cabling ?

macrocarpa

macrocarpa

Branched out member
Location
Midwest
I've come across 2 situations like this recently:

Double stemmed tulip poplar where one leader is about 2/3 the height of the other, and significantly smaller in diameter. Not really a competing leader but large enough with some included bark/prone to splitting.

The main leader looks pretty solid, but the smaller one has a good lean towards the house and is what I am concerned with.

What would happen if I cabled way high on the smaller leader but it would only be just over 1/2 way up the main leader?

Cutting the smaller leader completely off would open up a huge wound that would just decay into the lower trunk, so thats not an option.

I should have taken a pic. Thanks for any advise!
 
That should work just fine. You're using the big one to support the little one.

The 2/3 rule that you're familiar with is used to help choose a general location in a support system that is symmetric.
 
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Place the support system 2/3's to 3/4's the way up the branch or lead you want to support. It doesn't matter how far up the opposing branch or lead you go.

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X2. I would also do some subordinating/ end weight reduction. After hurricane Irene it became very clear that cables combined with weight reduction works very very well.
 
I'm going with Guymayor and Banjo on this one. After Irene came through New England, it was included bark failure after included bark failure...
We did a good amount of proactive tree pruning before the storm, and none of them failed.
I'm reminded of Cass Turnbull's article 'Do All Roads Lead to Drop-Crotch Pruning?' in March, 2011's TCI Magazine. I agree with the article, yet I also think there are a great number of situations in which trees can benefit from some type of subordination. Take some time and really study the crown.
Think of how many codominants an Acer species can create when any terminal bud is lost. I've seen some branch unions fail even when the crotch angle is rather "open". Those are situations in which future issues can be avoided with small cut wounds in the outer portion of the crown, trying to train one branch into the parent with removal or terminal suppression of one stem (sometimes with a bit of lateral suppression of the intended parent). A great deal of weight and wind-age can be reduced with just a few proper cuts. I know this won't necessarily work in a mature included bark branch union, and I feel you're right to leave the smaller stem intact.
I look at careful pruning as a great approach to managing things such as you're describing, so long as some knuckle head hasn't come by and lion-tailed everything already!
I've set some clients up with temporary reinforcement if the pruning process requires a visit in another year or two or three. Part of the process is patience on everyone's part. Over pruning will cause undesired growth, and I often see the negative aftermath of people seeking an immediate change or result of issues in a tree. Again, it often takes years, but if you can sell that you've already lined up another visit with the client.
 
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