Damaged Large Old American Elm

[bildavis]

My sister has asked me to help her find some help with a very old very large American Elm that sits next to her home Near Middlebrook VA. The tree has been remarkably healthy, no Dutch Elm disease, some insect trouble in the last few years. The tree may be the largest in Virginia not affected. My sister has been reluctant to register the tree because she cannot deal with tourists on her isolated farm. Recently the tree suffered some severe wind damage and she & I are heartbroken and hope the tree can be saved. Lack of money is the perennial problem. I am hoping that there is some professional pro-bono help out there for this historic tree and member of our family. Pictures attached. Please reply to me here and I will pass it on.

Thank You

Bill Davis
[email protected]

 

[ATH]

Wow...neat looking tree! Unfortunately, from those pictures, I doubt there is much salvageable? There is a lot of damage, and I'm not seeing a viable/un-damaged major trunk portion in those few pics. Maybe another angle would show that.

If the tree is saved, there will be a lot of decay entering those huge wounds.

I know you just said money is tight...but I'd recommend you hire somebody to evaluate the tree in person. Not the largest "we remove trees cheap" ad in the phonebook - I can already give you their answer! You are looking for somebody who is more of a consultant (they may still remove trees, but you aren't looking for a bid for any "work" - just a consultation). Expect to pay for their expertise. See if you can find somebody with a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. Not that that is some magic recognition...but it is an indicator that someone has gone out of their way to specialize in that kind of work. There may be great arborists who haven't done that because they already have plenty of work. There may be bad arborists who do have that recogition. Just a place to start if you don't know who else to call.

Look at treesaregood.org. Then search local arborists.

Good luck!

 

[buzz sawyer]

Looks like some earlier damage on the one branch, like another branch broke off or was cut too close and the bottom of the wound couldn't compartmentalize quickly enough. There likely is already rot inside that branch. Definitely get professional guidance on this as ATH said.

 

[flushcut]

That tree had lots of problems before the "damage" was done. Bark inclusions and a split are obvious for a two second glance at the "healthy" photos. It can be trimmed up, the damage cut out, and some cabling and bracing possibly but it is really at the end of it's days for a over mature tree of poor structure. Probably not going to be cheap so start saving.