To save a beech

[Good Feller]

So I'm not an arborist, but I want to be one. A lady came to me asking what it would take to save her beech tree. It is splitting due to a forward leaning, heavy branch. She had an arborist out to cable the branch to the main upright of the tree. He drilled holes through the branch an the main part of the tree and ran a cable through them. I've never seen this practice but have heard it's common in our southern states. I'm curious if there's anything else I can do to help this tree. Thank you.

 

[ATH]

can't tell much from those pictures. Do you think the arborist didn't do something or didn't do something correctly? Did the arborist suggest more be done? Why do you think more needs done?

I'm not saying everything WAS done correctly...no way to know that. Just curious why you are looking to do more...

Touch base with the arborist and let them know this is a client you help with other things (do you?) and ask to learn from what was done.

Normally, there would be some reduction pruning to accompany the cabling job - but there is a bit of an art/science to that, so not a good place to start learning to prune.

 

[ropensaddle]

So I'm not an arborist, but I want to be one. A lady came to me asking what it would take to save her beech tree. It is splitting due to a forward leaning, heavy branch. She had an arborist out to cable the branch to the main upright of the tree. He drilled holes through the branch an the main part of the tree and ran a cable through them. I've never seen this practice but have heard it's common in our southern states. I'm curious if there's anything else I can do to help this tree. Thank you.

Cable and bracing is a common practice of arborist's but as ATH said its usually done with a reduction. He also gave you good advice to consult the arborist , chances are he explained on going care would be necessary. Beech are very prone to splitting about the same as hackberry and beech also tend to hollow at maturity. The best thing you can do for the tree likely, is consult with a ca onsite then use his recommendations to work from. That is if your goal is to provide this lady's tree the best care you can.

 

[Good Feller]

Always looking to provide the best tree care I can. I seen some pruning was done in the leaning portion of the tree as to reduce weight. I was curious about the holes drilled through the tree for the retention cable. Was wondering if the drilling was bad for the tree. I'm aware of how soft and proned to cracking beeches are but I was unaware of the hollowing at maturity. Thank you for the responses.

 

[ATH]

that is the "standard" way to install hardware for tree support systems. Putting the cable through the whole tree and using a termination on the end of that is relatively newer.

 

[Good Feller]

T

that is the "standard" way to install hardware for tree support systems. Putting the cable through the whole tree and using a termination on the end of that is relatively newer.
That's what I was wonder. It's basically to keep the cable from being wrapped around the branch in question and cutting into it over time? Does drilling a hole in the branch affect the tree at all? I was under the assumption that it's all connected like the cardiovascular system.

 

[ATH]

Drilling isn't "ideal", but sometimes it is the best support a tree. The wounding itself is not significantly worse or better than pruning branches off. The fact a cable keeps the wound open is far worse than the actual drilling.

Read up on Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees (CODIT). Understanding this is a very important part to understanding tree care. A lot of people cutting on trees don't have any understanding of CODIT. Here is a good primer on CODIT from the Forest Service...written by Alex Shigo.

 

[ropensaddle]

Always looking to provide the best tree care I can. I seen some pruning was done in the leaning portion of the tree as to reduce weight. I was curious about the holes drilled through the tree for the retention cable. Was wondering if the drilling was bad for the tree. I'm aware of how soft and proned to cracking beeches are but I was unaware of the hollowing at maturity. Thank you for the responses.

Just because they hollow at maturity in no way means they are doomed "wouldn't want you forming the wrong opinion of beech" I wouldn't recommend them beside expensive assets but in the yard they can be ok. Many large trees you see everyday have hollows and they have had them more years than I have lived it is not a death sentence.

 

[Good Feller]

Drilling isn't "ideal", but sometimes it is the best support a tree. The wounding itself is not significantly worse or better than pruning branches off. The fact a cable keeps the wound open is far worse than the actual drilling.

Read up on Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees (CODIT). Understanding this is a very important part to understanding tree care. A lot of people cutting on trees don't have any understanding of CODIT. Here is a good primer on CODIT from the Forest Service...written by Alex Shigo.

When I get out of work I'll definitely check out what I can find on CODIT. I wasn't joking when I said I want to be an arborist. As much as I LOVE running my saws and felling trees I'd love to be able to walk up to a seemingly doomed tree and tell the property owner, "I can save that for you!" Over the next couple of decades I hope to be able to attain half the knowledge as some of the guys I've talked to here. Thank you for the info.

 

[ATH]

CODIT is a great place to start... Shigo also wrote a New Tree Biology which covers CODIT, but may be a good next book to read. If you are just getting started, probably not time to look at becoming a Certified Arborist yet, but the study guide for the test is a good resource to get started on a wider scope of topics as are the Best Management Practice books from ISA. The ANSI guides are important to understand, but tougher to read. I wouldn't start with those!

Then there are some good Extension publications. For example, when you find a pest you aren't familiar with, read MSU, OSU, WI, and Purdue extension articles. There will be a lot of overlap, but sometimes each has their own twist. Ohio State Extension does a newsletter (I guess now it is a Blog) called the Buckeye Yard and Garden Line: https://bygl.osu.edu/ also known as the BYGL (prounced beagle). I try to read about everything they put out. A lot of it is now repeat information, but I have learned quite a bit over the last 20 years from that. Even if it is not directly related to trees, it is nice to be able to answer some random questions that clients have that I just read about last week...

 

[ropensaddle]

When I get out of work I'll definitely check out what I can find on CODIT. I wasn't joking when I said I want to be an arborist. As much as I LOVE running my saws and felling trees I'd love to be able to walk up to a seemingly doomed tree and tell the property owner, "I can save that for you!" Over the next couple of decades I hope to be able to attain half the knowledge as some of the guys I've talked to here. Thank you for the info.

Well lol problem is they mostly wait until it is doomed to call

 

[Good Feller]

Well lol problem is they mostly wait until it is doomed to call

That is definitely the case with me but I've been blaming myself for lack of knowledge.

 

[ropensaddle]

That is definitely the case with me but I've been blaming myself for lack of knowledge.

Don't beat yourself up no one is born knowing it all. I'm am wrong more than right and I learn best from my errors. Many here are eons ahead of me. I have a great grasp of physiology, biology,most safety,some soil and groundwater relations, but I suffer many deficits before I feel right about calling myself arborist. Diseases and pests and taxonomy is my Achilles heel. It is pete and re-pete for me.

 

[Good Feller]

Don't beat yourself up no one is born knowing it all. I'm am wrong more than right and I learn best from my errors. Many here are eons ahead of me. I have a great grasp of physiology, biology,most safety,some soil and groundwater relations, but I suffer many deficits before I feel right about calling myself arborist. Diseases and pests and taxonomy is my Achilles heel. It is pete and re-pete for me.

I have excellent math skills and depth perception. I love trees and chainsaws. And the "work " I do doesn't feel like work. Even though it's a physically demanding profession. I'm also able to tell the difference between a job I can do safely and a job I can't do at all. And my ego doesn't affect my decision making. I never knew what I wanted to be until I got that poulan wild thing when I was eleven years old. This site has given information more valuable than a black walnut lol. I'm a member for life.

 

[ropensaddle]

I have excellent math skills and depth perception. I love trees and chainsaws. And the "work " I do doesn't feel like work. Even though it's a physically demanding profession. I'm also able to tell the difference between a job I can do safely and a job I can't do at all. And my ego doesn't affect my decision making. I never knew what I wanted to be until I got that poulan wild thing when I was eleven years old. This site has given information more valuable than a black walnut lol. I'm a member for life.

Yeah I loved the work 35 years ago too and still like it at the occasional level. I wish however, "I would have educated myself in the early years instead of just having a blast climbing"! There comes a time sooner or later, climbing and rigging trees effects the body a bit differently for myself it was this year. I'm good for partial weeks but no way am I good for the 16 hour days I was a mere ten years back. I'm lucky to get 5 hours of productive climbing in now. If I push it too hard I'm spent for 3 days lol.

 

[Good Feller]

Yeah I loved the work 35 years ago too and still like it at the occasional level. I wish however, "I would have educated myself in the early years instead of just having a blast climbing"! There comes a time sooner or later, climbing and rigging trees effects the body a bit differently for myself it was this year. I'm good for partial weeks but no way am I good for the 16 hour days I was a mere ten years back. I'm lucky to get 5 hours of productive climbing in now. If I push it too hard I'm spent for 3 days lol.

I need to learn the knots for climbing. It's something I've always wanted to do and I have a good chunk of the gear, however extremely outdated. But I've always been heavy and without an expert climber to show me the ropes, literally, I'd rather play it safe in a man lift.