Ugh... Tree rot. :(

DH and I are having a difference of opinion because of one of the big trees in our yard.  When we bought the house; the trees were one thing that really attracted us to the property.  The house was brand new but the builder had taken pains to leave the mature trees in tact.  Within a year it was clear the pine trees that bordered one side of the property were dying. And quickly!  One came down on the garage during a blizzard; fortunately it caused no damage to the house.

So the problem tree now is the silver maple that shades the front yard.  The property came with 3 silver maples.  2 are full grown and about 25 years old according to the Arborist who has come to look at it several times.  We had the trees pruned the first year we were here.  When I take my kids outside; I generally stay under the big silver maple in the backyard.  It is significantly cooler under the tree!!  The tree in the back has always looked a bit healthier.  Probably because we have a septic system and it gets some water from that.  Our property is extremely sandy!  So water and nutrients run right out of it.  The Arborist has fertilized our trees in the past and recommended we fertilize ourselves regularly.  I won't water because we are on a well.  That tree in the front yard shades the west facing side of my home.  It gets very hot here and when the leaves are down that side of the house heats right up.  So I really have appreciated that tree!!  I try to use energy saving measures; like room darkening curtains.  But even the Arborist said that the energy savings for a home shaded by trees is significant.  You can't replace that overnight or even in a few years.  
There are large ants nesting in there too.  We still have not found the bottom of the rot and you can see it goes upwards as well.  There is another limb that has some rot; but it's not in a position where it is a danger to our house.  This one is.  Because silver maples have multiple trunks; they are more prone to splitting. Or so I've read.  This rot affects about 1/4 of the tree; the picture doesn't give a good perspective of the size of it. The Arborist said that big limbs like this can look healthy but be hollow inside and come down in a storm; even though they look ok.  This tree does look healthy enough; even if the leaves are thinner on it.  

So it's looking like we don't have any other option but to remove it.  Removing this big section of the tree would only buy us a few years before that even larger wound is rotting.  I'm not happy.  Not happy at all!! 

DH has gotten some quotes and negotiated the charge down to a less painful amount by only having the actual cutting down done by a tree company.  The one with the best quote said they will cut the larger pieces down into a size that we can split for our wood stove; but the rest of the cleanup is on DH.  That will leave the stump (which I'm fine with) and all the branches and leaves too.  That will likely cover the front yard.  I would rather wait until the leaves come down so we can get the shade for the rest of the summer and we won't have tons of green leaves (and green limbs!) to deal with.  DH wants it down NOW.  The Arborist was not that concerned about the tree falling.  I'm not.  But this is DH's style. Full steam ahead. I'm the one who needs to research all options (I really wanted to save the tree!!) and process it before I make any decisions.  I cried when they pruned the trees because of how much this other tree company took.  Granted I was pregnant and hormonal and I found a birds nest in the yard. But I love these trees.  They make the yard so pleasant.  When I sit out under them I feel content.  It's mostly quiet out here.  I love it.  I'm still working on accepting the need to lose this one.  

DH WILL be planting us a new tree next spring.  Then I just have to be patient for 15-20 years for it to be big enough to shade the front of the house again.   

I'm with you.  I love trees and think they are among the most perfectly beautiful "creatures" in the world, which is only natural I guess because I worked for an arboretum for many years.  We had a tornado come through and destroy some gorgeous mature trees and I grieved about them for a very long time.  So I am very sorry you are losing your tree! 

Margd said:

 
I'm with you.  I love trees and think they are among the most perfectly beautiful "creatures" in the world, which is only natural I guess because I worked for an arboretum for many years.  We had a tornado come through and destroy some gorgeous mature trees and I grieved about them for a very long time.  So I am very sorry you are losing your tree! 

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Thank you.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who grieves for trees!  

Mooch, I don't remember where you live, but here in the northeast has been incredibly dry this summer.  Combined with the harshest winter we'd seen in recent years, many trees and other large bushes are very stressed.  Stress, leads to disease and infestations.  

It's good you have an arborist on board. I've been using one for many years and they certainly have done all they could to take care of the trees most specifically.  I also value them highly. I don't have many on my property as it's fairly small, but I do try and keep those here healthy as possible.  Costs a bunch but it's things we just can't do on our own.

That's quite the wound in your tree - here's hoping it can be salvaged.  It would be a shame to lose such a grand sized one  We lost many that were across the street after Hurricane Sandy - 100 year old trees most likely, which provided massive shade to our west facing front of the house.  Now the house bakes late in the day and is a major cause of higher than necessary a/c bills.

sivyaleah said:

 
Now the house bakes late in the day and is a major cause of higher than necessary a/c bills.

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That was one of my biggest thoughts.  We moved here from a single wide metal sided and roofed trailer that DH bought when he was 20.  We pay less to heat and cool this house than we did when we lived in a metal trailer!  I'm sure it's way better insulated; but still!  Those trees help!  

This spring the trees dropped a lot more seeds than usual and DH noticed that all over the area.  He was talking to the Arborist back then and he told him it was because the trees were stressed in last year's weather.  This year has been worse.  It's so dry my grass is brown and you can tell the leaves do not look as full.  Sandy and Irene also blew through here; so we did well with water.  But being on a sandy property; flooding wasn't an issue.  Thank the Lord!  Some of the streets around us had water.  I saw geese swimming in what was once a farm field that year!  

We planted 3 new trees in our backyard about 3 years ago.  They are already turning color!  I'm looking at them like; do the trees realize it's over 90 degrees outside?    I also planted 2 red bud trees that I got for free as tiny saplings from a home show.  Those are about 2 1/2 - 3' tall now. They were about 12" when i got them.  But they won't be shading the house too much when they are grown; based on where I planted them.  They might eventually block some of the very end of the day sunlight; but that's it.  

The arborist was very helpful.  I do think there are some things just better left to professionals.  In the past we have had them do deep fertilization for the trees.  That was really neat to watch.  All I could think of was those things they use to inject flavors into whole turkeys before roasting.  Except giant sized with a hose attached to a truck.   

Unfortunately the tree is coming down.  DH is just too worried about it.  The drill bit he used to get out a lot of that rot is about 12" long plus the end of the drill and he still hasn't reached much white wood.  The Arborist said a tree can essentially be hollow; while looking healthy on the outside because enough of it is still sending water and nourishment up to the leaves.  And then it comes down suddenly.  He didn't pressure us to take it down; we talked options.  But in the end DH feels this is best.  If it didn't lean toward the house he probably wouldn't worry so much.  So I'm trying to accept it.   And soon we will look into what sort of tree to replant there.  Part of me really wants a couple fruit trees; but that wouldn't work for shade so much.  

Oh geez, I'm sorry. We had two gorgeous silver maples in our side yard that we planted when they were about 3 feet high. That was about 30 years ago. We lost one of them several years ago during a bad blizzard/ice storm that took a huge branch out of the tree. We had to remove the rest of it because the loss of that branch made the tree unsturdy at that point. It broke our hearts. We replaced the silver maple with a small flowering horse chestnut and a flowering crab. They are pretty trees, but they're just not the same.

And it looks like we may be losing our last silver maple. We need to get a tree guy to come and take a look at it. And while he's here, we're going to lose our ash tree, too. That was another 3-foot "stick" that we planted about 30 years ago. The emerald ash-borer got here and it's infected. The only thing left is the tips of the tree that are so high. Everything else is pretty much dead. It's a shame. It was a beautiful tree and gave the back yard, and our small patch of lilies-of-the-valley some much-needed shade. It's going to break our hearts when that tree comes down. I loved that tree.

And we're not young anymore; Rick is 64 and I'm 60. No matter what trees we plant, at this point, we won't be living when they reach full maturity. That hurts, too.

Oy that stinks too Pam.  They are supposed to be here tomorrow to take down the tree.  It took DH 3 weekends to finish cleaning up the tree he took down in the backyard.  Who knows how long this will take!  I'm still not happy about it. But I'm trying to have a better attitude.  For all I know they may open that tree up and find the rot truly is terrible and it was a good decision to take it down.  It's been so dry the leaves are looking thin right now as it is.  It's just such a disappointment.  I'm kind of wishing I could leave while they are here.  But I think I should be around.  Plus I have things to do here. 

I'm not sure what to replace it with.  What is fast growing but sturdy and disease/pestilence resistant?   

Ask them what they recommend for being fast-growers. Better yet, ask them if they'd recommend planting another silver maple. Silver maples are fast-growers, but on the whole, they are not really that sturdy a tree. They are beautiful, though, I love their shape. But they lose limbs easily. I suggest talking to the guys who are coming to look at the tree.

I am going to ask for recommendations.     My front yard and driveway are currently covered with branches.  It's a mess.  I can't get out of the garage that's for sure!  They have all the leaved branches down; but the main trunks still to come down.  I thought they buried my lilac bushes; but I can see one through the branches out a window.  The bushes are tiny; only about 18" and have lost most of their leaves; they are easy to miss.  DH can replant those too next year if need be...  It's just been too dry this year and bunnies have nibbled on them.  But they were gifts from my mom and step-dad the mother's day after my 2nd was born.  

Maybe next spring DH will even consider contacting a landscaping company about getting a tree through them.  I think they can get trees that are more mature than what Lowes has.  Different varieties too.  I've got an 8" sapling growing in my flowers.  Maybe I can transplant it.  it'll be the old tree's decedent.    Some of the nurseries in the area only deal with contractors/landscapers/etc.  

MoochNNoodles said:

 
Thank you.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who grieves for trees!  

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I do also. Trees are so important in so many ways yet so unappreciated by so many. I absolutely hate when trees are chopped down unnecessarily. It makes me very sad how abusive people are to our planet. 

sivyaleah said:

 
Mooch, I don't remember where you live, but here in the northeast has been incredibly dry this summer.  Combined with the harshest winter we'd seen in recent years, many trees and other large bushes are very stressed.  Stress, leads to disease and infestations.  

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Yes, that's the problem we have--dry weather and stressed trees.  We just lost a huge Monterey pine that's been in our front yard since we moved here 20 years ago.  Beetles infested it and it didn't take long at all until it was completely dry and diseased and in danger of going down (smashing power lines as it went and possibly the house below us).  FORTUNATELY it actually sits in the city right of way so they had to pay for the removal.  Whew.  But it was sad to see it go.  We're worried about the one next to it now.  It's starting to get brown, too.

The tree is down and the drive way is clear enough to get in and out.  The rotted area was decent sized and did extend pretty far down into the tree.  I told my kiddos we could go outside and look at the tree once the day cooled down.  A man from our church happened to be driving by when we were outside and he stopped with one of his sons.  He has a few teenage boys at home and he basically volunteered them to help DH with some of the cleanup.  The entire front yard is covered in tree branches and chunks of wood.  Some are pretty big still; so DH will need another set of hands to move them.  There was another; smaller in width, section of the tree that had rot as well.  The whole process was fascinating to my kids.  They were glued to the windows.  Me; it'll take some real getting used to!  DD teared up at first when they started to take it down.  I was with her.  I couldn't get much done till they were done today.

DH was able to find both my lilac bushes. They are surrounded by branches; but not damaged like I was afraid of.  So now it's time to focus on cleanup!  .  And then replanting.  There must be replanting.  It's tempting to put in something that flowers or fruit trees; but I'm pretty sure DH won't want fruit dropping on the ground; so that might not go over well.