I have a large maple in the front yard with a massive wound (lightning?) on it. This tree is approx 20 feet from the front door, we moved into this situation in 2005 and have no known history of the tree. We had a respected tree co. (certified arborist) look at this and they said not to apply anything to it and it would heal up by itself. Its fairly punky in the wound and seems to retain water after a hard driving rain (seems to leak out). We are SE MA in New England. The tree has a canopy the size of the house and is very healthy and leafing properly. The last pic shows proximity to the house. I stuck a finger in the hole thats down low and its about 2" deep then very solid. I think its closing (in the 5 years we've been here) but my wife doesn't think so. What do you guys think? Leave it be and stop worrying? Any idea's on what caused it? It seems too low to have been a major leader and all the limbs start about 6 feet above it.
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