Bought a house last year with this large mature silver maple. Previous owners attached a spot light and there’s a random wire on the tree as well that I can’t remove without causing more damage. My concern is where a large branch (part of the trunk?) must have broken off. There is some rotted wood and it sometimes collects water but not much. We love this tree and want to keep it healthy but we are concerned about this area. Is this something to be concerned about? Should I call a local arborist to take a look?
by OkSympathy26
1 Comment
Yes, I highly highly highly recommend you call an arborist to do an in person inspection. Even better if they’re TRAQ, tree risk assessment qualified. For a silver, that tree has pretty good structure other than the rot spot. Unfortunately, wood is stronger in compression than tension, so the spot being towards what I assume is your house on the edge of the picture would make me very uncomfortable in your shoes. I love silvers but they’re weak wooded and prone to codominant stems, which is exactly what that spot used to be.