Proper Cut For A Major Vertical Removal?

[lxskllr]

Specifically, there's a dying twin birch on the boss' farm. One side is sick, and the other is dead. I want to remove the dead side, and I'm hoping the liveish side hangs in there a bit to let a root sprout become a decent tree. Should that co-dom be cut with a flat top? Maybe sloped to shed water? Doesn't matter?

I have a cherry at my place that'll get the same treatment. It's fully alive, but in a very bad place. I'm gonna start with one lead, then decide on the rest from there.

 

[Mick!]

Current thinking is that it doesn’t matter, but it won’t hurt.

Normally a dying birch is just a dead birch in waiting IME.
They rarely if ever make a comeback from a serious decline.

Opinions vary of course.

 

[lxskllr]

You don't think the root sprout will ever become anything? I was hoping it would be self replacing. It's not a great tree in any case. I think it's white silver birch, which aren't known for doing great around here. I'd prefer a river birch if it were my place.

edit:
changed white to silver. Not 100% sure, but white birch doesn't seem right. Neither is a good Maryland tree AFAIK. River birch is a native, and does pretty well.

 

[Benjo75]

It's probably on it's way out. It wouldn't hurt to paint the cut. It doesn't really help but I've put tar and paint on cuts before. I think it helps some people rest better knowing they did all they could. There is Tree Cote. It helps seal the cut and helps keep insects and disease out.

 

[lxskllr]

Well, the boss would say remove the whole thing. Problem with that is he won't replace it, and it'll start looking like a cornfield. Since I'm doing the work, I use my standards which are very liberal regarding tree life. If it gets green in the spring, I consider it a live tree. Even a 3/4 dead stick is better than nothing. I have a weeping cherry at my house that's hanging onto life by a hair. I've cut most of it off, it's full of carpenter ants, and most of the green is from trunk sprouts as a last ditch attempt to keep living. Every year I'm amazed that it keeps going, but it does, so I leave it til later.

 

[Benjo75]

If it's not a danger to life or property just let it die on its own.

 

[lxskllr]

Yea, I could do that. It's out in the middle of the yard, so it's kind of a "showpiece"(LoL!). It's more or less make-work. My biggest justification is to get some birch wood to play with. What I was hoping is it hadn't turned punky yet. Birch isn't real common around here, so it's kind of a novelty for me. Maybe I'll just cut the whole mess down, and buy him a tree. I doubt a river birch would cost much from our tree guy, and it would look nice out there. It would also give me a chance to pull out the bittersweet. There's some beefy bittersweet roots in there. I could clean house, and make it look nice.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

I aggree with Mick. Plus, the wood doesn't last long against the fungi. If it's dying, already half dead, think that the root system is shot and probably at the origin of the dying. Even if the sprout keeps on growing and makes it against the fungus, it's anchored on a partially rotted and soon disapering stump. Its stability will be a concern, with few hopes to improve.

For your bad placed cherry, you'll have to keep an eye on the trunk/stump for the decay. It holds better than the birtch, but not by much. A big cut like that can put easily the second leader in the decline. Or not. Who knows.

 

[ruel]

Rotted/ decayed birch is very brittle and does not hinge well ime. Use extra care on declining/ dead trees, especially birch

 

[Wood Collector]

Ill post a copy of the standard that all our work has to comply with as it has photos for things like this. In regards to wound paints they dont actually help and potentially increase the chance of decay by sealing in bacteria and fungi.