Tree cabling and bracing are support systems that strengthen weak or damaged trees. Cabling installs flexible steel or synthetic cables high in the canopy to limit movement of weak attachments during wind; bracing uses rigid rods through split trunks or co-dominant stems. Installed correctly by a certified arborist, the system will not harm your tree – it often saves one that would otherwise need removal.

With routine inspections, tree cabling and bracing systems last 10 to 15 years or more: do a quick visual check each fall (cables intact, no rubbing, no slack) and a professional inspection every few years.

The most common candidates in San Mateo County are mature coast live oaks with heavy lateral limbs, large eucalyptus with co-dominant stems, and any tree with a tight V-shaped fork and bark pinched inside the union. If you can see a seam or crack where two big stems meet, have it assessed before the winter wind season.