Tree Branch Fell In My Backyard

[George7941]

This big branch on a Maple fell down. It is a massive branch, making up about 40% of the mass of the entire tree.As you can see, it left a gaping wound on the trunk of the tree. Behind my backyard is the subway parking lot and if the wound causes the top of the tree to break off, it is going to fall on to cars in the parking lot.

The base of the tree is about 80% on my property and about 20% on the subway transit commission property.

Will the maple survive with this big wound? I cannot get any better pics because the branch is still caught up on the Bell telephone lines and there is a risk of it coming down.

 

[walterjay]

Maples can take a lot of abuse. That being said, there is a lot of damage there. Only time or an arborist can tell.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

I've never known a limb breaking off to kill a tree, however, in my experience, when a limb breaks off like that, it exposes the remaining limbs to more direct wind and makes it more likely that they will now break off.

 

[hemitom]

most of those big maples rot in the centre .
i have cut a few down that size and they were rotten in the middle almost all the way to the ground.
Very hard to tell because the trees all looked very healthy before cutting. I would suggest you get it looked at

 

[IndyIan]

What kind of maple? My in-laws sugar maples that size seem to keep going after even bigger branch losses than that.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The tree weight is now out of balance. If the ground is wet and there are high winds, the tree could uproot.
Any seasoned tree trimmer can give you options. As @walterjay posted, an arborist can offer good advice.

Call the subway transit company right away. I would at least do a safety trim (balance out the weight and cut back so roots support less overall tree). Good luck. I love trees; sometimes they gotta go.

 

[JTK]

That looks like a very old maple. Like said, the rest of the tree is probably not in great shape due to age, etc. I feel for you. I had an ancient oak tree of similar size that fell over in my front yard last year. It had a rotten spot at it's base that finally caused it to let go on a perfectly still morning no less.

 

[MParr]

Rotten in the center. It needs to be taken down.

 

[nomas]

It's probably going to die a slow death from internal rot . In the meantime it's in danger of more limbs breaking or even uprooting . It needs to go .

 

[CT Rob]

This big branch on a Maple fell down. It is a massive branch, making up about 40% of the mass of the entire tree.As you can see, it left a gaping wound on the trunk of the tree. Behind my backyard is the subway parking lot and if the wound causes the top of the tree to break off, it is going to fall on to cars in the parking lot.

The base of the tree is about 80% on my property and about 20% on the subway transit commission property.

Will the maple survive with this big wound? I cannot get any better pics because the branch is still caught up on the Bell telephone lines and there is a risk of it coming down.
View attachment 118977View attachment 118978

It appears that it broke off because of rot.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Did you call the subway people? They might have their own equipment and crew and just come take care of it given its on the property line. Well, public utilities and the county do stuff like that down here in the South. I realize in a big city it might be more beurocratic.

 

[Dave9]

With that big a wound, it is done for. Maybe not today but eventually it needs to come down, better sooner than later so it is a controlled take-down instead of causing damage.

 

[George7941]

What kind of maple? My in-laws sugar maples that size seem to keep going after even bigger branch losses than that.

Not sure. Someone mentioned a long time ago that it was a Manitoulin maple. Just googled Manitoulin maple and got no hits. Here is a pic of the leaves.

 

[Rand]

Someone mentioned a long time ago that it was a Manitoulin maple.

Manitoba?

 

[George7941]

Did you call the subway people? They might have their own equipment and crew and just come take care of it given its on the property line. Well, public utilities and the county do stuff like that down here in the South. I realize in a big city it might be more beurocratic.

They came and took a look at the tree and never got back to me. I think they feel that the tree is on my property. The chain link fence separating the parking lot from my property is four feet away but the survey I have of my property indicates that the property line goes through the base of the tree. I took another look and in fact 45% of the base is on my property, 40% on the transit property and 15% on my neighbours property.

I am doing the cleanup myself but I have to call in a crane equipped truck to take the tree down. It is leaning over the parking lot. I think I will have to get a surveyor in to verify that it is partly on transit property and deal with the transit people armed with the survey. They should at the very least pay 40% of the cost of taking the tree down.

 

[George7941]

No, Manitoulin. It is a big island on Lake Superior.

 

[doitmyself]

That appears to be a Box Elder maple: https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/03/boxelder-a-tree-by-any-other-name.html
Compound leaf, one of its common names is Manitoba maple.

I mostly consider them as nuisance specie, but they do have some redeeming qualities (I suppose). They tend to be weak and split easily. Definitely not a high value tree. They exist on the same level as mosquitos and flies, IMO. They do serve a purpose in the grand scheme of things.

I cannot tell much at all with your pictures, but for the general audience, trees have a natural mechanism to wall off/compartamentalize wounds and continue living for many years. https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/SP683.pdf

I cannot imagine you need a crane for that (oops, I imagine you just mean an aerial lift). And, to spend thousands on removing a "junk" tree bothers me. Buy me a plane ticket and I will take it down for you "free", LOL.

 

[atikovi]

Similar thing happened 10 years ago here. A 15 inch diameter branch came down in the back yard on to the deck. Took me 3 days to cut up and haul away and cost me about $500 to have the deck railings fixed. 10 years later it's still alive.

 

[wpod]

I would be happy that it didn't fall on the house !

 

[IndyIan]

No, Manitoulin. It is a big island on Lake Superior.

Pretty sure its a Manitoba maple from the leaves. Never seen one that size before though! If you like the tree, it will probably go for quite a few years yet as it seems to be growing a good rate to get to that size. If you don't like it, this is also a good excuse to get rid of it.