heart as all ways!

 

[Diesel JD]

I'm glad you were able to preserve it for at least awhile. Here in Alachua County we are blessed with many grandadddy live oaks. I love them and hate to see a living healthy one cut down for any reason. They are darn tough, so I would say your effort is well worth it, as this is not just a weed like many of our other southern oaks. Keep us up to date on this project. Good pics, but we'd have liked to see more of your work. I'm not a pro so I can't really critique the work itself, just congratulate you and the owners for tryingto save the tree.

 

[Fireaxman]

Dynamic cable under hard stress can lose part of it's dynamic capability though i think. But, on the flip side; dynamic support of defect is said to not be best; then it is tearing at defect; as opposed to the dynamic motion exercising healthy wood by same action. So, dynamic support can degrade defect, or 'upgrade' healthy wood to be stronger.

I wish I could have put some rods in the base, or at least some steel cables in the forks just above the base, but I really dont think I could have gotten an auger through. That also influenced my decision to use the slings - long drill even through the laterals for through bolts if I wanted to keep them streight in the plain of the tension.

Oh well. I'm sure I did not do it the way it should be done, but I am confident it would be on the ground by now without what I was able to accomplish.

May have to just chalk it all up to a learning experience; I'm not a "Pro" either, JD. This was my first attempt at cabling. But if that is all I get (and it isn't; for sure I got a lot of good fellowship with my neighbors) it will be worth it.

Note: I did finally get the pictures posted I attempted last night. Everything in the pictures was removed, partly because of the risk to the den / garage / tool shed. That may actually adversly affect counter balance, but it gives us a level of comfort that if the tree fails it will not endanger life and property.

Mulch is another excellent suggestion. Unfortunately the homeowner burned the slash as fast as I cut it. He also still parks his car under it, so the tree has many strikes against it. But like somebody said, it is a very resilient species. Hope for the best.

We have one in downtown Madisonville that is completely surrounded by pavement and leans across the road at a very precarious angle. But it survived Katrina, and has survived that way for the 30 years I have lived here, and many beyond that. I'll try to get a picture. If that one made it, maybe this one has a chance.

 

[arboralliance]

Excellence...

You have done an excellent job Fireaxman, perhaps you might discuss with the owners the option of putting some supporting vertical beams under the limbs and this may then prevent parking under the tree...:sword: