In historic neighborhoods throughout Olympia, Tumwater, and Steamboat Island, mature heritage trees are irreplaceable community and landscape assets. Historic bigleaf maples, white oaks, and century-old conifers often feature wide-spreading multi-stem canopies that provide breathtaking shade.
However, many mature trees develop structural anomalies known as co-dominant stems. When two or more main trunks originate from a single base in a tight V-shaped union, bark becomes trapped between the stems (included bark). This creates a natural fault line with virtually no wood fiber connection.
As the tree grows in height and canopy mass, the leverage exerted by high winds pushes these co-dominant stems apart. In many cases, homeowners believe their only option is complete removal. Fortunately, professional arborist cabling and bracing offers a proven structural conservation alternative.
We utilize dynamic synthetic cabling systems (such as the Cobra cabling system) installed in the upper two-thirds of the canopy. Dynamic cables allow the tree to sway gently in light breezes, which stimulates the tree's natural cambium to produce stronger supporting reaction wood along the trunk base.
During violent winter gales, the dynamic system reaches its expansion limit and acts as a shock-absorbing brake, redistributing the heavy torsional load across both trunks and preventing catastrophic split-outs. Combined with precision weight-reduction pruning, cabling can extend the safe lifespan of heritage trees by decades.