double trunk maple tree

[bugzy]

Hi,
I have a double-trunked silver maple. The crotch is very sharp with one trunk aimed at my house. An arborist advised to watch the crotch for deterioration, otherwise he said it looked healthy and cabling was unnecessary. Since then I have considered cutting down the threatening trunk. Will this weaken the tree?
Bugzy

 

[dakota]

Got a picture Bugzy? Most expert advice comes in a chorus after a picture or two. But to start off, removing a major lead from a tree generally will lead to decay because you've opened up a pathway for fungi which will then generally lead to a the tree being weakened, generally.

 

[antigrassguy]

bugzy, silver maple with co-dominate apical meristems(or 2 trees?) with included bark union AND aiming at home. Pictures would help, BUT, its only going to get bigger, fast, and be a more of a problem($$$) when it needs to go. Probe crotch with coat hanger or like to see if it is decaying already. Again pictures would help.

 

[pbtree]

Sounds like a job for "Chain Saw Man"...

If it is pointing towards the house, and there is any doubt, I would consider removing the branch -

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Sounds like a job for "Chain Saw Man"...

If it is pointing towards the house, and there is any doubt, I would consider removing the branch -

Just my 2 cents...

I disagree with your comments. It doesn't sound like a branch, it sounds like a co-dominant stem. What this means, is the way the two parts of the tree come together, is weak, both structurally and in terms of the tree's ability to compartmentalize the wound, if the stem was removed.
Silver maples typically grow with multiple co-dominant stems. I don't ever recall seeing one with just one straight central leader. Sliver Maples are weak wooded and tend to be one of the trees we expect to see damaged after a storm, surprisingly, they rarely break at these crotches. Arborists are always trained to lookout for narrow crotch angles, but we need to consider the type of tree we're looking at too.
Without seeing the tree, I'd leave it alone, cable it, or remove the whole tree. Removing a large co-dominant stem will leave an ugly, unnatural looking tree, and one that may become a hazard down the road.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I just had a two leader Silver taken down. Right below the crotch of the remaining two stems its approx. 5' diamater. Right before we moved into the house there was another leader that grew almost horizontally that had been removed. It was probably 24" diameter. It never healed...all the holding wood that supported that stem rotted in the trunk. I can almost stick my whole arm in the cavity where that stem was. In the landscaping industry they are referred to as "Trash Trees." Grow to fast and make a terrible mess in the Spring AND Fall

 

[dakota]

there was another leader that grew almost horizontally that had been removed. It was probably 24" diameter. It never healed...
In the landscaping industry they are referred to as "Trash Trees." Grow to fast and make a terrible mess in the Spring AND Fall[/QUOTE]



It was probably flush-cut against the trunk rather a 24" horizontal stem growing near ground level.

I know someone who refers to silver maples as 'weeds' and it always makes me cringe. They, like any other tree, can be fine specimens in the right location.

 

[rebelman]

It sounds like a white poplar, which is a often called silver leaf maple. Either way, I think if one codom stem is cut off properly, this is usually a good thing.
Single trunked ones can be striking.

 

[dakota]

Striking what? The house?

 

[treeseer]

"An arborist advised to watch the crotch for deterioration, otherwise he said it looked healthy and cabling was unnecessary. Since then I have considered cutting down the threatening trunk."

I've given this same advice many times. Putting the job of monitoring on the owner does not seem to work well; more arborists should be doing annual checkups/mtc visits. That advice for self-monitoring apparently leads the tree owner to worry and contemplate irrational actions, like removing large codoms.

Get the arborist back and say you feel threatened. Then get a price on reducing and cabling the stem that scares you.

Like any tree species, silver maple can deliver reliable value if maintained.

Species bias is a poor substitute for looking at trees case-by-case.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I also have a single trunk Silver Maple on the other side of my yard, about 4.5' dbh.

The lot my house sits on in downtown Lansing is 60x80 with the house being 24x30 right in the center. I still cant believe that both of these silver maples are within my backyard!

Heres a pic of the one that came down.