Consider it when a tree has a weak branch union, co-dominant stems with included bark, a visible crack or split, or heavy limbs with a long reach over a structure. A properly installed cable system limits the movement that causes those attachments to fail during high-wind events – which is why the best time to install or inspect one is late summer or fall, before the wet season loads the tree.

It is not always an alternative to removal: cabling protects a sound tree against future failure, it does not repair existing decay. A tree with advanced internal decay or an unstable root system may not be salvageable, and when more than about a third of a trunk cross-section is compromised, removal is usually the honest recommendation – and we will tell you so.