Why cable or brace your tree?
Safety is always our #1 concern.
Rainbow Arborists are educated in knowing what trees will benefit from support and which ones are too damaged to preserve.
Cabling is the use of hardware that provides support for weak, damaged or potentially dangerous branches or stems. Before installing any kind of artificial support, an evaluation should be done by a certified and experienced tree professional.
If you have a tree with older bracing in it, we will come out and evaluate if it is still providing the support and safety your tree needs.
Contact the Experts
When To Use Support Cables
Don’t take chances, use the expertise of Rainbow Treecare to advise when support is your best option.
Cables are installed in trees to provide support to weak or potentially dangerous limbs by connecting two or more limbs together. Mechanical support may be needed for:
- split
- decayed
- poorly structured limb junctions
- weak-wooded trees.
Poorly structured, multi-stemmed trees are more susceptible to breaking under the stress of wind or the weight of accumulated ice or snow. It is important to keep in mind that support cables have limitations.
Mechanical devices cannot be relied upon to make a potentially hazardous tree safe; once a defect is present there is always a risk of tree failure. A Certified Arborist can advise you of the risks.
Before installing cables:
- The tree should be properly pruned and its structure evaluated. Hazardous and dead limbs need to be removed
- The wood must be solid and large enough to support the cables. Trees that are too severely damaged should not be cabled, as a false sense of security may be created
- Multiple cables are often recommended to maximize strength; ideally, triangles or boxes should be formed between cabled leads
- An example of what happens when support systems are not evaluated and adjusted regularly
The installation of cables in a tree represents an ongoing responsibility. All hardware in trees should be inspected annually to ensure proper placement and manage adjustments. All cabling systems should be updated or replaced after 7-10 years.
