Hello arborist community! I come to you seeking thoughts on a large red oak tree (48” DBH) in our backyard. We have gotten a few opinions including one “risk assessment” (non TRAQ certified) that gave a strong recommendation to remove. We’ve since had a few companies come by for estimates (removal would be quite costly, definitely wanted to shop a bit), but none of them seemed to feel as strongly that the tree was in that bad of shape. One guy happened to be TRAQ certified and although he wasn’t there to do a full assessment actually asked to see the report we got, and after reviewing it said pretty firmly that he disagreed. A guy from one of the other companies similarly said that he did not see notable structural risks, just a normal level of dieback for a tree this size/age, and said that he did not believe a permit to remove would be approved by our local authorities.
The cost isn’t really our concern here, if it needs to come down we will take it down, but it is a beautiful tree and the only source of shade in the yard. If trimming now and proper maintenance/care going forward will be enough to keep it a while longer, we would love to.
On the chance that the tree completely failed, it would be very likely to hit one of a few houses given its location/proximity, and it would likely do significant/severe damage. I’m inclined to believe based on everything I’ve been told that a full uprooting is remarkably unlikely. There are limbs that extend over our roof and in the vicinity of neighbors garages/near their houses that would probably be more likely to fail, but I imagine those would be the first things we would trim.
Overall, we are feeling a little lost here with the conflicting info we have received. Happy to provide any additional info needed, and of course I know that you can only judge so much by pictures. Thank you!
by kmart796
8 Comments
It appears to be winning at the game of life. That’s an old beefy thing. Some companies probably drool over the idea of selling you on a removal job because that’s a lot of tree remove. Plus if they get to keep the wood they can sell oak wood for a pretty penny. That said all trees die and even healthy trees can fall. But my understanding is that even when an oak dies (this one is not close to dying IMO) it tends to stand upright for quite sometime and just become a castle for wildlife. I don’t know red oaks all that well so maybe someone else can chime in.
I’m sure it didn’t appreciate being damn near girdled by whoever cut the vines. Looks to be a healthy tree though.
Now THAT is a red oak. I’ve only ever seen one that big in the forest! Even then the really big ones are rare since they haven’t reached old growth size yet. Definitely an awesome tree to have.
Tree looks great. It will provide shade, beauty, and wildlife habitat for many many years to come if left standing. The only pruning that could be considered would be removing dead branches if there’s a structure under the tree that might get hit.
That is a beautiful tree.
Are you supposed to fully remove the vines or is the risk of accidentally removing some of the bark too high?
I don’t see any sign whatsoever that points to this needing a removal and I would also be very curious to see the assessment report. If you had a TRAQ arborist disagreeing with it I’d be inclined to trust that.
But it is a huge tree and if i were you I wouldn’t trust online comments. If you are really unsure if might be worth it getting a second assessment by a TRAQ arborist
Majestic af