Guying leaning trees

[bob]

My concerns re this are that the gus will have very little effect unless they are super substancial and also the fact that you are thinking about this shows you must have concerns and if the tree did fail would you not have basically admitted your concerns and be totally liable?

Could it not be guyed just like bracing?

[treeseer]

Best Management Practices, a series put out by ISA, practical companions to the ANSI standards, $8 US. Two standards from the US will be referred to: the “large S” Standards, from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 (Part 3)-2006 version, and the “small s” standard, the Best Management Practices (BMPs) done by the International Society of Arboriculture.

 

The BMP standards for tree maintenance are practical translations that help the arborist interpret and implement ANSI Standards. The ISA follows the 5-year updating cycle with its BMPs, which are intended as guides for practicing arborists, tree workers, supervisors and employers. The authors recognize that all trees are unique living organisms and that not all practices will work in all trees. Contracts and specs must be written or reviewed by a knowledgeable arborist. Some flexibility is needed, but carefully consider your objectives and your supporting reasons before letting your work veer too far from industry standards.

 

As for admitting liability by cabling...

 

Many cities and many arborists are concerned about the specter of liability associated with installing support systems in trees. Their fear is that, by admitting that a defect exists, owners and workers can be blamed for anything that happens to a tree. However, according to the USDA’s Urban Tree Risk Management Guide, “Choosing not to install a cabling and bracing system because of a fear of liability is not a good decision.”1 Also, pruning alone can be interpreted by insurance companies as admitting a defect exists. We can’t hide from liability, so there is no use running from it. This article will describe two cases that show that municipal tree risk can be abated by cabling, but first consider the recent experience of Pete Morris, City Arborist for Laurinburg, NC:

 

“In every previous case, after the adjusters look over my notes and the incident, they find that the City provided reasonable care for the tree and thus were not liable. This past summer, a large limb fell from an older oak, damaging a house and a vehicle. The owner watched from his wheelchair as I assessed the situation. There was no decay, so it seemed to be a case of summer limb drop. The insurance company decided that **the need for previous pruning alone should have put us on alert** the tree was hazardous and should have been removed or at least given special attention. I guess what has us concerned is most of our older trees have been pruned and cut on for all kinds of reasons...storm damage, disease, decay, etc. We'll have to see how things go from here.”

[David Humphries]

My concerns re this are that the gus will have very little effect unless they are super substancial and also the fact that you are thinking about this shows you must have concerns and if the tree did fail would you not have basically admitted your concerns and be totally liable?

Could it not be guyed just like bracing?

 

 

That's why I'm going to measure any movement continually through pre, during & after operation.

 

This particular tree is on one of my annual red zone inspection areas Bob, so will be looked at regularly.

 

If there is any significant deviation in either the target tree or the two trees that I'm possibly going to use to guy it to, then the tree will be removed.

 

 

 

 

The aim is to confirm no movement then aid the weight/lean ratio by retrenchment.

 

 

.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

That's why I'm going to measure any movement continually through pre, during & after operation.

 

This particular tree is on one of my annual red zone inspection areas Bob, so will be looked at regularly.

 

If there is any significant deviation in either the target tree or the two trees that I'm possibly going to use to guy it to, then the tree will be removed.

 

 

 

 

The aim is to confirm no movement then aid the weight/lean ratio by retrenchment.

 

 

.

 

well if thats how concerned, why not do a third style reduction halo it and let be stage pollarded? It can be done!

[David Humphries]

well if thats how concerned, why not do a third style reduction halo it and let be stage pollarded? It can be done!

 

On more vigorous trees perhaps, but not this one from what I can see.

 

 

 

 

.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

ive done hard reductions to loads of oaks in that state and seen none of them die from it.

 

sometimes dysfuntional systems can be revived when not struggling to pump resources so far away.

[David Humphries]

ive done hard reductions to loads of oaks in that state and seen none of them die from it.

 

sometimes dysfuntional systems can be revived when not struggling to pump resources so far away.

 

House & Pines are unmovable objects in terms of light availability.

 

A hard reduction would be leaving the tree blind

 

 

 

.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

shame.

[David Humphries]

Best Management Practices, a series put out by ISA, practical companions to the ANSI standards, .”

 

Thankyou Guy, interesting to read things from a different national perspective

 

 

 

 

.

[Treecreeper1961]

:lol:I don't know why I feel compelled to give my opinion when yours is clearly far more learned than mine is .

 

The crown appears very thin, the tree is declining quite rapidly(it appears from the photo?) and there is a permanent high value target below several tons of oak.

Fell the tree and erect large sections of the stem in an upright position away from reach of target/s.

Personally, I would only consider guying where there is no target of more than low value to prolong the existence of a valuable tree in a low risk environment.

If a tree leaning as heavily as that failed when guyed what would happen to it?

Ok, perhaps it wouldn't fail if guyed, but if it did it would be a hell of a swing.

Is the value(estimated remaining contribution) of the tree high enough to go to that much trouble?

 

Apologies for being negative but the situation doesn't seem suited to guying to me.