On 8 Jul 2005 10:02:25 -0700, "Scott" wrote:

I just bought a house and among the great trees there is a large pecan
tree with one large dead branch. I have posted a pictu
http://scottmartin.net/temp/2005.07.08-10:52:34.jpg

The limb on the left is completely dead. There are no live branches
coming from it, and fungus is growing on it. It has to come down,
because if it falls, it might take out the fence and my neighbor's
storage shed. My question is, is this tree salvagable without that
limb? It seems to me that without that branch, most of the weight
(two other live branches) will be on the right side of the tree. Will
that be a problem? Will the tree immediately fall over in the other
direction?

If I should cut off the dead branch, where should I cut it? It appears
to be dead all the way to the main trunk, but I can't really be sure
where the line is. Of course, if its length is just cut in half, the
hazard disappears.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has any ideas. This is my first house
and my first gardening endeavour, so I will probably be in here a lot.

This is a huge endeavor for a first! I am not sure you realize how
heavy that limb is. It can be hundreds of pounds of gangly, dead
weight. I strongly urge you to call an arborist who will give you
specific advice. You may have a County Extension Agent who
specializes in arboriculture, if so he or she may diagnose and make
recommendations for this tree. It absolutely can be saved, but you
are going to have to give it support on the side with the live growth.

I really don't think you should go at it without consulting an
arborist.

Victoria