This is incredibly sad to see.. The tree used to provide good shade but since one of our roommates went to town on it with a chainsaw this beautiful tree may not make it much longer.
What was supposed to be a minor pruning turned into a devastating mutilation of our tree.
Idk if it will live much longer with the violence it's endured.
What do you think? Is is a gonner or will it recover?
by OLY_SH_T
25 Comments
Idk but you should mutilate your roommate to restore nature’s balance
Man…im and amateur tree-ologist and I can tell you this is bad for the tree.
This is called topping. It’s really bad for trees. Based on the cuts, I’m guessing your roommate doesn’t wear chaps or eye protection
The idea here is that by cutting the top limbs back, you later get sprouts that will come in fuller. This is frequently done to trees like the silver maple pictured here to produce a better form. You obviously need to know what you’re doing beforehand, and I doubt your roommate did. If it makes you feel any better, judging by how the remaining upper branches look, this tree was probably dying before it was mutilated.
I’d say it’s unlikely to kill the tree in the same way as giving someone a good beating that lands them in hospital is unlikely to kill them.
It could die, your roommate is a prick , but it’ll most likely survive.
The butchered it. It won’t die tomorrow, nor will it die this year, nor will it die next year. Will it die prematurely do to these injuries? Yes.
People with more technical botanical knowledge than me, please forgive and correct me if I use any incorrect terms here! I have horticultural experience from working in the field but I don’t want to misinform anyone. Please do add on if you know more of the science behind any of this.
Silver maples can take harsh pruning. They are fast growing trees with weak wood, so they naturally lose branches quite often. Pruning, when done properly, either removes weak or dead branches to help prevent damage to the healthy parts of the tree, or diverts growth in a way that makes the tree grow stronger (or in a less hazardous way, as many trees like silver maple are “topped” to encourage lateral growth instead of upward growth.
Good news is, the tree will survive this. There is still plenty of healthy foliage left on the tree, so it will continue to grow. It will likely send out more new growth along the branches next year in response to the stress from losing much of its canopy. That said, please do consider having the partially cut branches cut back to the collar, because those damaged ends will not be able to heal as well and will allow rot to infiltrate further and weaken the tree, even if more branches grow.
Unfortunately, since this is a silver maple, these trees don’t hold much monetary value and are frowned upon in the horticulture field, so if you seek advice from a tree service, they may just advise you to cut the whole tree down. That said, they would be coming from a place of valid concern if there is a chance of it causing damage to anyone’s property, since silver maples are more susceptible to damage from severe weather (including drought) than many other large trees.
Ask in r/arborists
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Kick him out.
It’s a badly amateur performed coppice. Technically if the wounds don’t become infected and heal over correctly it will spout new shoots next spring. The trees original form is done for though, and the new shoots will look crap with such a badly performed coppice. It’s salvageable, but without proper training and pruning for over a decade, your roommate has simply performed an ecological butchery. Tbh a total twat with too much free time on his hands.
I’ve seen trees recovering from much much worse. But those might have had their wounds treated.
Looks like the thing was on its way out before any cuts were made.
Looks like either that spruce on the left is winning the sun competition, or the silver didn’t have any leaves on the branches in the upper middle of the tree. Not good either way.
There’s wooden planks that have been drilled into the tree, dead branches all around, and sprouts growing at the base. This thing will go to tree hell sooner, rather than later. Hopefully before it falls on that shed on the right.
Roomie made some shit cuts tho
Tree is fine. Shit job, will restore itself.
Did he also nailed step on the tree?
If it’s your house, file suit against your roommate for removal and replacement costs. If it’s your landlord’s tree, have him/her do the same.
Such an ugly thing to do to a tree.
Yikes. But nah, it will be fine *unless it gets infected*. The more wounds to the tree and the larger and more improper the cuts, the more likely it is to get infected. With rains likely in the coming months this is not ideal. That said, it will likely be fine. You could get an arborist to fix the cuts. Make the roommate pay for it
Well, they are definitely going to have to move out.
It’ll live, probably for a number of years, but it’ll never be the same
I’m not an expert but the top of that tree already looks like it’s in bad shape. I can’t imagine the trimming will help
Who in their minds eye thinks “Yeah these cuts will make this nice to look at”????
Man people are weird…
Weird comments on here. Kudos to the roommate for climbing up there with no ladder and probably no pulley system, and for chopping the logs and stacking them nicely. I do think an arbor company needs to do the rest. The top of the tree needs to be trimmed and your roommate might get hurt if they try to cut more of the higher branches.
It looks like the upper branches were already dead before the pruning was done. If so, the tree may have been already on its way out before the damage you noticed.
I worked for the EPA in aborary and I don’t think the tree is dead or a goner.
She will be different. She will have 2 or more leaders now on those branches. Select 1 only for growth, the straightest of them. Trim the others when they are supple and can be pinched.
Wow hack job. Poor tree. But she should live.
Extra water and fert (organic somethings cheap like your neighbors cow shit or something) and keep grass away from her base at least 6 ft out. Giving her TLC will aid her recovery.
It’s hard to see but a tree can easily survive 15 to 20 percent loss, 30 gets tougher. But trees can also grow back from stumps. What really matters is the roots. Roots you can’t fix. If they are choked up from being in a nursery pot at age 1, the will die at age 20 from the damage. So long as her roots are strong she can weather much.