Previously Topped Silver Maple...DOOMED?? (video)

[NickfromWI]

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Keep in mind that this is the tree CARE forum and not the felling forum!

I went and looked at this tree yesterday. Client just bought the house. What are your thoughts. I have better pics if anyone wants to see them

love
nick

 

[flushcut]

The video is private.

 

[NickfromWI]

Fixed. Try now.

 

[FJR]

Keep it, that is some nice shade in the front of the house. Mulch it, and maybe some affordable PHC work. Wouldn't want them to dump a whole lot of money into it though.

 

[flushcut]

I think if they are really set on keeping the tree a through eval is in order to determine if it is structurely sound. If so I would do a storm prune on it to lessen wind load but then again it is a silver so it is just a matter of time before it fails at some of the rot.

 

[sotc]

RCX

 

[NickfromWI]

Hmmm- good call. I pounded the trunk all over and it sounded really good so didn't think of going further south.

When I reached up and pounded...that was another story!

Here a pic of the fruiting body

 

[sotc]

Hard to tell in video but looks like it could be kept with some weight reduction. I'd find out how extensive an issue may be underground first, that may condemn it

 

[simplypete]

Great hat. Thanks for all you do Nick. Your contributions here go a long way.

 

[Al Smith]

That's just typical of most soft maple yard trees .They probabley planted that thing when the house was built never thinking it would get that large .

Then low and behold it got a little plump so they topped it only to half rot the thing away by doing so .If it doesn't fail which is likely it will given enough time those things can exceed 4 feet in girth . The roots will in time undermine the house foundation planted that closely .

 

[treelooker]

Predictions of failure will not come true if you treat it right. RCX, prune to restore shape, support if needed. Basic arboriculture. Like you said this is not the tree felling forum.

 

[vl2007]

To restore a topped tree you need to pick one of those sprouts as a new leader. After you pick the best new leader start to remove and shorten the excess sprouts until one day you have only the new leader. This takes time...years of pruning. I restored a ficus tree after some hackers topped it following a storm. It toke five years to restore. Some of the smaller dia branchs completely healed over, but the larger dia branches still have a crack at the point of heading cut. The first year you need to leave all sprouts to help the tree recover, then following years remove some of the sprouts at where the heading cut was made.

 

[sotc]

I haven't read Guy's article yet but I normally tell people to leave them alone a few years, let the tree establish which sprouts will establish dominance and then work with those. Saves alot of dinking around with tiny suckers in the beginning, lets the tree make use of whatever foliage it has. After already being abused, why strip more off it right away

 

[Al Smith]

I've seen soft maple that just was butchered beyond imagination stand for years and years .

While I'm thinking about ,I'll snap a picture of one that's never had a prune job,about a 4 footer .It's really a magestic tree if someone doesn't fool with it

 

[Al Smith]

This is a typical soft maple except for the fact it hasn't had somebody fiddling with it .You'll never find an example like this except in the country .It seems about all the in town maples have had the dickens pruned out of them .

I'd guess close to 4 feet and 75-80 tall .

 

[wiley_p]

More proof that one of the leading causes of decline in urban trees is the "arborist".

 

[Al Smith]

I'd like to know where in the world a soft maple even comes from .The native species is sugar maple and I've never in my life seen a soft maple in the woods .

It seems hard to believe that maybe 80 to 100 years ago they got planted intentionally from nursery stock .There has to be more to the story .

 

[DMc]

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/acer/saccharinum.htm

Have a look Al, pretty broad native range.

Nick, that tree has lots to work with and if the owners have a strong desire to save it, take the challenge, test your skill and knowledge. I have worked on many trees that had less to work with than this one. Just be honest as to what can and can not be accomplished from you and also the tree. It is what it is, so don't trim for perfection.

Dave

 

[Al Smith]

I looked them up myself and they are native to Ohio .My puzzlement is I've never seen them other than shade tree in yards ,fence rows etc where the twirleys land .

They tell me they became the urban tree of choice after the decline of the once plentifull American chestnut .More so after the decline of the giant elms that used to be everywhere .

I suppose due to the fact they transplant easily where as a sugar maple does not .Then they grow fast where a sugar maple does not .

I'll do a google and maybe find out what the deal is .

 

[Cobleskill]

Box Elder was a yard tree in my area when I was young. Now it is a nasty weed tree, as opposed to a nasty yard tree.

 

[treelooker]

Gilman: wait until sprouting slows rto prune.
Why prune to restore only one leader? 3 dukes can replace one king.

hope you get the rcx work--BY THE HOUR. there are also old conks there in your vid.

Remember that big willow oak we pruned in Raleigh? similar goal, getting to ends for the cuts.

 

[treelooker]

So Nick, did you get the job, or what?

just wondering cuz i got a full day of restoring topped silvers in VA later this month.

Gotta luv the challenge; why else are we doin what we're doin?

 

[Old Monkey]

Nick, I don't see any reason why that tree couldn't be kept. The new tops are not big enough yet to break out. They will eventually though even if they are thinned out. Living in Boise has given me loads of experience with topped silver maples unfortunately. Its like a laboratory of them here. I think the vertical branches have a chance to rebuild the canopy but the laterals should be reduced every few years to keep them from breaking out. Thinning back to one branch per topping spot seems excessive. Three is a much better average. When considering trees like that I alway try to think about the windscape. Is there an open field next to the tree on the side the wind comes from? Are there larger or intermediate sized trees on the windward side? Is the tree about to grow taller than a building and become subject to wind shear? Silvers break out branches under ideal circumstances and can be made safer but not safe. I always throw that disclaimer in.

 

[Ax-Man]

I'd like to know where in the world a soft maple even comes from .The native species is sugar maple and I've never in my life seen a soft maple in the woods .

It seems hard to believe that maybe 80 to 100 years ago they got planted intentionally from nursery stock .There has to be more to the story .

Al, Silver maple is basically a low land species that grow in flood plains along with Cottonwoods and members of the Willow family. Around here they were planted extensively in the late 50's and 60's for fast shade in what at that time were the newer housing developments. Now these homes are no longer new and the trees have matured like you said 70 to 80 feet and at least 4 foot or more at the stump cut and surface roots going everywhere. They have outgrown and overgrown their space in these small backyards.

Silver Maple transplant easy so they are a big money maker for the nursery trade. If you didn't want to spend your money at the local nursery you could just go down to the river and dig one up. I know many people who have done this and regretted it.

Siberian or Chinese Elm was another overplanted species for fast shade to fill the void after the Dutch Elm disease virtually wiped out American Elms. I don't know what is the lesser of the two evils.

 

[flushcut]

Ax-man I was just down in Crystal Lake yesterday trying o convince a lady to remove her big broken down chinese elm that is in really really sad shape and should be put out of it's misery. Silvers made me some really good money last year and from a business stand point plant away. I would like to see people plant the "better" species of tree though. "Society grows great when men plant trees whose shade they will never sit under"