Our beautiful redwood tree lost two leaders!

[sas97415]

Hello,
We have two magnificent redwood trees gracing our backyard. Unfortunately, during a recent windstorm, one of them lost two of its main branches (leaders), leaving only one intact. Is there a chance we can save this tree? Thank you for your time.

 

[BeatCJ]

Your best bet is to just leave it alone if you want to keep the tree. Looking at your second photo of the remaining tree, I would be concerned about it's overall health, what appear to be seams of pitch and the general texture of the bark make me concerned it may be diseased. You might want to get someone to examine it. I am not particularly familiar with redwood. It could all be the result of mechanical surface damage and I'm over-reacting.

Multiple leaders are not real common in redwood, so something may have happened to the tree in the past that created all of that response.

 

[sas97415]

Your best bet is to just leave it alone if you want to keep the tree. Looking at your second photo of the remaining tree, I would be concerned about it's overall health, what appear to be seams of pitch and the general texture of the bark make me concerned it may be diseased. You might want to get someone to examine it. I am not particularly familiar with redwood. It could all be the result of mechanical surface damage and I'm over-reacting.

Multiple leaders are not real common in redwood, so something may have happened to the tree in the past that created all of that response.

BeatCJ,
I appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

 

[Jed1124]

My job is to preserve trees. I always look for an avenue for preservation, often I am called in when another "arborist" has recommended removal.
The limbs failed due to included bark at the attachment points and was then loaded by wind or snow. (Edit) I re read you op and see it happened after a windstorm.
Unfortunately, this tree should be removed as the wounds are too large to compartmentalize and will become a bigger problem down the road.

 

[BeatCJ]

@Jed1124 is probably right, but I wasn't willing to make that judgement from a photo on the internet. What he said about the large wounds is accurate. I had a large Coast Redwood that had been planted near one of my buildings at work (planted before we purchased the property or built the building). It was one with numerous vertical leaders, sprouting from several levels on the trunk. One of those came off in a windstorm and skewered a hole into our roof. We were lucky and the hole was halfway between two trusses and there was no damage to our roof structure. We first saw it because there was about a foot of "branch" sticking out of the ceiling in our unattended storage building. While the bark looked normal, we decided the risk to our building was not worth us keeping the tree.

 

[sas97415]

Thank you everyone for your assistance. I'm truly grateful that this tree didn't harm my family during that windy morning. Purchasing this home last summer, I immediately developed a fondness for this tree. It saddens me deeply that we must now remove it. The bids for removal vary significantly in price. 4k-8k

 

[Jed1124]

Thank you everyone for your assistance. I'm truly grateful that this tree didn't harm my family during that windy morning. Purchasing this home last summer, I immediately developed a fondness for this tree. It saddens me deeply that we must now remove it. The bids for removal vary significantly in price. 4k-8k

Just make sure whoever you chose provides you with a certificate of insurance.