Chitalpa Split

[TechGuy]

I am trying to decide if I should keep this tree or start over with another tree. I am at the extreme northern edge of Sacramento county, California, near Antelope, CA. Elevation is about 150 feet.

It is currently in a lawn but I will be removing the lawn and replanting with native and other similar plants with much less water. It has a mulched bed under it. I am not watering it much as we are in an extreme drought, hence the reason for the natives. I also had two suckers that grew on the main trunk, about 12 inches off the ground. I have removed them. after the lawn is out, I don't plan on using any large sprinklers, only drip lines and emitters.

I have a new tree (redbud occidentalis, 3 gallon) to go into the yard but not likely in the same place. It is a native and will like near no summer water.

Should I bite the bullet and have it removed or leave it be and see if it heals OK.


main split



upper branches



overall size


leaf damage.

 

[beastmaster]

Those may be stress cracks. Can be caused by freezes or winds. Hard to tell from photos. Not as serious as a true split. There are fixes such as running bolts through the trunk but on a tree that size I don't see any danger, that's not to say problems may not devolope in the future. If it was me I'd take it out because its kind of ugly.
I would check carefully for signs of fungus in the root zone if removed before I planted another tree in the same spot.

 

[treeseer]

Light endweight reduction to lessen strain and leave it grow. Catalpa is very drought tolerant, and much more valuable than a redbud, ornamentally and ecologically.

 

[TechGuy]

@treeseer
Thanks for the suggestion. I normally trim the branches back each season and thin the interior of crossing and poorly formed branches. I have also trimmed the sagging branches the prevent me from walking/mowing under the canopy. This is a Chitalpa, a cross breed with Chilopsis and the Catalpa. I am planning on completely removing the turf grass in my yard and replacing it with natives and other mediterranean plants. The under planting with be a sun/part sun ground cover with low water requirements and native wildflowers.

As for the Redbud, it is a native tree here and well suited to complete lack of summer rain we have. It's been about 130 days since the last rain of more than a trace. The temps have been hovering near 100F much of the summer, with very low humidity. I do intend for the redbud to be a multi-stemmed accent tree, not a shade tree.

@beastmaster
I think the Chitalpa's light airy leaves and flowers make for a nice yard tree. It currently has about a 24 foot canopy so it's nearly full size. I enjoy it doesn't require a lot of water in my dry climate. and does not create tons of litter and no seeds like the tallow I removed, but still get sprouts from the dormant seeds. The tallow is now considered invasive here.