[Stonehenge]

I'm wanting to have a down light mounted in a tree branch. I'm wondering what the best method is going to be - the tree will not be mature - probably some sort of Maple, 2"-3" caliper.

Would short stainless nails/screws do the trick?

[Bladewizard]

I have always heard that any type of nail or screw into a living plant might cause harm to it. If this is true, perhaps some type of wire wrap or hose clamp connection might be a better way......

[Lawngodfather]

Bungee cord, they sell those small ones that are real inexpensive.

My father and I used these many years ago to attach them into our trees. We sprayed them with brown paint to hide them better. We ran them up the blind side of the tree, then pointed them down to shed light on the side we see. I love the look of subtly lit trees.

[Stonehenge]

Yeah, me too. Hard to get people here to invest in that, so I'm going to add lighting to our own yard and photo the heck out of it and plaster it in our portfolio, that we might get a few more takers.

[dan deutekom]

I once did some lighting of interior trees and we just used long staples to attach the wire to the backside of the tree. I would worry about them rusting outdoors. I would check into some of the attaching staples or fastners used in the telephone industry. Personally I do not see a problem with a few fastners hurting a tree. I have seen an old maple that had a flood light installed in it about 20 years ago and the supply wire was actually covered over by the growing bark over that period of time. The light still works.

[Stonehenge]

I also know arborists that drill clean through two major branches to brace them together so one doesn't fall. Those trees seem to do alright...

[jwholden]

After going to my seminar and becoming an 'Expert' on landscape lighting let me put my 'Booksmart' opinion on the board.

1) Attach the fixture to the tree with about 1/2-1" of space behind it for room to grow. Attach the wire to the tree with stainless staples ever 5-7', and not too tight, just enough to keep the wire from swinging in the wind. Put the wire on the side of the tree no one will see.

2) Effective downilighting has to be from up high. I would recommend a minimum of 30' off the ground. Could you uplight the tree until it got a little bigger?

[Stonehenge]

Hmmm... The tree in question is about 9' tall.

That's OK though, the tree is on our current property, from which we'll be moving in a few weeks.

Thanks for the booksmart info!