Arborist visits... huge dead limb falls 7 days later

[Trinity Honoria]

So thankful y'all have educated me that Tree People are human... within the last 2 weeks, my arborist came to look at my pecans... he said they were fine, no problems evident...

after a harsh wind & hard rain this afternoon, i came home to a large limb in my front yard, covered with dead leaves. apparently it died as he pulled away from the curb... anyway, the car wasn't in the yard, exactly where the limb hit as the kids are at their Baptist Wed night thing...

why am i posting? at it made me recall the PGA limb falling, the girl scout killed by the falling limb... if only we could eliminate the human factor from our professions, life would be grand!

{{as an afterthought, i just ran out to measure the limb-- 24' long; at the base, 7-8" diameter wide}} {{yes, i know you want pictures, but the kids have the digital cameras and they're off learning to be good Baptists}}

the base of the branch looks still viable, but the branches off with the leaves-- those leaves have been dead a while... like i said, they died as the arborist pulled his truck away from the curb...

 

[jimmyq]

pictures may help figure out what may have been missed Trinity. if you can get some of the broken attachment on the tree as well as the limb, the dead leaves, there are a few of us that would like to see it for learnings sake at least.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

pictures may help figure out what may have been missed Trinity. if you can get some of the broken attachment on the tree as well as the limb, the dead leaves, there are a few of us that would like to see it for learnings sake at least.

i will ask my kids to take pics in the morning... we won't be able to get up close & personal to the area of the tree where it broke off (at least 30' above the ground)... but the tree branch will be there until Saturday as i'm going out of town...

whenever the little branches (?) died, it was after the pecan nuts were starting...

 

[treeseer]

the area of the tree where it broke off (at least 30' above the ground)... ...

Is this about where Joe Bob dropped his pine top?

O and what exactly is a good baptist ayway? woops nevermind... :angel:

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Is this about where Joe Bob dropped his pine top?

O and what exactly is a good baptist ayway? woops nevermind... :angel:

ahhh you folks do make me smile...

Joe Bob bopped this tree about 15 feet lower...

i usually refer to Wed night stuff for the kids as baptist brainwashing, but didn't want to offend anyone...

a good baptist won't say Howdy when he sees you in the liquor store... (and before anyone flames me, am a card carrying baptist myself... only making fun of my own kind)

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Pictures...

i know this is too big... but i am puter challenged in the areas of shrinking jpgs... anyway, this is the break...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Pictures...

from the ground, looking at tree where the branch dropped...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Pictures...

this is a shot to show the length of the branch...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Pictures...

just to give you an idea of the height of the trees... i am horrid at estimating...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Pictures...

this one demonstrates that the leaves were dead before it hit the ground...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

i will be gone in a couple of hours until late Friday night... any silence to replies here are not caused by pouting <grin> but by my lack of computer access...

 

[vharrison2]

Trinity, love the house. Southern charm. (no comment on the limb, cause I don't have a clue.)

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I bet the leaves died after it fell. Pecans are quite brittle and one problem with trees with weak wood is they can loose limbs.
We don't have Pecans up here, instead we have Silver Maples, and it's kind of the same thing. Fast growing, nice shade trees, that often have structural problems, and even when the problems aren't obvious, they can break just from a strong wind.
If you want to live in a forest, you're going to get leaves in your gutter.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

GiGi-- thanks about the house... built in '47, i'm only 3rd owner... still all the original quirky late 40s built-ins and drawerless kitchen...

thanks for the idea about the branch being "disconnected" (do you folks have a glossary?) for a while... that's what spooked me when i came in the yard last night-- those leaves are majorly dead...

does the remaining stump need to be taken care of???

 

[treeseer]

does the remaining stump need to be taken care of???

Yes the stub should be cut cleanly to lessen decay.

It seems that your arborist missed this broken branch when he looked things over. My theory: Joe Bob broke the branch when he dropped the pine tops from the other yard. The pecan branch was broken off but dangling, so the leaves went brown. It finally fell in a very opportune time and place.

You are so lucky that the damage done by that hack did not hurt you or your family or your property other than the tree. I would recommend that your arborist return n/c and this time use some binoculars to inspect the rest of the trees for crown damage courtesy of Joe Bob and your neighbors, so you have some assurance that no more branches be shed.

I agree about pecans' structural issues. They are great shade trees but they do sprawl.
Thinning and reduction of heavy ends every several years will greatly lessen the risk of breakage.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

1. i called my arborist last night when i got home-- left a message... his first visit was N/C-- he's inheriting the business from my friends-- so i'll deal with him if i get nailed...

2. the limb that broke was about the same height of the pines... but who knows if they were tossing directly into the trees, since i was known to the men on site as "a real piece of work" as the owner-hack told me...

3. i do soooo appreciate all the help here...

4. and yes, i am very very thankful nothing was hurt or damaged... the way the branch fell was illogical (it did some somersaults before it hit earth, as the broken end is pointing away from it's tree, about 16 feet from the trunk)... just an interesting way it hit-- on my pitiful grass, not on the hydrangeas or no one of my cats or when the car was parked there...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

i know this is too big... but i am puter challenged in the areas of shrinking jpgs...

http://www.xnview.com/ OR


http://www.irfanview.com/


Both free and very easy to use, yet quite powerful.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

Thank you for the guidance!!! with these tools, i won't drive the list crazy with oversized pics...

 

[Trinity Honoria]

tree care: how soon after injury?

i called my current arborist before i posted here about the limb falling... and he hasn't come by yet...

my question: how soon after the injury to the tree (limb breaking off, falling) does the 'tree care' need to be done? it's been 12 days... if it needn't be timely, then all is good... if it needs to be timely, i need to hunt another arborist...

and no, i am not going to learn to climb. no no no no. scared of heights...

 

[a_lopa]

buy yourself a cheap harness and a lifeline(rope)and a we'll tell you what to do,confront your fears!!!stay focused LOL.