Thoughts on this Ginko?

[Thesnarlingbadger]

On 28/07/2024 at 06:52, AA Teccie (Paul) said:

Apologies for my delay in replying here:

If you're going to reduce the crown, and thereby reduce sail area and loading, and maintain it (reduced) I don't think rigid bracing is required - if the intention was to allow growth to continue then yes, brace it.

Correspondingly there doesn't appear to be any...'separation', i.e. the union seems to be okay - I wished I knew Ginkgo better as a species to feel more confident in my views here but again, if the crown is reduced, and maintained ('reduced') it shouldn't be an issue I wouldn't have thought. 

Hi Paul,

 

 Thanks for reply on this and clearing this up.

 I completely agree with the view of reducing the sail effect on the tree and by doing so will reduce the weight that the tree is holding. 
 

 My main concern though is as the trunks of the tree grow out incrementally and put on more secondary growth there will be an issue at some point in the future regardless of the weight and sail taken out of the tree.

 

 As I said I’ve never considered a ridged brace for any tree before so it was not an idea that I took lightly. 
 

 But you are right in the fact that the tree has been fine so far and by reducing the weight and sail it is only going to benefit the biomechanics working against the tree at present. 
 

 A lot to consider with this one.

 

 Thank you for your input.

[Thesnarlingbadger]

On 28/07/2024 at 10:01, Treeation said:

Id consider rigid bracing with matine grade stainless threaded rod through that bottom union and a light reduction/ or phased reduction to pollard (if tree looks like it can take it)....that's belts and braces - if they want to keep the tree surely that's the best option!

 

Wouldn't be a lot of work to/or great expense to do bracing (ISA do a great manual on propping/bracing) and just adds that extra safety margin which sounds important in this case. I can send you a picture of the relevant pages if you don't have the manual...

Hi Treeation,

 

 Thanks for this.

 

 Have you done any rigid bracing yourself?

 

 As mentioned I have in my 17/18 years of being in the industry never installed one although I have worked on and surveyed trees with ridged bracing already in place.

 

 I had a quick search on treesource and found the 3rd edition of the ISA proping and bracing for around £17 which I’d happily get if this is what you are on about. I also have a fairly substantial collection of other books with information on this which I studied during my L4.

 

 But if I were to take this course of action I’d like to get a little more knowledge from someone who has installed them previously. 
 

 The trunk is free from rot and sounds solid with a quick tap of the mallet so I think I would have plenty of options as to where it could be installed.

 

 Thanks for your advice.

[Treeation]

21 hours ago, Thesnarlingbadger said:

Hi Treeation,

 

 Thanks for this.

 

 Have you done any rigid bracing yourself?

 

 As mentioned I have in my 17/18 years of being in the industry never installed one although I have worked on and surveyed trees with ridged bracing already in place.

 

 I had a quick search on treesource and found the 3rd edition of the ISA proping and bracing for around £17 which I’d happily get if this is what you are on about. I also have a fairly substantial collection of other books with information on this which I studied during my L4.

 

 But if I were to take this course of action I’d like to get a little more knowledge from someone who has installed them previously. 
 

 The trunk is free from rot and sounds solid with a quick tap of the mallet so I think I would have plenty of options as to where it could be installed.

 

 Thanks for your advice.

I have done a handful on slightly smaller trees but with active cracks. All went well and fairly straight fwd...although I had the £17 manual to hand and had read the relavant info a few times...the manual will also advice  you on speccing up the right size hardware for the diameter of timber and it will advice how many rods and where to put the rods....

 

Nick Araya also does a great online tutorial all about bracing....

 

heres a few tips below

 

You need to get a decent ship auger (there not cheap but the last thing you want is a cheap bit that's not sharp enough to do the job properly... a decent drill with some power, I drill in a bit then back out clearing the chips and I dip the end of auger in chain oil as several times to ensure auger doesn't get stuck. Having someone else to eye you in is needed to get a level.