The windstrom this week took off a major limb (1/3 of the tree) of my maple. My BIL removed it this morning and I was shocked when I could get close enough to see all the damage. It goes right into the heartwood of the tree. Now, do I need to paint something over the wound? If so, with what?
Here's the whole tree from the street.
I think the current best thinking is that you don't want to paint anything over the wound, it's better to let the tree heal itself. There's no guarantee that the tree can heal itself from something that major though, but the best thing is to let nature take its course. The thing I would worry about though is it looks like it's halfway through the trunk there, so I'd worry that if another strong wind comes along it that the rest of the tree might snap off. If there's nothing that the tree could fall on and damage then it's probably OK to leave it alone, but if it's next to a house, street, driveway, etc you might want to consider cutting the tree down to avoid potential future damage.
I think think there is any way that wound will ever callus over completely. Let this be a lesson to avoid sharp crotch angles in the future.
I'd take the tree down. It is too dangerous. Sooner or later (next major gale or ice storm), the other half will fall down too, and it will go in the other direction - directly towards the house.
Resin
Thank you for your advice ecrane, guy and Resin. I have a large emotional investment in this tree. It was one of the main reasons I bought my house a couple years ago. I so want to save it! I don't have the resources right now to remove it, all the family who could help are committed elsewhere the next few weeks which puts us in the middle of our wet season. Our prevailing winds are from the SW so the tree would fall toward the street (hopefully missing the little pine and rhodie).
If it leafs out in the spring, could I assume it will recover? I do accept I will have to take off the other large branch coming out the side of the main trunk that is the twin to the one that broke. When would be the best time to do that? I'm assuming I should wait until late summer or fall?
Thanks again for any and all advice.
Katy
If it leafs out in the spring, could I assume it will recover?
You might not have to worry too much about the cost of removal. It may just be unstable enough to lose the remaining portion of the broken limbs in the first good wind when it leafs out. My guess is it will be on the ground soon without help anyway.
I get the sentimental thing. I've a couple of declining Fraser firs that were gifts from my late Dad. One of these springs it's gonna be chainsaw time and boy I'm gonna hate that. But, stuff dies and there are lots and lots of beautiful trees to chose from for replanting.
My guess is it will be on the ground soon without help anyway
I'm with Resin, I think you need to get it taken care of. Just because your prevailing winds come from the other direction doesn't mean it couldn't fall on your house. I know you said you didn't have the resources to get it taken care of now, but it's cheaper to take the tree down than to repair your house if it falls on it. You might contact your insurance company, you may be able to file a claim to get the rest of the tree taken down--it would certainly save them money too compared to repairing the house when the tree falls on it. Depending on what your deductible is it may or may not be worth filing a claim, but it's at least something to consider.
I also must agree, take down as much as you can. As for your homeowners insurance, we had 1/2 a two hundred year old oak fall in 3 neighbors yards, leveling 2 sheds and 3 fences ( it was in the back corner of our lot next to the fence line. There was hardly any damage to our fence, we just replaced 3 slats.) That left half a tree (it had been split by lightning probably 40 years earlier. I called my insurance company, told them that if it fell it would take out all of our fencing, both our sheds, and $900 worth of kennel fencing, WELL OVER OUR DEDUCTABLE. Their response was "Call us when it falls, we'll sent out an investigator."
Their response was "Call us when it falls, we'll sent out an investigator"
Insurance companies are the same anywhere. I had a similar situation some years back. A neighbor's lightning split oak with hollow trunk (>70 ft) was in danger of destroying most of my house, with minimal damage to theirs should it fall. They refused to remove it sighting cost. I sent them a certified letter placing them on notice that it was an extreme hazard and now, having been duly notified, they would be responsible for any damage to property or life AND that having been duly notified, their insurance company could refuse to pay. The tree was down in three days. But it's awful to have such a hard nosed confrontation with a neighbor. I didn't enjoy the experience.
