Ailing Box Elder-- any hope / any options?

[TreeSappy]

Hi all,

A local tree expert suggested that I post some pictures of my box elder on this site just to confirm his assessment that there are no safe/viable options for us to preserve the tree in question. Briefly, it is a 28" diameter Box Elder, probably 60'+ tall. It has seen better days, but it's dear to us and key to the privacy and wooded canopy feel for that portion of our lot. The tree has had some old wounds and dead wood but appeared to be plugging along reasonably well until our severe windstorm this past Friday. During the storm, it sustained a 8'+ crack/split in one of the major trunks.

Is there any way to save the tree? We've been advised that

• There is no practical way to save the trunk in question and that the tree is not really worth preserving by the time we have that trunk removed
• Cabling the split limb would not be safe
• Trimming the damaged limb/trunk and leaving the remainder of the tree in light of the likely rot and dead wood isn't worth doing

It is close to the house (though leaning away from it) and also near our swing set. I understand that box elders are "junk" trees, soft wood, and not known for their longevity. But, it's one of our larger trees, and we hate to lose it. Even if we could get 10 or 15 more years out of the tree, that would be great as it would give us time to plant some replacements in a grassy area behind it.

Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback. The yellow level in some of the photos is 24" long. The swing set it 8' tall. If things upload well, the five photos should be reasonably high resolution (zoomable).

Regards,

Bryan

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[kthhayes]

Hi my customer would like some more input on this tree.

I will be glad to answer any questions you may have in making your recommendations.

Keith

 

[ATH]

I'd agree that there is no safe way to save the split limb - it has to go. I would also be concerned that some of that split has extended into the trunk. If that is the case, then no question the whole thing goes. If the split does not go back, it looks like you are loosing about 1/2 of the canopy. Does that sound about right?

If so, I'd point out that the "rule of thum" is that a healthy tree can sustain a maximum loss of 50% of its canopy with any hope to recover. a 28" diameter boxelder is on the other side of "over the hill" in regards to tree longevity and health. IFF upon further inspection it is found to be structurally sound, it MAY be worth leaving... But you should go into that choice knowing it is a short-term situation...don't expect the tree to live another 20 y ears after loosing half of it. It could happen, but not likely. If you could get 5 more years out of it, would that be worth it to you?

 

[kthhayes]

Decline in the Xylem.

I'd agree that there is no safe way to save the split limb - it has to go. I would also be concerned that some of that split has extended into the trunk. If that is the case, then no question the whole thing goes. If the split does not go back, it looks like you are loosing about 1/2 of the canopy. Does that sound about right?

If so, I'd point out that the "rule of thum" is that a healthy tree can sustain a maximum loss of 50% of its canopy with any hope to recover. a 28" diameter boxelder is on the other side of "over the hill" in regards to tree longevity and health. IFF upon further inspection it is found to be structurally sound, it MAY be worth leaving... But you should go into that choice knowing it is a short-term situation...don't expect the tree to live another 20 y ears after loosing half of it. It could happen, but not likely. If you could get 5 more years out of it, would that be worth it to you?

The Xylem has been exposed where a limb has split off this tree in the past and there is significant rot that extends from the trunk into the lead that is showing the vertical split. The decline starts below the crouch and continues through the crotch up and into the limb in question.

Keith

 

[TreeSappy]

I think the canopy loss would not exceed 50%, but it would be substantial-- probably somewhere between 40% and 50%. And I believe the split stops just a bit before hitting the main/core trunk, I've attached an additional photo below that may highlight that. Would I salvage part of the tree if it was just going to last 5 years? I don't know-- I'd have to think on that and weigh it against the job cost to just remove the split limb instead of the whole tree. But maybe. My wife is talking about dropping in some large starter sycamores, since they're fast growers with large canopies-- that was sort of why I threw out the earlier 10/15 year number. We really want to preserve the screening and wooded backdrop that the box elder contributes (significantly) to.

To Keith's point, there is definitely an old, scarred over (but not healed over with bark) wound from earlier damage that has been there since before we purchased the home a few years back. My untrained eye doesn't see anything that registers as "rot" per se in any of the photos I've taken, though I do see some slight streaks of darkness/discoloration. I would have taken that has normal color variation in the wood, but perhaps it is more serious.

Thanks for the feedback.

Regards,

Bryan

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[no tree to big]

I would say take the whole thing, normal case for box elder is you make a cut that size with that damage you get pretty significant decay fairly quick. if you decide to keep the other half just remember if it starts to die or rot have it cut down right away, for the sake of who ever has to climb it, when the die they go bad quick and become very unstable not a fun time!

 

[TreeSappy]

second opinion

We had an arborist on site this morning; he was more optimistic about the tree's prospects, though he echoed ATH's assessment that the tree was definitely over the hill and that we might just be paying to save the tree now and only buying ourselves five or six more years with it before it has to come down anyway. In his opinion, the tree overall was in good health despite a little dead wood and the old battle scar. He didn't see any significant rot in the split limb and felt that the collar around the old scar was probably composed of pretty strong, tight grained wood from the healing process.

He argued that if there had been significant decay and that had been a truly weak spot in the tree-- then the 60 mph winds would have broken the tree there at the joint rather than split the limb farther up. The limb split because of the weight/force of the dense canopy hanging out so far from the tree. His assessment was that if we were willing to invest in saving the tree, it is possible to judiciously prune the existing crown to alleviate the weight load and then bolt and cable the impacted limb to salvage the majority of the tree with some selective canopy thinning but much less loss than we were originally thinking. It's not a perfect cabling scenario, but there are apparently a couple okay cross-limb candidates to work with.

I don't know that it's evident from the photos, but the placement of the old wound and lean of the tree both make it rather unlikely, in his opinion, that the tree would hit the house if it ever did fall. If we go with cabling, that would also help provide an additional measure safety in the event of any future failure so that any breakages would swing away from the home.

I am hoping to sort of get a tie-breaker opinion tomorrow afternoon from another arborist. We are leaning towards keeping the tree-- even if it's just for 5 or 6 years. We've had a rough first few years in the house and have lost a number of trees, including two large Ash's and a gigantic black locust that were once backdrops to this guy. If they were still in the picture, we'd probably be less attached. This is the last bastion of privacy between us and the neighbor's house.

Again, thanks for the feedback and insights-- most appreciated.

--Bryan

 

[Raintree]

I'm all for saving trees, will try to do so within reason.

Is the homeowner willing to assume the risk of future tree failure?

If yes, are you willing to invest $$$$ in this tree with no guaranty?

If both are yes, do I have aerial equipment access to this tree?

If so, I would not make the damaged leader cut, too close to the old tear out.

That split leader should be screw rodded back together. First drop crotch prune the top, reduce by half, prune off the side limb at the split. It may take 4-5 bolts to slowly close it up.

If I had to take the leader, I'd take the tree.

Hows that for a tie breaker?