Re: Downed trees
Jan Smithen wrote:
>
> Joe Seals wrote:
>
> > But I'll betcha that the vast majority of tree species
> > fall somewhere in between and become victims of
> > conditions.
>
> Right on Joe!
> > And then there's that criminal procedure of wrapping a
> > young tree tightly to a pole as if it were a splint.
> > Someone told someone it was necessary to hold the
> > young tree up.
The really handsome yellow elm which graces the front of our garden has
a somewhat fraught start in life. What we bought was a high-grafted
standard which was little more than a tall thin pole with a tuft of
branches up top and obviously would never have stood our spring gales
without careful staking, so it spent the first three years swaying
gently on a set of guy ropes which we hope would gradually train it.
Anyway the fourth spring we let it out of it restraints and within a few
weeks we got a strong blow which simply laid it down flat!!.
Well we pulled it back upright and put back the training ropes for
another year after which it was finally able to stand up on its own.
Thirteen years later it is a fine large sturdy tree with a magnificent
straight clean bole which we never cease to admire.
> are girdled with, cutting through the bark. It makes you want to indulge
> in a little "prison break" with wire cutters.
I must say our parks dept is good about this their ties are made of
thick soft rubber and trees are loosely tied between two long supporting
stakes, which seems very effecive. In some cases where large trees have
been moved they do use guylines.
In our church ground though someone used a stake and wire for a young
English oak. By the time I noticed it the wire was mostly buried and the
tree trying to compensate with a lot of sprouts below the cut. I
proposed to leave this a year or two and then train up the best of these
shoots, but gradually the live wood managed to bridge over the gap and
at least part of the trunk above it was still alive and has re-shot. As
you said, trees are amazingly adaptable.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
