filling hollows

[kbiv]

Got a question for all the tree-service people out there. I just do firewood and occasional fireline work( local only, how can you work for the FS when you aint got no forest?!!) but a lot of the tree companies around advertise filling of tree hollows. I have yet to see any mention of it here. Is this some local thing or does it just not get any coverage? What would you use to fill trees with, and the more important question, what will it do to my precious saw??? I know I should be chasing my local tree hacks for the answer, but am still on surgery induced house arrest, so can't. Any info would help, thanks

 

[forestryworks]

i've seen some people fill hollows with concrete :monkey: or foam sealant

if it was me, i'd either cut it or leave it alone

where are you in tx?

i got a friend that works for the feds in the caddo/lbj

 

[treeseer]

often better to brace.

 

[kbiv]

I'm close to San Antonio. Nothing around here but mesquite, pecan and oak. I go to some fire schools with the TFS and USFS guys, but not enough jobs out here to support a family on. I work for a city fd, and manage to get my super-sawyer fantasies out at my vfd.
I've cut into plenty of hollow trees, and just started thinking about this when I saw signs for filling them in. I'm just starting to study up on this, and realized I've never seen anything mentioning filling.

 

[pdqdl]

I've not read anything in recently published arborist literature that supports filling cavities. I think the old rationale was that by filling the cavity, it would somehow encourage or enable more rapid closure by the wound healing process. Give it something to grow on, so to speak.

Other reasoning has been to discourage water pooling, and thereby reducing decay.

I don't think it does anything to help those issues. It certainly raises the cost of removing the tree, particularly when it is filled with concrete.

 

[serial killer]

I often whack into concrete that was left there 40 years ago by some well-meaning civil servant. Please don't fill trees with anything more than expanding foam from now on. I really am undecided on whether it's good for the tree, but at least it won't screw my chain up in the future.

 

[Bermie]

Filling cavities is no longer a recommended practice.
Filling with concrete or foam seals the moisture in behind, creating a lovely environment for fungal decay. Concrete can create a hard point that leads to further damage as the tree continues to grow and flex.

Nowadays if a cavity is an issue and the tree is to be retained (after a risk assessment), weight reduction, cabling, bracing or propping is recommended.

Back in the day cavities were routinely scraped out, cleaned back to live tissue, holes drilled for drainage, filled, and/or mesh put across the opening. With the realization of inherent strategies that trees have to compartmentalize decay, it was realized that these activities were doing more harm than good.