Gardening and Horticulture - How to deal with a cracked tree trunk.

I had 3 arborists come by today to give an estimate on removing one tree and pruning another. The tree to be pruned has a crack in the trunk. It's not an open crack so there is some life left in the tree.

The first guy that came saw it and talked about it. He said he would lighten the tree up as much as he could to help that situation. The second guy is out of the running for a few reasons so we won't worry about him. The third guy said he would put a cable up in the tree to help hold the two trunks together.

So this is where I'm at. The guy that wants to put the cable in the tree is going to cost more than the other guy, obviously. So I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the situation as to whether that is worth the expense or if lightening the tree up would be a decent alternative.

Although I am not one to cut a tree gratuitously, it might be well to consider what may become of the tree over time. It might be worthwhile to save a mature tree, one that will not change much over the years. For one of lesser age, the eventual failure of the tree from this crack because of disease or structural failure might compel its removal now.

Tough call.

This is a mature maple. Probably 20 - 24" in diameter.

If it is a silver/white maple I would just prune it back and save the money. While nice and fast gowing I consider them a trash tree that has invasive roots and is easily damaged by high winds or ice storms. If it is a nice specimine tree like a red maple or a sugar/black maple then I might consider spending some money to help save it.

this is from a layman


unless you really like the tree, I would simply remove it now.

I would also caution the cable method. A cable may cut into the trunk enough to damage the phloem layer which would result in killing the tree. While not immediate, it would seem reasonable to presume the tree swaying from the wind would actually tend to work the cable into the tree and since the outer layer of a tree does not actually grow up, it merely grows out, the cable would eventually be overgrown by the expansion of the tree which would mean it may eventually disrupt the phloem.

It is a norway maple and I do really like it. I'm not into just chopping down trees unless I absolutely need to. In this case, I do not.

The cable is not going to be wrapped around the tree. It will be secured to the two trunks about 2/3 of the distance from the crotch to the tips using bolts.

The cable is not going to be wrapped around the tree. It will be secured to the two trunks about 2/3 of the distance from the crotch to the tips using bolts.I see. That would solve the ringing the tree problem. I still see the crack being able to flex and work itself more as the tree sways but I hope it works out for you.

It's not an open crack at the moment, but there is a definate scare there. The thinking behind the cable is that the two trunks swinging in opposite directions was what caused the crack and the cable will keep them swinging together and not away from each other.