Large Oak reduction help

[DrewB]

It may of been the first time ever that I have used 2 climbing lines as i did not trust any of the branches.. It has that horrible wobble of decayed weak wood....

[Taupotreeman]

That's a better explanation than mine. It definately had a wobble. Had me twitching for sure.

[Swampster]

Got any pictures of the end result? a couple of shots from near where you got the initial shots?

[Taupotreeman]

Still awaiting resource consent to be able to do any work but I'll post photos of any work once the job is completed.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

You probably should make a trip to NZ one day tone...

 

I know, its a stunning country, I should have done the round the world thing while I was in my prime working my way round.

 

I took on the care of an elderly uncle at the age of 21 and looked after him for 10 years till he died in 2003. That put a damper on my first trip I saved and planned for to the amazon, had four k and was ready to go but just couldnt leave for weeks on end. It is still to this day my greatest regret.

 

now ive a mortgage and all that tie, I sometimes consider walking away with just a backpack but what the hell do you do when you get back!

[David Humphries]

now ive a mortgage and all that tie, I sometimes consider walking away with just a backpack but what the hell do you do when you get back!

 

 

Rent the house out to cover the mortgage, then the worlds your 'ostreatus'

 

 

 

.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Sounds to me like in the reality, this whole area needs a re think on a landscape basis, working to a native scheme, with low scrub species to the front with a few larger native trees in good locations.

 

This Oak could be saved, BUT, sounds to me like it is (like many non natives here) more a burden of managment and risk.

 

I have always been of the view that we should work WITH our native habitat rather than against it, this just highlights many of the reasons why it makes sense.

 

Much of what we do is often on trees that where planted in the giddy days of massive plant hunting and collecting, your Oak no doubt one such planting.

 

It maybe worth taking the modern view, and just starting over with a new landscape perspective working with your native habitat species.

 

That old chestnut, right tree right place?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

and i shouldnt have said a lesser arb, that was out of order.

 

Just a different view and method.

[Alex]

This Tread really took me, I don't normal post much, but in the most part the stuff being said is good stuff.

 

Ok if I was in your place.....

 

I would look at the existing brace, how old is it and the load rating of the brace, is it dynamic?

 

The placing looks ok from the photos but hard to say, have a good read up on he cobra product web site and check it meets their speck. If in any thing is in question, renew or replace after any work and document.

 

The area under the tree is key for long term. Can it be fenced of to reduce or minimise food fall? If yes then do it. Will reduce risk, demonstrate risk management and improve root plate conditions. Next some work to the root zone, air spade work, radial trenching (good info on ISA site or Bartletts site) then mulch. A mix of compost and chip or well rotted chip is fine couple of years old and water in.

 

Short term the reduction work is more to do with end weight and lever arms on the unions down the bottom, might be worth doing a wind load calculation on the tree, good info on the ISA site, there is a Science of Arboriculture pod cast too. So I would recommend a more of a thinning reduction than a blanket size reduction. If you where to consider the a heavy reaction work wounds above 2-4" then staging the reduction work over three years giving the tree a chance to show it reaction might be the plan.

 

Safety of the tree in its environment, so long as you and the council tree owner document all actions and reasons you can demo your approach and prover the tree was being cared for and considered.

 

Good luck would be nice to here what you end up doing. Great tree worth saving and good to here that plans for future landscape are in hand. If it is that important to the community allot can be done with more invasive bracing, the decay is already there, so you are not going to mack that much worse, worse is the tree being felled. Just look at some of the old Victorian trees in the UK and the Major Oak in Sherwood. They are still there oblivious to the ideas of obsessed well meaning don't do harm people.

 

Good Luck

 

Alex

Tree Logic

ISA UK&I President Elect

[Taupotreeman]

Okidoki, for those of you who wanted to know the decision on what was happening with this Oak. Turns out it was planted around 1898 in honour of NZ's longest serving Prime Minister Richard Seddon so there wasn't much chance of it coming down even if we wanted it to. It's one of the oldest specimens of its type in NZ.

 

A resource consent is in for a reduction on the lower laterals and those with heavy lever arms along with reduction of the upper canopy if required. It won't be a major reduction but a staggered process over the next few years while we try to encourage lower canopy growth. Today we went in and removed some of the larger dangerous limbs as they were a public health hazard. We also put down a good layer of well rotted mulch with a bit of mushroom compost and old chook poo mixed in. We will also be putting in a new fence just to prevent some of the foot traffic. Very much a wait and see process now but hopefully we can give it several more years before we need to do anything drastic.