Bart Colucci
Planted along a rear service road of a major shopping center stands this Live Oak Tree. Heavy rains and strong winds were the “final nails in the coffin” as the tree splits from the center of the trunk about head high. The lower branches are heavily scarred from being bumped on numerous occasions by delivery and dumpster trucks, evident from the green paint and the adjacent dumpsters. Could just constant scraping of limbs cause the split at the trunk?
Not likely, looking closer you can’t help but notice a couple of tell tale clues that contributed to the split.
The first clue is in the tale of the tape. In this case, Wellington tape. Wellington tape is used to strap or stake trees to secure the tree after planting. As you can see the tape was never fully removed from the tree. Overtime, the tree not to be denied, continued to grow, but to a slow death. 
The tape created a dead spot in the tree, and as much as nature tried to correct it, the Oak could not overcome the girdling choking wrath of the strap. The Photo on the lower right shows a new planting of a Live Oak using Wellington tape to strap the tree.
The Wellington Tape was not the only factor that led to the falling of the limb.
The next clue involves the tree itself, but much earlier in its life, occurring at the nursery or tree farm. 
When looking for an Oak to plant, one of the first criteria is the shape of the tree and if it has a strong central leader. That is, does the tree have one dominant trunk up the center? Best quality trees have a dominant central leader or trunk up to the top of the canopy. A tree that does not have a dominate leader is more susceptible to splitting at the trunk because the weight of the branches are top heavy putting pressure on the center of the tree. typically you will see this in “v” shaped trees. This Oak is a text book example of no dominant central leader.
In this case, the breaking limb just seems to be an inconvenience. The oak will have to be removed. The cost to the landlord if the county makes the owner replace will be about $1200.00. Minor compared to what could’ve happened. Lets say the tree continued to grow and it is now the year 2016, the Oak has doubled in size. A heavy rain has soaked the tree and canopy causing the tree to split in the center. The split falls onto a car causing damage to the car and injury to the driver. Shopping Center, County, Architect, and Landscaper all named in a lawsuit for negligence.
Some would say you should not litigate as result of “Mother Nature”, agreed if your walking through Yosemite National Forest, but in this case no. The tree should of never been planted in a commercial setting and the strap removed after the tree took hold, a period of about 6 to 9 months.
Revisiting the tree 7+months later it is apparent an attempt is being made to save the tree. I do not necessarily believe and effort is being made to save the tree, but to prevent the expense of replacing it.
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Take a look at the new shots of the Live oak taken yesterday on 11/29/2010, roughly 7 months after the oak was damaged.