Maple knot hole risk and how to fix?

[arboristman]

still looking for a pic of a leaf.this will show if its a red or sugar maple.
the sugar being much stronger.
if she is a sugar(or black) maple, then that tree is VERY strong.and a cable installed now,will yeild results your grand children will see.i work with red and sugar maples all the time.we need a pic of the leaf buddy.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

still looking for a pic of a leaf.this will show if its a red or sugar maple.
the sugar being much stronger.
if she is a sugar(or black) maple, then that tree is VERY strong.and a cable installed now,will yeild results your grand children will see.i work with red and sugar maples all the time.we need a pic of the leaf buddy.

It looks like it might be a Red Maple to me...

 

[keithonline]

Leaf Pic

I'll get a picture of a leaf and send it soon. I recall the leaf was generally 3 "pronged", with the "stems" in the leaf coming down to the apex in the bottom. 3 main "stems" with no major forks coming off these "stems" to the side lobes.

I apologize for butchering the tree anatomy. I'll shut up now and go get a picture.

Keith

 

[keithonline]

Tree identification from leaf

Here's a couple pictures of the leaf. I'm still curious why you wouldn't want to fill it, especially if rotting is an aerobic process, and this would help keep out air (and water).

Thanks for the input. This is actually the best Q&A site I've found so far.

Keith

 

[whitenack]

Red maple of some sort, I believe.

Thanks for the input. This is actually the best Q&A site I've found so far.

You can quit looking, because this is the best site you will ever find. And I say that as a Homeowner, I'm not an arborist.

 

[treeseer]

are those leaves from the bottom of the tree? that would explain the lack of lobes. hard to id that way, tho it does look more like a red than a sugar.

Get an arborist on site!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Here's a couple pictures of the leaf. I'm still curious why you wouldn't want to fill it, especially if rotting is an aerobic process, and this would help keep out air (and water).

Thanks for the input. This is actually the best Q&A site I've found so far.

Keith

That is a Red Maple, Acer rubrum.
Tree cavity filling seems like an excellent idea to non-arborists and even some arborists, because thats what dentists do to our teeth and it helps us, so it seems to follow that it would work for wood too.
But the fact is, wood is less like teeth and more like bone or even muscle.
Much of it is alive and reactive. When it is injured, it sets up walls in all directions, to stop decay advancement. It abandons a compartment of wood and sets up four physical/chemical walls around it. Animals, ants, decay fungi, can all have at it in that abandoned area of wood, and the tree can stand strong.
Google "CODIT" for about 10 million hits on the subject.
Because the reaction to the injury is part of a living process, tree health and vigor is much more important than what's going on inside that abandoned area of wood.
Imagine if you were to encounter two individuals, a 20 year old, athletic, football player, and a feeble 90 year old, 3 pack a day smoker. Now, give each one a swift kick in the ribs.
Like humans, how trees react to injury is very much based on their age and health at the time of the injury, as well as the care they receive after.

 

[Dadatwins]

That is a Red Maple, Acer rubrum.
Tree cavity filling seems like an excellent idea to non-arborists and even some arborists, because thats what dentists do to our teeth and it helps us, so it seems to follow that it would work for wood too.

I would only suggest filling the cavity with some foam to try to keep water out of the hole and it becoming a mosquito nesting area. Filling might also stop any furry rodents from taking up residence in the hole, some folks prefer the fuzzy rodents nest somewhere else, others don't care. Filling done more for asthetics than anything else. Before doing it, it must be made clear that it offers NO additional support to the tree and probably will not stop the decay process since I doubt you can fill any hole enough to completely seal it. As for it being a red maple, all the more reason to get someone to check the tree, red maple weaker wood than sugar.