Hate to see this tree go. Its the 2nd tallest one in my yard about 30 feet high.

Do you trust it to not go totally in the next windstorm ? I wouldn't.

Let me guess...a maple...perhaps even a silver maple ?

Not sure what kind of tree. It may have been planted by the city or builder back in 2006.

It still feels sturdy. I think it can withstand another storm.

It can't get better. Time to take it down and start anew.
Why worry over it?
Mike

it will not survive.. in the form it is now ... it will most likely turn into a bush ... which thru selective pruning.. you MIGHT make back into a tree ... which would be a good project/experiment for my back 4 acres ... for the next ten years ....

in the front yard.. i would get rid of it ...

to me.. the bark indicates it had pre-existing damage ... and the storm took it over the top ...

cut it flush to the ground... apply stump killer or roundup to the stump.. and plant something new a few feet over ...

there are two keys here...

first.. you can do it yourself for free..

second ... you dont want it 50 feet tall when it fails ... and then you have to pay thousands for removal ...

ken

Young red & silver maples sprout back from a stump cut at ground level.

Ken, I THINK I see the defect in the trunk you are talking about. At least the dark spot under the split.

I second or third the idea of cutting it down. If you cut it flush it will probably sucker. Pick one with the best chance not to have to grow over the old trunk and snio the rest. You'll get FAST growth from it.

If it is close enough to your home to fall on it at maturity I might not do that though. If so cut, apply round uo and recut at your leisure.

if you do cut it down.. i would be curious to see you rip that broken part off.. and snap a few pix .. to see if there is any rotting wood in there.. etc ... or dark wood.. which might indicate.. the interior wood snapped previously.. but could not heal interior wood ...

and then what happens.. is the tree doubles in size ... and then sooner or later.. acting as a sail.. think sailboat.. with no interior integrity ... the plant fails ...

beng says they reprout... yes they do.. but it will sprout dozens .. for years ... as i tried to say.. you could keep pruning back to one.. and forming that one back into a tree... etc ... but my point was.. not on the front lawn ....

yes toro.. doesnt it look like sunscald bark indentations... or what happens when it is planted too deep???? ... though being a foot up.. i doubt that last ... unless there was a mulch volcano around it.. at one time.. noting mulch on trees behind it.. but bare earth on this one ....

and there is a weird bow on the higher trunk .... its not plumb to the house behind.. and its not because of this break .... there is some history with this tree .. which i am guessing.. we may never know ...

be done with the thing .. UNLESS.. you like experimenting.. and seeing what can happen in tree years... and dont care its out front ... dont mind pruning .... with full knowledge.. that it will fail.. sooner or later.. later even being decades away ....

good luck

ken

Been there done that with 5 Autumn Blaze maples same size and caliper as yours a few years ago. All eventually broke in various thunderstorms and had to be removed. It starts with sunscald on the west side of the tree that kills the bark and then the inside of the tree begins to decay. These types of trees decay quickly and cannot callus over the wound in time and the trees fail in a wind event.

These trees are packed in like sardines at the nursery and the trunk never see unbroken south/western winter sun until they are planted out in the open. The trunks are not capable of handling full sun like this during winter and they develop sunscald. If these trees are planted with western shade in the winter, they do not scald nearly as bad if at all. Also, when they are rooted in and healthy, they are more than capable of closing a wound the size of yours in a year but being recently planted, they do not have access to the resources necessary to complete this process.

Time to remove and replace.

In short, I think you'll see that we don't recommend a silver or red maple as a replacement.
If on maple you are fixated, try a sugar maple, they're much more permanent and stronger.

^ you can do red/silver maples again, you just have to make sure and wrap the trunks the first winter or two they are planted*

However, I agree with dbarron that there are more worthwhile trees to pick in general. Hard to beat some of the red/silver hybrids for growth rate and fall color though..

Thanks everyone. I wish my last phone didn't become defective lost many pics.

This tree was planted in a mulch volcano and thanks to this sites advice I dug till the root flare was exposed. It also had sun damage from Western sun. My house is on a corner lot and that's where this tree is.

I'll definitely replace it. There are 3 other of this soon to be chopped down tree in the yard that look similar to this but are in a healthier state. Would everyone still recommend a sugar maple?

I think Acer saccharum (Sugar maple) is a good tree. I have several of them and have never had any problem. This year I had hundreds of maple seedlings in garden beds due to heavy seed production last year but any maple will do the same. A. saccharum won't grow as fast as silver or red maple but they seem to have fewer problems as well.

Good luck.

TYG

A red oak would work well and look nice there also. Red oaks typically do fairly well in hurricanes here on the coast. White oaks, particularly water oaks, not very storm friendly.

Thanks Jcalhoun...I do need to find a replacement before the cold weather hits. Tha ks for the suggestion.

Naturally I ran a search for the fastest growing tree and the Royal Empress tree came up but read terrible things of it.

"Fastest-growing" is not synonymous with "best"!

I don't know your finances, but about three years ago we had a Nuttlal Oak tree installed in the front yard. It was about 15' and 3 inches on the trunk. The total cost was about $550 dollars.

We are retired and thought that it was worth having the bigger tree installed so we would get to sit in it shade before we die.

Thanks knuttle. I may have to wait for Spring to find a nice tree or possibly may find something large on clearance. I've spent a few thousand on my yard since purchasing this house so I definitely do not want to spend too much on this tree replacement. But I'll keep an eye out for any clearance items.

Yes the tree can be easily saved and at very little cost.

1/4 or 3/8" All Thread rod.
Nuts and washers that fit the rod.
Cordless drill
Long drill bit to match rod size used.
Hacksaw or other metal cutting tool.

Drill the center of the split section all the way through the tree in three locations.

Insert the rods through the holes. Place a flat washer over the rod then the nut. Do the same for the opposite side.

Start at the bottom and snug the nuts a little at a time to draw the section together and close the split working from the bottom up. Once the split is closed. Tighten the nuts firmly and cut off the excess rod.

As the tree grows it will envelope the rod, nuts and washers over time.

Photo of a pine that has been repaired using All Tread.

{{gwi:446296}}

Like I suggested in another thread. In the future someone will find that encapsulated rod with his chainsaw, lol

Except it won't be lol, it will be a gash right across the poor fellow's face, where chainsaws kick back when they strike metal.

I've personally probably rodded/cabled several hundred trees in my time. I don't generally recommend it anymore, for the reasons described above, and also because it very often doesn't work anyway. There's nothing quite like seeing a 90-foot silver maple come down in a storm, cabled branch and all, to maker one reconsider that whole area of tree care. The industry at large is, I believe, less inclined towards such practices than say thirty years ago.

+oM

This type of damage is another reason why I believe small is better on tree planting. Another reason is cost. Another is ease of planting. A 5 gallon hole is not hard to dig. A 5 gallon tree will catch up to a 15 gallon tree in 2-3 years.

If you want fast shade for your house that's a good spot for another similar tree. Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple) does sound like a good choice for that spot. It looks like there's a few different varieties to choose from. Quercus rubra looks like it might be a little faster growth for shade.