Water Oak cracked bark question

[KNG]

I have what I'm pretty sure are two 30-35 year old water oaks planted pretty close to my house. I live in north Alabama, and the soil is on the clay/loam side, I would say. As far as I can tell they are healthy, but last summer I noticed a crack in the bark of one of the limbs. It appears to have remained unchanged, neither increasing nor healing in nature.

How concerned should I be about this? I plan to be in the house less than two more years, what action, if any, would you take?

Thanks in advanced!
-Kyle

Picture showing location of branch in question:



Picture from 30 July 2023:



Picture from 26 October 2023



Picture from 21 March 2024:

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Trees are a lot heavier than they look and it looks like about half that tree is over the roof.
I'm not an arborist, I'm a homeowner. If that were my house I would have had it removed a long time ago.
Will the tree ever damage the house? Who can say.

PS It's already dropping limbs on the roof. And the same advice goes for the tree at the front corner of the house, too.

 

[Jed1124]

The attachment point for the leader looks good. I would think failure could be mitigated with proper end weight reduction pruning and possibly some supplemental support in the form of bracing and cabling. But, as always, pictures do not tell the whole story.

 

[Seachaser]

When it falls, where is it headed? And it will fall eventually.

 

[Howsitgoineh]

I agree with attempting to prune for weight reduction. It's a nice tree and I always like to try and preserve big oaks when possible.

With that though, from what I can tell in the photos, the crack appears to be a split in that lead. So weight reduction may save that portion of the tree but it is hard to tell without seeing it in person. Either way, as stated above, it will eventually fail if not addressed

 

[KNG]

I greatly appreciate everyone's advice! If I had it to do over again I would have cut both of these down 20 years ago when I first moved in the house, but sure do love the shade that they've provided. It definitely grew a lot in our "five year house"...

Is the consensus to provide weight reduction for just this limb? Are we talking about half of what's above the crack, or something different?

We're close to breaking ground on a new house, so that's why I'm expecting to be out in one to two years. (And there won't be a tree anywhere close to the new house!)

Thanks!
-Kyle

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I greatly appreciate everyone's advice! If I had it to do over again I would have cut both of these down 20 years ago when I first moved in the house, but sure do love the shade that they've provided. It definitely grew a lot in our "five year house"...

Is the consensus to provide weight reduction for just this limb? Are we talking about half of what's above the crack, or something different?

We're close to breaking ground on a new house, so that's why I'm expecting to be out in one to two years. (And there won't be a tree anywhere close to the new house!)

Thanks!
-Kyle

Why not talk to a local realtor and an arborist about them?
Those trees may add to the value of the property, then again they may be considered a liability.
Best to have a professional come and take a look.

 

[Jed1124]

Is the consensus to provide weight reduction for just this limb? Are we talking about half of what's above the crack, or something different?

Weight reduction includes removing and reducing branches out on the tips or end of the leader. Reductions are usually specified to be no greater than 4" in diameter.

If you have a 2 year window before leaving the home that would be the most cost effective way to mitigate the issue. I would think living in Alabama the tree is greatly reducing the cooling costs in the summer, so I would consider it an asset.

Beware of tree services that only sell removals. They have a tendency to turn a $750 prune job into a 4k removal. Look for someone who specializes in preservation.

Once a qualified person is on site they can give you much more information than a forum can from pictures.

 

[KNG]

Thanks for everyone's helpful and consistent comments! I spoke with an arborist yesterday on the phone who was pretty consistent with your recommendations as well. His schedule was very booked, but he recommended me two arborist who also do trimming, so I'll be scheduling an appointment with them soon, to have them take a look in person.