Large Tree - what do you think

Darrell Mcleod

Recently I was asked to look at this tree in Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne

Am interested in what others think

By the way jsut to the left of the water tank is the target - the local CFA building



This image is the base of the tree looking at it from the same direction the first picture was taken from - notice the crack running downwards



This shot is some old wounds that are compartmentalising but there is visible dead wood and decay present this is the right of the tree



This is the left side of the tree taken from the rear - notice the huge old leader or trunk that has been removed -



And this is another taken of the left side

Here also decay is present

Attached Thumbnails

         

Eric Frei

Through bolt and cable, still be there in 20 years.

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Darrell Mcleod

The structure of this tree is really poor as an example of this species - normally they should be growing with one straight single leader

And the leader that has been removed is decaying already

So is the other side of the tree

Who then should pay foor the cabling?

We all know how bad codominants can be

Why would anyone want to keep the thing especially with the target present?

George Valentine

Yeah, I would suggest removal, wrong place for the to be in that sort of condition. Is all a matter of prevention Vs the inevitable, sooner on later as that left branch has a long reach and is big/heavy enough to cause a lot of damage...!

Cut it down, problem solved...!

Cheers
George

Eric Frei

Who owns it is likely the one to pay for cabling etc.

Why would anyone want to keep it? That is a long list but everyone has their own reasons from CO2 sequestration to habitat to shade etc.

The thing is, it appears the wounds are occluding well. It appears the tree has good vigour. It is likely that anchorage and roots are sound and not decayed. So the weakness can be rectified with engineering which can be of a pretty permanent nature.

Do you think the whole tree could fall over (I'm not talking about splitting)? I don't think it will. I also do not see large elephant ears. I see great architecture for bolting and cabling though. So I'd say for low cost, probably less than the cost of removal you could fix the tree up for a very long time.

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Rob Chace

heres my two cents:

a bolt/cable would save the tree AND give you greater profit (cost/time) percentage.
Yes you could make more money cutting it down, but if "danger" is the issue not something else, then cabling removes danger and gives you an easy job with good margin.

Cable it, or dont. But i'ld cable me thinks (based on pics available)

Jeff Darby

This tree appears to have good vigour judging from your photo, the split you have pointed out to us is being dealt with by the tree, splits that the tree is not dealing with are usually thin like elephant ears. The decay you have mentioned did you probe it to see the extent of decay? although looking at the pictures it seems to be ok...I would only escalate my options by the numbers, visual inspection which you have done, probing with an old bike spoke into decay, sounding with a mallet,increment borer...resistagraph....etc...etc.

Based on your photos provided bolting and cabling is an option if you feel this tree could split apart. Does the owner want this tree removed? or are they concerned it could fail? What brought your attention to this tree?

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Member: Australian Tree Association

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© Jeffrey J Darby 2011