Fracture Pruning Retrenchment on Fulham Oak

[David Humphries]

Quote; originally posted by 18stoner >

Ok then, i understand its probably the way a lot of our job is going, ie unjustified work and appeasing naturists, but why do it if it isnt commercially viable?

 

We (the Practitioners and Pay Masters) feel that the work in this particular case, Rare tree/Prominant Position/Localy loved Tree etc...was justifiable, also not every thing in life should be purely about financial gain IMO.

 

Quote; originally posted by RIVERRAT >

I just got wind of this. First I have heard of it. While pruning of this nature may have some type of value. I cannot understand it being promoted as a standard practice.

 

No one on this thread is promoting the technique to be anything other than an additional way of prunning on top of the standard practice.

Different Trees and their environments require different approaches.

Mr and Mrs Average on Accacia avenue will not facilitate Fracture Prunning on their Tree, But Mr and Mrs Average walking their dog in the local open space subconciously appreciate the way Trees interact with their environment on not only a purely aesthetical plane but also on levels that interact with microbes, bacteria, fungi, bugs, birds and mamals.

TREES ARE A MAJOR PLAYER IN OUR ENVIRONMENT AND ARE NOT JUST A CASH CROP.

[Charlieh]

The health of the tree plays a close second fiddle here as safety is the primary concern.

 

By sail reducing, all be it small in this case, we are hopefull of reducing the risk of the tree toppling, thus potentialy extending the trees current life expectancy.

In respect to the hazard of dropping dead branches, this is why the dead hedge is in place. The target has been moved away.

 

has much research been into how much quicker branches die or start to decay? dont get me wrong i think this technique is really interesting, and has a really important place as a tree management technique, but im a newbie and just trying to get my head round the longer term issues,

 

e.g. yes the tree might stay up right longer, but will the increased vaunerability of the tree mean it maynot survive as long as if it had been pruned in a traditional way?

 

does this technique mean the tree needs more frequent work carrying out on it?

 

sorry for all the questions, but that looks like a really tidy job you did on the tree, and i just want to know more about it as a technique,

 

are they any decent books that go through this thoroughly?

[MasterBlaster]

No, just "papers."

[David Humphries]

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BUT...it is a bit unusual seeing a tree where all the limbs appear to have snapped of at the same distance from the tree, thus keeping its natural shape!

 

 

At the end of the day we can not escape from the fact that man has had a hand in this reduction process. And as such it becomes a balance between what natures shaping could or would have been and what the viewer wants to see in terms of aesthetics.

 

IMO if we try to mimic real storm damage, it would take incredible skill to replicate. I think someone would have to be practising fracturing continually, to get close.

 

Is any one else on the Forum doing this type of work?

I haven't seen Nutty arb for a while.

Would be interesting to hear his views.

[Charlieh]

i was with the wife and she didnt beleive me at first that the tree had been pruned, you had to look very closely and know what you were looking for, someone with great skill and ability had done a great job, from more that 25mtrs away you wouldnt have known anything had been done to it!

 

i guess its a technique you really have to practise to get it right else it could look a real mess and have some very severe long term impacts, do you have any close up pictures of the finished branches?

[David Humphries]

has much research been into how much quicker branches die or start to decay? dont get me wrong i think this technique is really interesting, and has a really important place as a tree management technique, but im a newbie and just trying to get my head round the longer term issues,

 

Charlie, although we had some training through Neville Faye's Tree Works Environmental Practice 5 years ago, the reallity is that this is only the second tree that Fracture Pruning has been used on here.

We do however Coronet up to 20% of our Tree work.

Our practices are based on the aforementioned training and the info on the first posts link, plus articles in the trade press and sharing photos/information with other practitioners.

[David Humphries]

from more that 25mtrs away you wouldnt have known anything had been done to it!

 

i guess its a technique you really have to practise to get it right else it could look a real mess and have some very severe long term impacts, do you have any close up pictures of the finished branches?

 

The elongated fractures do show up brighter than conventional cuts do to start with.

They obviously fade down with time.

We try to alternate the side that the fractures show,

so that they are not all seen from one vantage point.

The camera i'm using doesn't have a great zoom so there are no particular good shots of close ups. I will have a look to see if there are any useful ones.

[rumination]

Is the UK really that short on unmanaged natural areas that you need to start breaking your trees to provide bug habitat? Why not just set some areas aside and let the trees do there own thing naturally, which would make the bugs and birds happier in the long run anyways?

[David Humphries]

Is the UK really that short on unmanaged natural areas that you need to start breaking your trees to provide bug habitat? Why not just set some areas aside and let the trees do there own thing naturally, which would make the bugs and birds happier in the long run anyways?

 

 

Sounds daft but we are short of the above, Green Belt works to a degree, but there is such a demand on urban fringes from property developement and pollution, that when you add to this that we are slowly coming out of a long period of intense sanitation of the urban woodland where every little bit of dead wood is/was removed , then there is a real dearth of habitat.

Granted it is not safe to leave monoliths in public open spaces if left unmonitored, but the ecosystem could do with a redress of this balance.

BTW FTR it may sound like it, but i am definately not an eco warrior.

[David Humphries]

I found this to be a very useful guide.

 

http://www.treeworks.co.uk/downloads/13%20-%20Guidance%20Diagramme.pdf

 

 

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