I am about to register over 100 protected trees in a city and want information about the health concerns to the trees if we screw (using brass screws) plaques onto the trees identifying them as protected.

Reply to post by Kim, on May 13, 2002 at 08:25:34:

Kim, scroll down to "Horizontal Vertical Growth on Mature Trees". It may be oxymoronic, but that thread has a lot on plaque attachment.

Reply to post by Kim, on May 13, 2002 at 08:25:34:

Hi Kim, You want to register a bunch of protected trees by attaching plaques to them. Sorry, I think that driving screws into them may not fall under the category of "protection". Is it possible to put the plaques on already dead pieces of wood adjacent to the tree??? Perhaps you are the one the trees need protection from,

James

Reply to post by James Causton, on May 13, 2002 at 08:25:34:

Ouch! james, I've attached plaques etc. to many trees and done them no harm. Bark and even wood can tolerate the installation of foreign objects if done sensibly.
Signs attached to wood nearby doesn't do the job-prone to vandalism, loss, not at eye level, unclear about what they refer to, etc etc.
Kim's trying to do the right thing, or she wouldn't have posted.

Reply to post by Guy, on May 15, 2002 at 00:18:27:

Hi Guy, I appreciate the fact that Kim is trying to do the "right thing", regretably the "right thing" in my book, is not putting holes in trees!!! Where is the problem with attaching a plaque to a post next to the tree??? Virtually zero impact to the tree. "I've attached plaques etc. to many trees and done them no harm. Bark and even wood can tolerate the installation of foreign objects if done sensibly."
How can you be so sure you "did no harm"??
Personally, I would prefer not to risk it. Are we talking about the well-being of the tree or are we discussing budget and personal convenience????


James

Reply to post by James Causton, on May 15, 2002 at 15:41:12:

Interesting opinions but I won't continue the debate, just provide some info. I am involved in what I believe is the longest Avenue of Honour ever planted, 3771 trees planted over 22kms between 1917 and 1919. Each tree is dedicated to every Ballarat (Australia) person who served in the first world war. They are planted in the order in which they enlisted.
Each tree has a plaque (gun metal, 88% copper) attached listing their name, service section and a number. Most are on steel stakes in front of the tree but a group (approx 100) had them screwed to the trunks at eye level. These were installed about 30-40 years ago (?) and attached with two woodscrews. We have recently removed them to relocate them to ground level on stakes.
They were extremely difficult to remove as the trees has started to grow over the face of the plaques. The plaques were also bent in various degrees of "U" shapes and some not readable. In some cases we could not even undo the screws they were so imbedded so tightly
We had various discussions about whether the trees would be better of with them left there or removed??????? There's a discussion topic for you.
After removing them by carefully chiseling the overgrowth away the wood/bark immediately behind the plaques was still alive and solid (these were mostly Elms) and no signs of any decay around the screw holes.
It will be interesting to see what callous/regrowth we get this coming Spring.
On some other trees (Populus and Fraxinus) we have removed there has been plaques imbedded almost completely in the tree and no signs of decay there either.
If you decide to instal the plaques on the trunks the tree will start to envelope the plaque if no distance is allowed for between the plaques and the bark. A spacer of some size is therefore recommended.
The plaques at ground level are a real maintenance headache. They regularly get damaged by vehicle traffic and tractor/mower operators. Very costly to maintain.

Doesn't answer your question about whether you should do it or not but a few things to think about.

Reply to post by Kim, on May 13, 2002 at 08:25:34:

Hi all,
I'm here again %)
I think that I'm the most experienced man on the topic here That's because in Russia there's a lot of trees harmed by ANY type of things including ANY type of plaques - our country is very busy with its political and economical problems to worry about some trees
I would say that it's better if you can avoid screwing. Anyway, today I used nailing plaques with little nails - about 1 cm long - onto pines and oaks. Such nails do not harm - they are too short to get to the alive tissue (the trees was rather old, so their bark was satisfactory thick), you only have to check them every season and maybe renail them.
I, personally, tend to use painting and so do almost all of my colleagues in Russia who have the special education.
Or I don't put ANY info onto trees, I put it on a plan of their locations, but in your case it is not an appropriate decision.
Generally, I tend to incline to James's point of view.
I can confirm the information posted by David with my own expirience.
I'd say it's better not to remove plaques if they are grown into trees a long time ago (of course, if treir size is considerable less than tree trunk circle). (better to a tree, not to a saw