A friend sent me this video from some people in Thailand anchoring down a beautiful tree. I’m not sure about how effective it will be but found it interesting enough it might give some of you guys an ideal or help in some way one day. Let me know what you think Real or Gimick?
It’s not in English but you’ll get the picture FF to 4:48 on the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vae76PlOI-c
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The company listed seems to be real and seems to believe most problems can be solved with comically-oversized, galvanized steel screws. When a hurricane (Irene) knocked over an apple tree in my backyard years ago I just ripped the chunk of my neighbor’s tree that fell on it off, pushed it back up, and it was fine, if a little crooked, until it had to be removed a couple years later (for unrelated reasons).
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It is real. The guy in a blue shirt is a landscaper, landscape designer who installed all the plants and trees to this newly wedded couple.
He claimed that with those four 2 meter long (6.5 feet) galvanized steel screws, the leaning tree can be well anchored. He also said the only way the tree would fall would be if it (a branch or a trunk) broke.
The fortunate part is, it is central Thailand, we have hardly ever had any natural disaster except for flooding from a monsoon. No strong gale-forced wind, no strong earth quake, no volcano eruption, etc.
Many of those plants and trees were originally from Australia. They are well adapted to Thailand’s climate.
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Anchoring trees in south Florida and places like it are a must https://lifting.com/treeguy-kit-tg-1.htmlhttps://lifting.com/treeguy-kit-tg-1.html .The soil is actually sand and the winds can be very strong like they are here.
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I have saved some very old and very big apple trees that fell over in hurricane type winds. If the tree still has a functional root system I’m able to save them- well, they might live anyway as toppled trees, but I lift them up with ropes and the power of my truck or a hand wench. The biggest trees I support with a few duck anchors and metal rope attached to metal bolts, smaller ones I will use a single, thick, cedar crutch from a slow growing cedar tree that is almost all heartwood (they grow like this in the understory- that is, very slowly). I have two apple trees and a plum on my property that I propped up when they were already about 5’ diameter trees and fell over, one this last season.
The largest trees I’ve propped up were for customers and once I was almost badly hurt or killed when I was standing by a big old apple tree that snapped when I attempted to pull it up. Stupid me, almost chalked up to Darwin.
I always prune such trees aggressively for a few subsequent years and eventually they don’t need support.
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Wow cool stuff there. I need to get me some Bubba Rope.
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Oh I didn’t know that about the trees. Yeah I remember a few years ago my friends family home in Lop Buri got hit by pretty severe floods. I was wondering what kind of tree that was too. Thanks
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Appreciate the feedback and personal stories.
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I went back and listened again. That focal point tree is เสม็ดแดง Syzygium antisepticum also known as Syzygium gratum. It is an ever green and grown in Southeast Asian. Glad the landscaper chose a native tree.
Honestly, I think the tree was set to lean too much. Also, that devices (whatever you want to call them) that hold up the tree are used for the first time at this home. The landscaper implied that one has done this before in Thailand. So, in theory, they said it would hold up but who knows what will happen in reality.
Also, it is not wise to plant this tree this way next to an expensive swimming pool. It could be double whammy if the tree came down. That’s my 2 cents.
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Method above will not work on the Douglas Firs of Portland, Oregon, that came down by the hundreds during an arctic weather week not long ago, and crushed several homes. Douglas Firs belong in forests or parks and not as singletons or small clusters on urban lots. But the City wants to save them.
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Excellent thanks Mamuang. It looks nice and clean when installing the device/hardware although it all got covered after. I’m no engineer but I’d think a type of brace underneath the leaning side for cushion support and most of all the anchors would be on the other side for leverage.
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I feel the same about spruce trees in the city.
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The spruces here do not attain great size and the occasional redwood with its squat base seldom falls. DougFirs on the other hand shed at 10mph, shed branchlets at 20mph, and fall at 50mph gusts + snow or ice load.-- a condition that occurs every other year on average. Remnant elderly firs have become prohibitively expensive to remove, although a healthy large fir (48" diameter) down the block was removed perhaps a dozen years ago, it could have crushed the same-lot house and one across the street if fallen.
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They planted oak trees between the sidewalk and street, under powerlines, in the town near me. The trunks are now three feet across buckling the sidewalk and street, needing to be cut out of the powerlines every year or two, and if one of those tips over somebody will be having a bad day. We have big brain local politicians.
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Portland is full of such parking strip trees, some in strips only 3 feet wide. There has been an “approved tree species” list for many years, but legacy trees are exempt. Years ago a homeowner not far from here actually planted a Monkey Puzzle tree in a strip. When it touched the lower utility wires, I reported it, and amazingly it went away. In the past decade, building style is now large houses on small lots, there is literally no space to plant a significant canopy tree as the foundations come within ten feet of all property lines.
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That’s plenty of room to build an ADU (accessory dwelling unit). At least around seattle. Who needs open spaces or trees.
One of my favorites is in seattle in the u district. They crammed this one in where there used to be a turn lane, to get on I-5. Now it’s a 10’x 30’ 4 story building for someone with a narrow couch and no parking. And an endless stream of cars lining up for the freeway.
And yet NYC streets are lined with such trees that are provided a small patch of earth surrounded by concrete. What kills them most often is excessive dog urine. Signs are posted to “curb your dog”.
so true, we had to remove 3 western pine trees that the previous owner should not have planted in our small yard. those were growing 3 ft per year with roots all everywhere.