Can I save my Oak Tree??

[butkus]

I have a pretty big Oak tree in my yard that has 3 trunks coming out of one. The trunk at the bottom is about 130 inches around. About 1-2 ft above that the trunk splits into 3 trunks...60 in., 65 in. and 80 in. around respectively. Between the 2 biggest trunks is a hollow spot. The tree is about 40-45 ft high, and provides me with great shade. This tree is one of my favorite points of my yard, and is over 60 years old. It doesn't seem to be sick, although it does have some moss and a few green fungus-like spots way up on the trunks.

My question is... Is this tree dangerous? What are the chances that it will split and fall. Also, is it possible to take down one of the trunks without risking the whole tree?

 

[treeclimber165]

Hard to say without seeing it, and even then you can only get an educated guess. There are many subtle signs a trained arborist can look for to indicate possibility of structural weaknesses.

Removal of one trunk would create an open avenue for decay to get into the base of the tree within a few short years. Large cuts on mature trees typically do not ever seal like smaller cuts can. No, there is not a man-made product to apply to the cut to help the tree compartmentalize the huge cut. They do not work. Removal of one trunk would drastically increase your odds of structural failure within a few years.

 

[treeclimber165]

If you want to address this, I'd recommend getting a couple opinions from qualified arborists. They can tell if the tree is overmature, or if perhaps some select careful crown reduction could reduce the stresses at the triple crotch in question. Small cuts will be less likely to admit decay than large cuts. Avoid people who recommend stripping out all the interior foliage of the tree to 'open it up'. This will exaggerate the forces near the base rather than reduce them.

A couple good places to start when looking for qualified arborists are
http://www.asca-consultants.org/ and
http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

This tree might be a good candidate for cabling system. Modern systems are made of synthetic ropes with rubber shock absorbers in them. They are installed about 2/3s of the way up the tree, where they are hardly noticed, and have tremendous strength. Unlike the old systems, made of steel, these allow the tree to move in all directions which is good for the tree.
The down side is that they must be installed by a professional and cost about $200 per strand installed.

 

[geofore]

oak

If you worry that removing some of the tree will cause problems later plant a new tree now and if you loose the other down the road you will have the one you plant now well established by the time the other shows problems. Rare is the bird that thinks long term about trees. I have two costomers who will plant trees to replace the trees they want down in 4-5 years from now. It does couple of things by planting now. The newly planted trees tend to grow taller than they would if planted in an open area and they take off like gangbusters to fill the open space when the old trees are removed because of all the extra sunlight thus filling in the open spaces faster after the old trees are gone. Plus you know whether the trees are going to take before you remove the old ones.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Wow, Mike, I'm under charging for Cobra. I'm around $75-100 per strand of the standard system.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

OAK WITH 3 TRUNKS

Looks like you have had some good suggestions regarding the cabling idea.

If the synthetic method is too expensive, the older metal concept is still not a poor choice.

If there are a lot of limbs that could safely accomodate a 24' ladder on each of the trunks - and I mean safe - you may be able to install the cables yourself.

Of course maybe you climb (?)

Synthetic allows movement - but you did say OAK. And the Oaks I am used to don't really move much.

Do you want the tree? If I want my tree, and its healthy, then I keep what I want.

Usually, the removal of 1 trunk from 3, results in an impossible to keep strong situation. If basically eliminates anything to cable to in the future.

That's considering they are equally spread.

Sanborn seems so reasonable compared to the $200 strands, you may be able to fly him out to do the job and still save money!

Mario Vaden
Landscape Designer / Arborist

M.D. Vaden Trees & Landscapes
Beaverton, Oregon

www.mdvaden.com

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The price difference we quoted may be in the size of the system we are talking about.
The most popular brand is called Cobra. It comes in three sizes. I use the small size for house plants, the medium size for tree limbs, and when supporting a whole tree, I will always opt for the large size.
I suspect the large size would be called for with an Oak because it will surely grow, Oaks tend to get very heavy nut loads, and it's better to overbuild a system than underbuild it. You would be amazed at how much an Oak moves in a wind strom. This movement creates huge dynamic loads.
The material cost of the large system is over $80 dollars per strand. Then, of course, you must pay a qualified, <I>insured</I>, arborist to come to your house examine the tree, give you an estimate, and then return to install it.
At the time of installation, the climber will most likely do some dead wood removal, inspect the tree, and possibly do some other light pruning and clean up.
If John can do all that for $75, even with the medium system, which costs around $40 for materials, I have to wonder how?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I am insured, so that part is covered.

If I install 2 cables in 1.5 hours without any help then I'm doing 46/hr. That is the longest it has taken me to do 2 cables.

$75 is actualy my minimum, though I rarely go over $100.

I charge by T&M, use list to cover colars and rubber, cordage is $1.00 a foot and webbing .20/foot.

So a 20 foot cable is around $55 with 1/2 hour instalation time of $25 is 80 bucks.

Almost every cableing situation has been found durring pruning operations. Sale takes place during normal follow up of work with client. More work is usualy scheduled with the cable, not always.

If an extra person is needed in the instalation the pice naturaly goes up.

 

[NeTree]

Sounds like it's probably a good cantidate for a cabling system. You may want to have it examined soon, before snow and ice buildup occurs and puts more weight on the tree, since you want to save the tree if at all possible.

Nice to see someone who appreciates the value of such a tree... wind break in the winter, shade in the summer, added soil stability. Adds alot to the value of your home, financially and aesthetically.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

John,
I pray the day doesn't come where I get paid $25 to bid, climb a tree, install a cobra, and bill a customer, to do a highly skilled job such as install one of these systems.
I feel the price example you have come up with is totally un-realistic. Where is the profit and overhead?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Do you regularly install only one cable?

I'm usualy using a box or a triangle or multiple singles.

Yup, $25 bucks is not much, but if it is a segament of a total, where youare servicing a client, that is not bad for .5 mhr. and if it is a 3 leg intalation, then that is $75 that gets tacked on to the bill

If you have a 4 leg system to install, are you charging $800 for 4mhr work? Maybe if your in a 75 ft silver maple and using 50 ft per leg.