I live in South East Michigan. I had a Tree Specialist (that I found through the directory on this web) come out today to look at some of my trees on my property. He suggested that I might consider having cables installed into the canopy of a large Silver Maple behind my house to keep the branches from flexing too much in high winds and breaking off. The wires would connect the larger limbs in the canopy together, the idea being to cause the branches to move together more uniformly in the wind and reduce the stress and prevent the limbs from breaking off. They would be attached to the limbs with lag bolts. This tree is near mature hieght and has been on sight for thirty years. It is a very large, healthy tree and is about 15 feet to the South of my house. So loosing a major limb during a storm could be very damaging and dangerous. I understand the principle but this seems strange to me. Would this be a wise thing to do? I realize that this species of tree is messy, however it does provide a lot of shade for the house, and I'm not interested in removing it at this time.
Thanks, Patrick

Reply to post by Patrick , on February 09, 2000 at 00:46:36:

Support cabling of an older silver maple is common and many times necessary. The reasons you expressed as benefits of the cables may be just a bit left of center; however, the intent is correct. One bit of advise. There are, and I would recommend you review "Cabling, Bracing and Guying Standards for Shade Trees". This is a National Arborist Association publication and, with luck, your tree service could share it with you, or, contact the NAA at naa@natlarb.com. If you wish to own a copy, I'm sure a minor cost will be involved.
Good Luck!