Death of an English oak

[MattyF]

Problem with thinning is when done like that and not on the tips where it needs it is it doesn't really reduce weight Imo I think it does the opposite and open ups wind tunnels in the crown making it more liable to fail, also takes away any decent branches for future tip reduction or tip thinning.

[Marula]

Your love of this tree is admirable, it's not often I come across someone trying to keep a tree no matter how much I protest, however that short squat crown and internal structure tells me its apical bud was damaged or maybe even a centre leader was broken off etc at some point, so you now have co dominant stems competing, this means they just keep getting further apart with more weight until it fails and by the evidence it's not long until d-day. Your other option is to leave it, don't park under it and make the household aware to stay away from it, one of the leaders will eventually fail and one will remain, the tree will enter a stage called veteranisation, at that point it will become a great habitat feature. The down side is it will be unsightly and might then fail due to prevailing winds if in the correct direction.

Ps. Unless someone has come in and thinned it I'd say the stem over the garage will go first, something not great going on internally there.

 

 

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[Mark J]

It really is hard to say anything meaningful without seeing the tree in person, however, for what it's worth...

It looks like bracing would be a waste of time and money, with ongoing costs etc.

Reducing the height and spread would likely help, but probably not a long term financial sensible solution.

Felling and replanting if desired - well it is an option, but that tree is decades old and even a heavy standard sized replacement is going to a long time to look mature or replace the visual impact of the lost tree.

My armchair view would be to pollard the tree, probably to a metre or so above the split. It would remove the risk of the limbs failing, maintain the habitat provided by the split and give a good chance of developing into a hollow bole; although of course by the time the bole is hollow and rotten the tree will have strengthened where it needs to and have grown a new crown. It'd maintain the mature features of the fatter trunk, and it looks like it's in a rural setting so wouldn't look out place either. Of course it would need re-pollarding every few years, but with very little if any climbing involved with such a low pollard, and only fairly small diameter branches, it would be a quick, easy and cheap job (if not one you could do yourself). If you have a fire it would provide some wood too.

What is there to lose by trying? If you decide at a later date you don't like it, then fell it...

 

I'm with Sloth on this. Given your affection for the tree, I think it would be the best compromise. The tree as it stands has no long term future, so pollarding it in this case makes sense.