removing one of 5 leaders of large oak?

[ontario026]

out back on my property is a fairly large oak which has 5 decent sized (24" or so) leaders all exiting the ground adjacent to each other I assume they are all connected to the same root system. 1 of the leaders has some storm damage at the top and a few dead limbs, I am considering cutting this single leader down for firewood, and possibly salvage a bit of lumber out of the lower trunk to try out my alaskan mill on, My question is will this have an adverse effect on the other leaders of the tree?

Thanks

 

[Dadatwins]

Hard to say without pics, if all the 24" leads come off of a single trunk then cutting one lead that large would leave a large wound which would not close, oak is not good at closing up large cuts. possible that the open wound would start to rot and eventually cause the structural failure of the rest of the tree. If they are separate trees but grown close together not so much of a problem, seperate trees have separate root systems even thought the are close together. Some pics would help.

 

[treeseer]

Dada and Dan I'm not so sure. If 5 stems sprouted from the same root system they likely are separate systems, each with their own defenses.

Hard to say without a picture. I could say go ahead, but better to prune the bad branches and try your mill out on wood from a tree that really has to come down (I'm sure there are several in your area).

 

[ontario026]

Got a couple pics

If you click the following link you should see the tree/trees in question, there are actually 6 or 7 leaders/trees, would these all be individual trees or sharing the same root system? I am 6'4" and I can just barely touch my fingers together when bear-hugging the leader on the left in the first picture... I assumed they all share the same root system, all being relatively large, I thought individual trees would have fought with each other too much clumped like that and not gotten nearly so large.... In the third picture it appears like some of the bark is falling off? what would cause that? Am I correct about it being a white oak? Would it cause any damage to the other leaders if I cut the leader to the large leader to the left and the broken off one on the right?

Click here for pics

Thanks guys

 

[ontario026]

any input anyone?

 

[rebelman]

I say take it off. Make a good cut, do not nick the cambium of the other stems. Also check the root zone of the remaining plant.

 

[Dadatwins]

Still kind of hard to tell if it is all connected, without moving all the debris gatherd up in the center of the clump. I am guessing they are not simply due to the different size and spacing, I would say from here it would be ok to cut off the broken stub. The bark is falling off of it because it is dead, be careful cutting it so you do not hit the other trees in the clump. As for the species, it looks like oak, but need to see a leaf or twig for type. be careful.

 

[scottbaker]

Your tree looks like it may be a group of old stump sprouts.

Regardless of that if you cut one stem I do not think you will have a problem with decay spreading to an adjacent stem.

Dadatwins suggestion of clearing a little duff away is a good one. Also as he said don't nick the adjacent stems as you cut.

Scott

 

[wradman]

atv

any input anyone?

is that a trx450 es
looks like the same one i got but mine is green and a little more beat up