monolith work

[David Humphries]

I'm astonished to see that people pay to have that done to their trees. If I did that to a tree over here that was in the public view, I'd have heck to pay for it later. What a world, eh?

 

Astonishment is usually a sudden emotion Butch, but you've now been aware of this practice for good while, so I'm quite supprised you still maintain and pronounce this negative stance, seemingly without a reluctant nod toward the practitioners of a model that's not just a fad, but is in actual fact a growing movement.

 

 

I've seen your thread on this back on the Treehouse when you first became aware, and as far as I can see, there is also a similar field of practice alive and kicking in your backyard.

 

 

 

 

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Edited April 3, 2009 by Monkey-D

[dannyT]

Like the cuts in the third pick down, looks very much like a tree that has suffered "storm damage". In terms of encouraging wildlife such as invertibrates etc i somtimes wonder if it would not be easier to just fell the tree and leave it as dead wood. It must save a lot of time and energy doing coronet cuts?

 

Anyway i would like to one day have a bash at doing this style of tree surgery/arboriculture, somehow cant see me doing it in someones backgarden

[Mesterh]

Whats the thinking behind possible failure of new shoots when carrying out fracture pruning in live trees?

 

I only ask because I've witnessed branches on a syc failure because of a non intential bit of fracture pruning.

 

Quick story saw a syc proper butchered about 4-5 years ago (deffo wasnt fracture pruning) noticed the other day that there are quite a few branches hung up (largish ones) that look like they have ripped out from where the cutting had been done.

 

I assume that they had weak attachments and therefore failed.

 

Tbh I have seen plenty of topped syc's over the years but not many that have had shoots/branches rip out.

 

Just wondering if you have seen anything similar or do you re-fracture after a certain number of years?

[Hannah]

In terms of encouraging wildlife such as invertibrates etc i somtimes wonder if it would not be easier to just fell the tree and leave it as dead wood. It must save a lot of time and energy doing coronet cuts?

 

 

As far as i know, which isnt very much about this, standing deadwood has much greater habitat value than it would do on the ground.

[Rod]

with referance to the fracture type cuts you have done. what method do you use to cause the limbs to fracture?

 

as i was thinking about some dangerous hangers we removed from some oaks by winching them out (having trowlined them) as they were considered to dangerous to climb under which left an almost natural tear off

 

would it be possible to use this method.

[David Humphries]

with referance to the fracture type cuts you have done. what method do you use to cause the limbs to fracture?

 

as i was thinking about some dangerous hangers we removed from some oaks by winching them out (having trowlined them) as they were considered to dangerous to climb under which left an almost natural tear off

 

would it be possible to use this method.

 

 

A great deal of this is largely dependant on species and branch diameter.

We usualy start with a slanting cut on top of the branch, starting from trunk toward the tip, this is usualy anything upto a quarter of the depth of the branch. This is then broken off with the aid of a tag line, a three to one, a winch or wedges.

Always with an eye on the potential of over stressing/fracturing the roots.

 

The above MO tends to leave the same orientation of fracture, so to combat this we sometimes start the sink cuts toward one side or t'other and have also used double diagonal cuts one on each side.

 

 

 

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[sanny]

with referance to the fracture type cuts you have done. what method do you use to cause the limbs to fracture?

 

as i was thinking about some dangerous hangers we removed from some oaks by winching them out (having trowlined them) as they were considered to dangerous to climb under which left an almost natural tear off

 

would it be possible to use this method.

 

we done one for the national trust last year the tree had spilt and twisted 5m up to the top so we put a line up and winched it back on its self. ripping it in half which caused a lovely fracture it works in the right situation

[David Humphries]

. In terms of encouraging wildlife such as invertibrates etc i somtimes wonder if it would not be easier to just fell the tree and leave it as dead wood. It must save a lot of time and energy doing coronet cuts?

 

As far as i know, which isnt very much about this, standing deadwood has much greater habitat value than it would do on the ground.

 

 

 

The real issue here, is about restoring & providing a previously depleted habitat which is not only critical for a large aray of threatened species (many of which are on the red data list) which associate their feeding and procreation on STANDING dead Wood only environments, but also anything else that dips in to this dynamic as part of their survival stratergy, birds like the Dartford warbler and mamals like the red squirrel for instance

 

 

 

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[Rod]

i wonder then, if you bored through the limb several times taking the line of the fracture you wanted to cause into account, then perhaps a few well placed niks and cuts to cause a break to happen. then applied the preasure.

 

could you get the twisting ripping kind of fracture wich wind damage causes rather than a clean tear (barbours chair)

 

one another point dose the climber stay up the tree, move out of the way or ?

[David Humphries]

Whats the thinking behind possible failure of new shoots when carrying out fracture pruning in live trees?

 

Just wondering if you have seen anything similar or do you re-fracture after a certain number of years?

 

 

Dependant on hazard against target.

 

Creating fractures and to a similar extent Monoliths and then just moving on without a care to future management is in my books neglegent.

 

Repeat management is to be considered and if appropriate, planned.

 

I've a Red Oak with Ganoderma resinaceum, that was reduced and fractured back in 2004.

Will be going back to thin and reduce end weight around the fractures this year.

Last shot is four years on from original prune.

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