Strapping a Eucryphia

[JimM]

Working my way around some trees on an island in the estate I'm working at. Found a Eucryphia tree, about 45ft or so, fantastic blossom on it right now. 15ft up the main stem it splits. A some stage in the past a third small stem has grown through the gap about a foot above the split. It's growth has evidently kept the split from healing and the ears are quite large in relation to stem size.

 

To halt this process I've removed the third stem, but obviously need to do something to allow the main stems to "heal" as much as possible at the split. Stem diameter above the split is about 10-12 inches

 

Strapping them immediately came to mind, but how high above the split should I put the straps and what's the best kind of strap to use?

 

Cheers.

[JimM]

Somebody out there must have strapped up tree stems?

[skyhuck]

Do you mean "bracing"?

 

I've used Cobra bracing in the past.

[JimM]

Thanks Skyhuck, my terminology was pants.

 

I'm looking at the Cobra stuff right now. How effective did you find it?

[skyhuck]

Its very effective.

 

I've always used it to prevent splitting, I fitted it slack, with a shock absorber. It would prevent the stems reaching a point where they would split due to wind loading.

[JimM]

Thanks mate. Going to drop the guidance leaflet on the customer and see what they say.

 

Good info for me too. Cheers

[treeseer]

a third small stem has grown through the gap about a foot above the split??

 

got a camera?

[JimM]

Sorry. I didn't have one with me when I removed it. It looks like the nature of the tree to interweave a bit as there was another that was getting towards doing the same.

[daltontrees]

I have a Nymansay in my garden, oddly I am doing the opposite, I am rigid bracing stems to force them to grow wider apart. Just experimenting, the thing is still very young. Anyway, before getting the Nymansay I spent a lot of time looking at grown examples along the west coast and reading up about them. They are naturally very fastigiate, a mass of compression forks really, though usually not so much so as to have problems with included bark.

I would expect a bit of loose bracing to be just the thing to encourage re-fusion, but having done this on a few norway maples I know it is s a fine line. Allowing even a tiny bit of movement that allows the fork to open in winds will prevent a new skin of wood from developing around the split. Too tight and it spreads the split downwards. My local experiments so far that are working involve firm bracing loosened every year immediately after a reduction of the braced branch(es). Again, this is a fine line. The unions have failed for a reason (overloading) and so a reduction is needed to avoid repeating this on removal of artificial support (bracing) but as much foliage as necessary should be kept for as long as possible to aid healthy tissue development across the split.

So if your client is up for the inevitable expense it's years of firm brace, reduce and loosen slightly, reduce and loosen slightly, reduce and loosen slightly ad infinitum. Good luck, with Eucryphia you will need the patience of Jobe to achieve a lasting fix.

[JimM]

Big thanks for that. I'm split between doing my own work and a local estate which means I'm slowly building up knowledge of the arb work needed on it. It's also a fung hunters paradise at the moment, which has the estate guy who works alongside me roll his eyes in despair when I find another one. The owners have reacted positively to the bracing concept as its a fantastic looking tree in flower. I am under no illusion as to its risk of failure at the split as it has had a long time to get to that state before being noticed. If its not braced I reckon a bad winter will split it.