How long is it safe to leave a dead ash standing after it has (basically) no leaves left?

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reverence4wood

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Hi. We have an ash (~57" circumference trunk both at ground level and 5') in the yard of our home that we bought last summer. It's pretty much dead- had only very few leaves on only some limited branches last year, I can only see one area with a couple of small branches with any buds this spring, and the woodpeckers have had a hay day pecking small holes everywhere, presumably to get at the EAB.

I don't know if it looked healthy two years ago / when it started to show signs of its upcoming demise. The bark on the trunk is solidly intact to at least 8 feet, then you can see light strips where the outer-most layer of the thick bark has started to be shed, and in some small spots on upper branches all the bark is starting to fall off.

It basically needs to be felled, but we're wondering if it can wait 8-9 months until next winter. Is it safe to leave it standing until then, or is it likely to fall before?

We can't get the help we need to take it down for maybe another month, and are running out of time to seed the area that it will have to be felled onto (we had to put a septic system in, and are left with a hillside of sand that we want to curb erosion on sooner than later.)

If it did happen to fall naturally with its lean in the meantime, it would most likely fall into the open area that we will eventually fell in into. The trunk splits into two about 7 feet up and it's too far away to hit the house or any infrastructure in the direction of the lean of the main part of the tree.

This seems pretty unlikely (to my completely experienced eyes!), but the only way it could hit anything would be if a limb on the secondary/smaller part of the tree broke off about 25 feet up: the ends of those branches could possibly reach far enough to hit the infrastructure lines on the side of the tree away from the house. I can see that the bark is more compromised up there.

How likely is it that the tree would loose a limb from that high up at this stage of its death? Would it be safe to leave it standing another 8-9 months until next winter?

Thanks very much!!! I can post pictures later once the rain stops, if anyone is interested.
 
Usually the limbs will fall long before the tree does, I had an oak with the same situation. There was zero bark left and it looked like swiss cheese from woodpeckers. It was in this condition for approx. 2yrs before the roots were so weak that it fell on its own one windy day last fall, but the limbs did start coming down on their own long before that. Its tough to give a time frame but if most of the tree had shed bark already the limbs will slowly begin falling over the next few seasons. I do think you probably have some time before the tree falls though.
 
I'd also agree you have some time yet. Ash is a very strong wood so even if it was completely dead for 2 years it won't pose an imminent threat without some compromising factor (excessive woodpecker, bug, or fungal decay).

If it was one of the species that are known for rotting to the core within months of death (like birch or aspen), things would be different. Since it's ash, you'll be fine waiting until the ground is hard. As it decays, being under it becomes more risky and it's not something I'd intentionally put off any longer than necessary; but it's certainly not urgent either.

I had a black ash dead-as-can-be spar (nothing left of the crown) that was still solid wood at 12" above the standing water line in my swamp. The power company knocked it over - I never would've bothered cutting it. I don't know what's left of the roots (no desire to grind it out either), but I don't think that log would've fallen over any time soon based on the wind it's handled. The branches have all been gone for years.
 
I have an ash tree that has had no bark for 2 years now still waiting for it to fall down. I may end up cutting it if it doesn't fall by winter. It has no branches just a tall stick sitting in wet lands.
 
You can't compare EAB-killed trees to other trees...trust me, I'm in NW Ohio we have been seeing this bug for almost 15 years now.

Having said that, I'd tell you as soon as the bark is loose enough to start falling off it is "fair game". Might uproot. Might snap at the base. Might snap half way up.

You also need to be aware that they don't behave like "normal" trees when being felled. I had a big one to 90 degrees to the hinge once. Fortunately there wasn't anything over there. The sooner it is removed, the safer.
 
Hi. We have an ash (~57" circumference trunk both at ground level and 5') in the yard of our home that we bought last summer. It's pretty much dead- had only very few leaves on only some limited branches last year, I can only see one area with a couple of small branches with any buds this spring, and the woodpeckers have had a hay day pecking small holes everywhere, presumably to get at the EAB.

I don't know if it looked healthy two years ago / when it started to show signs of its upcoming demise. The bark on the trunk is solidly intact to at least 8 feet, then you can see light strips where the outer-most layer of the thick bark has started to be shed, and in some small spots on upper branches all the bark is starting to fall off.

It basically needs to be felled, but we're wondering if it can wait 8-9 months until next winter. Is it safe to leave it standing until then, or is it likely to fall before?

We can't get the help we need to take it down for maybe another month, and are running out of time to seed the area that it will have to be felled onto (we had to put a septic system in, and are left with a hillside of sand that we want to curb erosion on sooner than later.)

If it did happen to fall naturally with its lean in the meantime, it would most likely fall into the open area that we will eventually fell in into. The trunk splits into two about 7 feet up and it's too far away to hit the house or any infrastructure in the direction of the lean of the main part of the tree.

This seems pretty unlikely (to my completely experienced eyes!), but the only way it could hit anything would be if a limb on the secondary/smaller part of the tree broke off about 25 feet up: the ends of those branches could possibly reach far enough to hit the infrastructure lines on the side of the tree away from the house. I can see that the bark is more compromised up there.

How likely is it that the tree would loose a limb from that high up at this stage of its death? Would it be safe to leave it standing another 8-9 months until next winter?

Thanks very much!!! I can post pictures later once the rain stops, if anyone is interested.
Yes please post pics. Hard to say without actually being there to look at it in person, but it's probably ok until then.
Do you have a woodstove? Its great firewood.
Myself, I would take it down and get to cutting, splitting and stacking before it falls where I don't want it to.
Up to you though.
 
The longer you wait more hazardous it'll be to climb, and the more it'll cost to remove. To long you'll need a crane. That'll really up the price. Of course that's assuming it's by a structure.
 
We have been turning down plenty of dead ash trees because people waited too long it's not worth killing one of our guys over a few dollars. Some are 2 years dead some are 3 or 5 or closer to 10. if we can get equipment in that's great but if it's a sketchy climber, have a nice day. I've had huge pieces fail doing crane removals, nothing major damaged so far but I'm talking 10" diameter stuff that seemed solid just snapping off because the insides were pure crap. If it's out in the open we just bomb everything.

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