Ice damage

[kkerrihard]

I live in Enid, OK and have experienced serious ice damage to my trees. I have silver maples, sycamores, mulberry & pecan trees. I do not know the age but they range from 20-40" dia and 30-70' tall, about 8 trees in all if I do not count the cottonwoods. Most of the branches on the top of the sycamores are completely stripped to the trunk and on the maples & pecans are broken and stipped, sometimes splitting 6-8' of bark with them.

Is there any hope for these trees and what will give them the best chance of survival? What is an approximate cost of professional help? I know it is difficult to estimate from the brief description I have provided, but unfotunatley, money is tight now with our other damage (We were without power for 5 days and I lost a freezer and contents, a well pump and other things I'm still discovering. From what I can tell, my insurance company will not be much help.)

Thanks for any help you could provide, sure wish I could hire one of you.

 

[Smith]

Call in an arborist to look them over. If there isn't too much out of them there no reason why they wouldn't come back. We are cleaning up here in Niagara Falls from an ice storm right now. We had about 300 trees come down. Some of them are going to have to be removed some won't. If there are no hazards in them right now (broken branches)and everything is on the ground wait till spring or summer then call in the profesionals.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Storm damage work is fairly simple. I would think it would cost in the neighborhood of $100-$200 per tree to have proffessional trimed, maybe less in your area.

You could choose just the hazardous trees for now, then do the rest later. Think about what the trees are worth to you, that may help you decide which trees to trim.

You might save money by hiring by the hour, and then be around to supervise. Point out the bigger limbs and let the smaller ones go.

 

[Goin]

These trees could be around for a long time, even after your financial situation has improved. A poor decision now could haunt you for years and end up costing you more in the long run.

Consider options to lessen the cost of professional care, like Mike suggested, do the priority work now and save the rest for later.

Another option is to have an arborist do the work, and you clean up the mess. This can save you quite a bit because time is money.

 

[FLATFILER]

Hey, I know what your going through. I was faced with the same predicament last year about Christmas time. The Pecans seemed to fix themselves, but the other trees like the silver maples and bradford pears and cottonwoods probably won't. I know it's heartbreaking to look at or even consider, but some trees may have to be removed entirely. Hope your's aren't as bad as mine were. Don't hire just anyone either! These towns were flooded with people who "talked the talk", but didn't........well you know!
Roof repair isn't cheap either!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

first thing is to get them "cleaned up". Maybe remove one or two of the worst.

plant new trees to replace ones in need of future removal.

Work with a reputable local arborist on an inspection and crown restoration schedulal. those limbs that are brken will sprout and may need pruning to select sprouts to take over as good new branches.

I've been in KC for the last week doing the hazard reduction work. The first few weeks will be the most costly due to supply and demand.

Dont let anyone climbe a saveable tree with spikes on their feet!

Some of the work may need to look like a topping job.

 

[kkerrihard]

Thank-you

Gentlemen,
Thank-you for your replies and assistance. I had the loose limbs removed and the breaks cleaned up on five trees for about $600. I am still waiting to see what will survive.

Many replies mentioned planting replacement trees now. Are there any suggestions on what is a good replacement tree for my part of the country? The Bradford pear is popular around here, but unfortunately does not seem to hold up well in the strong winds that we have.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

'Bradford' is a cultivated-variety of callery pear. There are many other cvs that are better in form an disease tolerance.

I think Amilancheir will work for an Oki, but ehn I've never been there.

A good thing to do is go throught he parks and neighborhoods and see what is doing well.