The top of the oak tree in front of my house fell victim to the ice storm.
It lost four huge branches, including the leader and is now very lopsided.
Can this tree be saved or would we be asking for trouble in the future?

Pictures are at: http://home.nc.rr.com/gillcoat/tree.htm

Thanks...Emily

Can this tree be saved ...

There's a good article on page 21A in today's News & Observer titled Saving
Your Trees. I think your oak is a goner. Sorry.

Daniel B. Martin

The only thing that your tree needs to be saved from is men with
chainsaws! If you leave it alone here is what will likely happen:
Next spring the remaining branches will leaf out as usual, using the
energy stored in the roots and trunk. In addition, lots of new
branches will sprout from beneath the broken areas. Pretty soon the
whole tree will be covered with green leaves again and growing
happily. Much of the new growth will be weakly attached and should be
thinned in a year or two, but even if you don't, some future storm
will thin it for you and all you will have to do is pick up small
fallen branches. Some hollows (think 'wildlife shelters') may develop
from the the broken areas.

I know this isn't the common wisdom, but I think it is correct. Tree
care 'experts' are going to say to remove the tree for a variety of
technical reasons, but it is really an ethical and esthetic decision,
a question of values, more than a tree care question. These guys are
taught to remove trees, and are paid to remove trees. The level of
analysis you will get is "It's broken, you need to cut it down". Your
tree is alive. It doesn't look like it is in danger of falling or a
real threat to anything. Leave it alone. If possible, hire someone
to thin it in a couple of years. This will save you the cost of
removing it now and reduce costs in the long run.

Your tree is still beautiful, but now it has the craggy look of a
heroic survivor. I hope that you will allow it to re-crown itself.


Below is a 'Letter to the Editor' I sent to the N&O and Chapel Hill
News today. I wish it was better but hope they will publish it anyway.

Leave That Tree Alone

As I sit here in my cold, dark apartment, listening to the periodic
rifle shot of another great bough breaking from another great tree, I
am
filled with foreboding for the future of our urban forest. Please DO
NOT cut down trees just because the were damaged in this week's ice
storm!

With this ice storm Nature has provided an enormous service to our
urban
canopy. The structure of many trees has been strengthened by the
removal of poorly attached limbs and the shortening of overburdened
branches. The landscape has now been shaped to better withstand
future
storms.

I know there will be a rush to cut down trees that lost limbs in an
attempt to ward off future damage, but in most cases this is simply
not
appropriate. Unless your tree is now terribly lopsided, with the
overweighted side threatening a structure, roadway, or power line, it
is
probably better left alone. You now have a sturdy, healthy tree. If
you
take it out and replace it you will be paying money to replace
something
of great value with something that will take years to establish and
become drought tolerant, if it adapts to the site and survives at all.

The canopy of our forested neighborhoods is evolving towards an
equilibrium. Moving things further from that equilibrium will cause
more troubles down the line, not fewer. Unleash the chainsaws only on
fallen wood.

I agree. Your tree will probably be fine. Some trees, if they are
shattered really badly will fade and die in a few years, but there is
really no reason not to let your oak come back this spring, and see
how it does. It very likely will do just fine. Take a walk through
some wild woods sometime. You'll see a lot of old trees that have had
their tops knocked out in years past and lived to put out new growth.

I would take care of the fallen branches and just see what the tree does next
year. I had many trees looking like yours following Fran and we decided to let
them stay (we had plenty of work with the trees that were totally uprooted or
broken off about five feet high!) Those Fran damaged trees were sparse the
first spring but have gradually improved in the past five years. Even if you
wind up losing the tree eventually, it will stil provide a haven for the birds
and other wildlife. As long as it is not a threat to life and property, let it
be and allow nature to do its thing.

"Marcy Hege" wrote in message
...
I would take care of the fallen branches and just see what the tree does
next
year. I had many trees looking like yours following Fran and we decided to
let
them stay (we had plenty of work with the trees that were totally uprooted
or
broken off about five feet high!) Those Fran damaged trees were sparse the
first spring but have gradually improved in the past five years. Even if
you
wind up losing the tree eventually, it will stil provide a haven for the
birds
and other wildlife. As long as it is not a threat to life and property,
let it
be and allow nature to do its thing.

Yep, I agree with what's already been said about saving your large trees.
In my experience, if half of the tree's branches remain then we can count on
it recovering, especially if most of the damage is in the interior of the
top. To give it/them a better advantage, you may want to water it during
the dry spells of summer.
Good luck,
Jeny

"Raleighgirl" wrote in message
om...


Yep, I agree with what's already been said about saving your large trees.
In my experience, if half of the tree's branches remain then we can count
on
it recovering, especially if most of the damage is in the interior of the
top. To give it/them a better advantage, you may want to water it during
the dry spells of summer.
Good luck,
Jeny



My original post is a moot point now. By Sunday, my huge oak had lost over
75% of its branches so we are taking it down. I can only guess that it was
weakened by the drought since most oaks did not have such extensive damage.

On a silver lining note...now that my yard will get some sun, maybe I will
be able to grow a decent tomato.

Emily

I hope you will be able to use it for heat, or give it away.
It's tragic what nice wood id dumped. The brilliant public servants who run
the Orange County Landfill won't let anyone take firewood either, so you
have to recycle it from your yard.

Wilson


"Emily G." wrote in message
news

"Raleighgirl" wrote in message
om...


Yep, I agree with what's already been said about saving your large
trees.
In my experience, if half of the tree's branches remain then we can
count
on
it recovering, especially if most of the damage is in the interior of
the
top. To give it/them a better advantage, you may want to water it
during
the dry spells of summer.
Good luck,
Jeny



My original post is a moot point now. By Sunday, my huge oak had lost
over
75% of its branches so we are taking it down. I can only guess that it
was
weakened by the drought since most oaks did not have such extensive
damage.

On a silver lining note...now that my yard will get some sun, maybe I will
be able to grow a decent tomato.

Emily

Wilson,

You have a valid point about potential firewood being wasted, however I
suggest that people not familiar with firewood should be careful about what
they save. For example, in my "neck of the woods" (Wake County just outside
Raleigh city limits), nearly all the downed trees are pine trees. In my
experience (admittedly as a Yankee from PA who found herself dealing with a
woodstove in VT), pine is good for kindling, but it is not what you want to
burn on a regular basis.

OTOH, what do I know -- when my mover asked if I wanted to pay to move
some of our well-seasoned maple firewood down here from VT, I was dumb
enough to say no -- in retrospect, I could probably have sold the stuff
and made a tidy profit, even after the moving expenses.

Back to my point -- be careful what you use.

And, Wilson, as for the guys at the Orange County landfill -- they might
just be saving some of us from the rest of us!!! Although I can't remember
the exact details of a particular trip (down South from Vermont), I do
recall seeing guys filling up the trunk of a Caddie with pieces of trees
that had been felled *because of insect/disease,* and I still regret that I
did not report them, just because I was fairly certain that they would not
show up in my own home state.

Now, if any of you lost maple trees, give me a call at 919-266-7592, and I
WILL make arrangements to take it off your hands!

Sorry, I digress, but as you know, I tend to do that,

Anne Lurie


"Wilson Lamb" wrote in message
...
I hope you will be able to use it for heat, or give it away.
It's tragic what nice wood id dumped. The brilliant public servants who
run
the Orange County Landfill won't let anyone take firewood either, so you
have to recycle it from your yard.

Wilson


"Emily G." wrote in message
news

"Raleighgirl" wrote in message
om...


Yep, I agree with what's already been said about saving your large
trees.
In my experience, if half of the tree's branches remain then we can
count
on
it recovering, especially if most of the damage is in the interior of
the
top. To give it/them a better advantage, you may want to water it
during
the dry spells of summer.
Good luck,
Jeny



My original post is a moot point now. By Sunday, my huge oak had lost
over
75% of its branches so we are taking it down. I can only guess that it
was
weakened by the drought since most oaks did not have such extensive
damage.

On a silver lining note...now that my yard will get some sun, maybe I
will
be able to grow a decent tomato.

Emily