On 22/11/2013 16:19, echinosum wrote:

My Nothofagus antarctica (antarctic beech) which, given the size I
bought it at, is about 15 yrs old and 20ft tall, is now at a rather
unjaunty angle as a result of the storm at the end of October. It's
probably now about 15-20 degrees off the vertical. There are no roots
unearthed. It is a very light and airy tree, not much more than 6 inches
diameter at the base, which is supposed to be its defence against the
very strong winds it gets where it grows naturally in Patagonia. And I
have removed some major branches from time to time as I have been trying
to enforce a single-trunked habit. Nevertheless as it is I can't move
it at all by using my bodyweight to push it, though I haven't yet tried
tying a rope high up on it and pulling that.

I'm observing some splits on the trunk no the side that has been lifted,
so I'm wondering if there is a bit of a fungal problem on that side of
the tree which weakened the roots on that side.

Since it's fairly close to my property boundary, and it's blown inwards,
I can't really put in anchor points for guylines on the side that would
be useful.

Any thoughts on what I can do with it? I really don't want it leaning
in this direction and I'll have to cut it down if I can't straighten it.

I guess that everything is fixable, but the question I would like
answered is /why/ has it been pushed over? Could it be that the roots
on the side the wind came from are not as substantial as they should be?
It is possible, for example, that there is large rocky area barely at
subsoil level, and the tree's roots cannot penetrate on that side? I'm
a bit puzzled by your comment about the splits. Are these vertical,
horizontal, or varied? If there is fungal damage to the roots, I really
wouldn't bother trying to save the tree.

As you say, if Patagonia is know for one thing it is strong winds.
Nothing grows high unless it has a structure designed for it!

One thing you could try if you want to save the tree is get in a
mini-digger and remove soil from under the raised root area. Then you
might be able to push the tree back upright with the mini-digger, and
put soil back on top. You could then use the bucket to push down the
soil, or drive the mini-digger over the replaced soil to firm it, but
whether or not that would damage the tree's roots I can't say. How you
would the stop the tree tipping again is another issue. Deep ground
anchors on the lifted side might work, and so might a hefty prop on the
tipped side, but neither would look pretty!

--

Jeff