what are you doing on the 2nd pic.. drilling, gluing and tying on the part that broke off???

here is my best answer... since prime planting time is coming up in late sept ... go buy a new tree ... and plant it .. and get ahead of the game.. rather than waiting and praying.. that somehow this one will survive with vigor ...

and in a year or two ... get rid of this severely damaged.. injury prone tree ...

otherwise .. just wait and see and see what happens.. nothing can be done.. to force a tree to grow one way or the other ....

how much did the fallen part .. miss the house by???

ken

ps:.. pic of leaf if you want a good ID.. otherwise.. looks a bit like an ash ...

OMG .... there's a tube of caulk there .. isnt there.. and pull ties ... or wait.. liquid nails????

man.. i gotta give you an award for tying...

congrats.. lol .. you made my day ....

ken

Yes, that's one of the highlights of my day too.

My suggestion would be to start looking for sales on trees and choose carefully and make sure your prospect isn't root-bound or dried out in the can.

Dan

the ties are just there temporarily
I used wood adhesive
there are 4 inch nails in there too!

just did it to make the remaining part more stable. Really do not want to
lose this tree. The biggest one, or was anyway, in the back yard.
put a few sugar maples in last fall.

half the tree was lost.
it brushed the house but no damage.

glad to make your day...gotta give it an old college try!!

Get rid of the tree before the other half falls on something, but keep those pictures for the first day of April next year!

It looks like a Green Ash. I also think it should be replaced ASAP. No amount of drilling or gluing will help that tree. Sooner or later the Emerald Ash borer will get it anyway.

BTW, this reminds me not too long ago we had a tree with a trunk with a crotch in about the same place that had included bark with slime flux coming out of it. The pictures in the OP show what happens with typical limbs with included bark - they split out just like this one.

Good firewood, except for all the wasted goop all over it.

Dan

Looks like an ash, and appears to be behaving like one, also. I have a row of green ash trees and several of them have done the same thing yours has done--one side of the tree suddenly breaks off in a wind storm/rain storm/wet snow. For me, it has usually happened higher in the tree.

Anyway, we've made a clean cut where the break is and left the tree alone. Thought some of the trees would have finished splitting to the ground and fallen over since all the weight was on one side of the tree with the other side missing, but none have. I would just watch the trunk flex where the break was with the remaining side pulling away from the rest of the trunk. Over time, they have continued to grow and start shooting out branches into the area where the missing part was--more sun there, and the trunks have repaired/strengthened themselves.

So, I've kind of grown to dislike ash trees since they are so weak wooded, but they can be really attractive when we have a long, mild fall, and they are far enough away from anything precious so they don't damage anything when they break.

Storiesr, i feel for your loss but i would vote for planting a replacement and removing the broken big guy. It just is not going to be any stronger ever.

The tree probably will live and become a greater hazard for the future. EAB is a problem for ash in our areas. Be aware if you have others.

Nails in a tree pose another hazard. Whoever cuts it up with a chainsaw will be risking life and limb if you dont tell them where the nails are. I found one a week back. Thank goodness it only dulled my blade.

The fun part is picking a replacement tree! What do you like?

would you please post us a pic every few months or so.. or when anything happens.. just so we can keep track of the project ...

new things are not discovered by idiots who sit in front of computers.. and dictate what is right or wrong ...

new leaps in theory occur.. by someone who tries something different..

perhaps.. we can learn something new with all this ...

ken

ps: the included nails are a chainsaw nightmare ... do be safe with those ...

BTW, ash wood is used for baseball bats because it is strong and light. Don't blame branch breakage on weak wood.

Dan

Ashes are weak wooded? I've got a large, 60 year old Fraxinus americana that has 4 large codominant trunks - yes it's growing in poor form and it drives me crazy, but talk to the previous owner of the property - many of the mature trees are growing like that. Very poorly trained in youth. Anyway, we just had tropical storm Irene, with some impressive gusts that whipped the tree canopies around, and not a single of the numerous codominant trunks on my trees split, including one on the Ash that looks particularly precarious. I have, however, been cleaning up zillions of smaller sticks and leaves.

I don't think that what's left of the OP's tree looks that bad, but who knows about the split. It's possible that the tree would have repaired some of that split damage on its own, but now it's got all that caulk and nails??? I'm not sure carpentry works on living trees. 8-O

Great. Love the liquid nails. If it were not the only tree in your yard I would say cut it down now. Rather then the glue, drill a couple of holes straight through the trunk and bolt it together, this will not save the tree but may delay the inevitable long enough to let a new tree get to a decent size.
Plant a replacement now and let that thing go as long as it is safe.
When you choose a replacement make sure it is a single stem specimen, the co-leader form of this tree is why the wind broke it.
Baseball bats are made from White Ash, Green ash is a lot softer.
Take heart that though you will loose this tree, your valiant effort with the caulking gun and nails has given some of us a needed chuckle. Thanks.

hey

how about an update...

in inquiring minds want to know ..

pix too!!!

thx

ken

I would have recommended something ridiculous like grafting wax.

Now how to adhere the broken off part... C-Clamps?

I dunno. Would be curious about the update.

hmmm. what's a native fast growing wind-firm tree for the OP?

i seem to remember some mighty tulip trees when i was up there...

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/3624.htm