What type of tree is this and will it be detrimental to remove the inner wrapping limb? Sidewalk/street on other side of fence
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That tree is a mess. How well do you like that particular tree, and how much do you want a shade tree that close to your fence?
The crossing branch might eventually graft the two forks together in a way that will be interesting and beneficial to the obviously weak fork beneath. It might also turn out to be a crowding intrusion that will predict the doom of the tree from enclosed bark and a weak union at the base of a large tree.
Myself, I'd cut it down now. I don't care for the placement location, and I suspect that it might be a Siberian elm, which isn't too desirable a species of tree. It looks like you have a nice magnolia and other landscape plants just to the sunny side (south?) of your problem tree. I'd stick to the plan of keeping the smaller plants going strong, and let that other shade tree in your pictures continue to thrive.
If you like the tree and its location, you could cut it off in the spring after the sap flows and the tree starts leafing out. Leave a clean cut on the stump and don't string-trim the shoots that begin to grow shortly thereafter. After the shoots start growing like weeds from the stump, pick out the very best one and cut off all the rest. Mulch the stump and new shoot, and never, ever damage the tender bark of your replacement tree. Keep pruning that one branch and it will quickly grow into a replacement tree without all the defects. Otherwise, cut it off, and grind the stump. I have re-grown quite a few trees this way, and those tender shoots will become a replacement tree twice as quickly as a transplant tree from the nursery. After all, it has the root system of a 10-20 year old tree, right?
As to what kind of tree that is, I cannot say. It is not an ash or maple, but I can't say much beyond that. You might take a closeup photo of some of the buds on the branch. There are folks on this website that can id a tree just from the buds. I am not one of those people, though. That is a pretty sophisticated plant ID technique, and I never worked that hard at learning all the bud features.
The crossing branch might eventually graft the two forks together in a way that will be interesting and beneficial to the obviously weak fork beneath. It might also turn out to be a crowding intrusion that will predict the doom of the tree from enclosed bark and a weak union at the base of a large tree.
Myself, I'd cut it down now. I don't care for the placement location, and I suspect that it might be a Siberian elm, which isn't too desirable a species of tree. It looks like you have a nice magnolia and other landscape plants just to the sunny side (south?) of your problem tree. I'd stick to the plan of keeping the smaller plants going strong, and let that other shade tree in your pictures continue to thrive.
If you like the tree and its location, you could cut it off in the spring after the sap flows and the tree starts leafing out. Leave a clean cut on the stump and don't string-trim the shoots that begin to grow shortly thereafter. After the shoots start growing like weeds from the stump, pick out the very best one and cut off all the rest. Mulch the stump and new shoot, and never, ever damage the tender bark of your replacement tree. Keep pruning that one branch and it will quickly grow into a replacement tree without all the defects. Otherwise, cut it off, and grind the stump. I have re-grown quite a few trees this way, and those tender shoots will become a replacement tree twice as quickly as a transplant tree from the nursery. After all, it has the root system of a 10-20 year old tree, right?
As to what kind of tree that is, I cannot say. It is not an ash or maple, but I can't say much beyond that. You might take a closeup photo of some of the buds on the branch. There are folks on this website that can id a tree just from the buds. I am not one of those people, though. That is a pretty sophisticated plant ID technique, and I never worked that hard at learning all the bud features.
