Pool of water in Oak, suggestions please

[lxt]

"If the water is unsightly and must be prevented, siphon it out and fill with some unabrasive material." p. 455. Shigo lived in NH, studying trees closely for 30+ years, and this is all he had to say about water pockets. You may be a shrewd dude, lxt, but I gotta go with Alex on this one.

No disrespect to what Mr. Shigo did or has done, But I dont think Mr. Shigo worked the Ice storm that hit the east coast back in 98/99?, maybe if he did he would suggest something other than siphoning!!! many trees that we came across didnt fail from just Ice weight......but failed through just what we are mentioning here, as a matter of fact B.G.E during my tenure there had many classes explaining this effect, It actually happens to their facilities too, wood poles, H frames & other structures.

Alex wasnt always right Seer, a true pilgrim in many advancements of our industry & we /I am thankful for his insight & brilliance, but not a definitive source on all aspects tree related!!

Ill take the word of electrical/structural engineers that gave the class through Baltimore Gas & Electric(B.G.E) over Alex, Sorry!!!

I not trying to be shrewd..........what ever was meant by that comment??


LXT.............

 

[lxt]

The homeowner is lucky to have a group of arborists discuss a problem in detail. He now understands that there isn't agreement on what is best for the tree. He got the simple answer early on, if that's what he wanted.

If you want to restrict the answers in this forum, they should be to industry standards. If it isn't in ANSI, or backed up by peer reviewed science, don't advise homeowners like that is how it is.

Some of the best tree health discussions on the interweb have been right here on ArboristSite Homeowner Helper Forum, inspired by questions and topics that just don't get brought up anywhere else.

Look around for intelligent, correct, answers to tree health questions on the web, it's not an easy task. And to have several career arborists will to go into such detail, without being paid or hope of getting work from it, is pretty nice for the homeowner.

What good arborist is going to come and participate here if there isn't a pay off for him?

Well Said!!!!

LXT........

 

[Themadd1]

Whatever you decide to do is your own business I suppose. I just feel that we are giving our personal advise based on our own research. Creating a debate about the pros and cons of advise is great but bickering back and forth over a thread is not productive. Give you advise, back it up, and let it go. Creating a new thread to debate issues would be more logical to me. I have seen a lot of these threads go on for pages, (not nessasarily this one), to no end. That is simply my point. Yet here I am diong the same thing so I will let it drop.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Yet here I am diong the same thing

Yep!



Now you see how it works......




.

 

[appalachianarbo]

when it froze, the ice pushed up and made a little mound over the hole

That's what I'm saying. You guys (lxt, plant bio, etc.) bring up some good points about freeze mechanics (yes, every situation is different), I've just never seen it blow apart a tree (I spent 22 years in the northeast, too).

Here's another example - I have a 5 gal bucket under my downspout to catch rainwater. Early this winter, we had a hard freeze. The bucket was full of water. All the water froze, but the bucket and gutter (about 8" went down into the bucket) were fine. The ice expanded to about 2" over the edge of the bucket. No, I'm not saying this is the same as a tree, simply an illustration.

apparbo--why did you not just put in new cables?

Guy - The tree was a really quick grower, adding lots of wood and weight each year. There was no visible union between the two trunks above ground (inclusion from ground level to about 3', where the trunks diverged), leading me to believe that the cable was just about the only thing holding this tree together. Because of the fast growth rate, I installed a relatively loose cobra in 2002 so as the tree grew, the cable would eventually tighten. It would provide some split protection initially, and allow less movement and more stable support as the tree grew and it tightened. When I removed it, the cable was as taught as a banjo string and the tree has absorbed some cobra material with minor girdling. I supported the two trunks using a bull line anchored to a porta-wrap (much like the article in this month's TCI described). I only removed the support when all the brush was removed from the tree and I was on the ground. No way I'd trust that tree to support me by itself.

Also, there were two targets, and the HO could plant another of the same variety and have the same size tree in only 12 years (the tree, along with 4 others, were planted in '95-this was the only one that had the twin trunk. The others are just fine. If only he had pruned out one side back in '95...) I've got some pics, but I haven't downloaded them yet.

 

[Cuda]

Cuda, please post a pic of the other side of that fork so we can explore support options.

Sorry it took so long to get back to the thread, looks like it took on a life of it's on while I was gone, to me the tree looks pretty solid like it is and has withstood several Hurricanes including a direct hit by Ivan in 2004 where the eye passed directly over me, that was a cat3 storm when it hit and I live only 20 miles from the coast, but here is the other side of the tree. I included a leaf from the tree too, can anyone tell me the type of Oak this tree is?

 

[appalachianarbo]

You have yourself a southern red oak, Quercus falcata.

Yes, you have included bark where your trunks diverge, but the tree looks pretty stout. You can have a box cable installed between the three leaders to limit movement between leaders, but from here, it doesn't look like you need it. Maybe a closer personal inspection will show something different.

 

[treeseer]

You have yourself a southern red oak, Quercus falcata.

Yes, you have included bark where your trunks diverge, but the tree looks pretty stout. You can have a box cable installed between the three leaders to limit movement between leaders, but from here, it doesn't look like you need it. Maybe a closer personal inspection will show something different.

NOt a straight falcata with that prominent midrib, but it's all the same on the maintenance.

apparb got the rest right, as usual. Low risk to fail; when you get an arborist on site to look at all your trees, it would not hurt to cable if done well. We never know when Katrina's niece will come to visit...

 

[appalachianarbo]

NOt a straight falcata with that prominent midrib

I'll take the bait. What's your guess on this tree's parent species?

 

[kruege84]

I personally really enjoy reading the debates. Nobody knows everything, and it's a great way to learn. They offer a lot of different insights and solutions to problems. Keep in mind that there can often be more than one correct solution to a problem.

And since we're talking about oaks, something I found interesting is that there are more than 500 known species of quercus, becuase the different species can cross pollinate much easier than most other genera.