What is tree cabling? Tree cabling is the use of strong steel cables to reinforce and stabilize a tree when, even if it is otherwise healthy, the tree can no longer support its own weight.
Tree cabling isn’t a miracle cure. It’s a strategy for helping healthy trees stay healthy longer. Unfortunately, if your tree is falling apart because it’s sick or dying, tree cabling offers no real benefit—although, as you will see, tree cabling can be useful for a variety of minor to medium tree injuries, even helping trees recover from recent trauma, such as the high winds of a hurricane.
Below are some signs your tree may need tree cabling.
Wide branch systems can no longer be kept stable
Some types of trees are more likely to need cabling than others. Trees with really wide branch systems, like live oaks, for example, often require cabling. If you are not sure if your tree could benefit from cabling, it’s worth having a professional come out and inspect it. In the best case, you install the cables right at the moment that your tree is just starting to need the cabling to prevent growth from destabilizing it. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But because most of us aren’t tree experts, it’s very likely that you won’t notice until structural issues begin to manifest themselves.
It has recently sustained structural damage
If you respond at the first sign of damage, tree cabling can be used to help restore your tree to a good growth pattern, and to help mitigate any potential or future damage. Tree cabling provides an additional support system for your tree that helps it remain structurally strong. If you lose a part of your tree in a storm, you lose a great deal of the symmetry and weight and counterbalance that your tree uses to maintain its structural integrity, and this can have long-lasting effects on the tree that can be quite negative. These negative effects can be mitigated by tree cabling. If you see cracks or splitting in the trunk of your tree, it’s time for cabling now.
Your tree has a “v-crotch”
If you have a tree with a v-crotch in which there are two dominant stems growing from one trunk, it’s very likely that you will eventually need cabling, as that v-crotch is more likely to track and split than any other part of the tree. Additionally, if your tree is leaning, especially if it’s leaning after a storm, you may need cabling to keep it from falling over.
If you are in need of tree cabling, give us a call now at Allan’s Tree Service. We’ve been providing tree cabling since 2002. We’re well versed in all the area’s local trees, and are experienced at saving structurally unsound trees, adding years and years to their lives. If your trees are showing any of the signs that they may need tree cabling, call today for a free estimate before the problem gets any worse.
Categorised in: Tree Cabling
This post was written by Allan's