Is my red maple dying?

7 years ago

I bought a 1940’s house 5 years ago with a huge red maple in the front yard. I noticed the bark was damages on a section of the bottom and had fallen off and left just the smooth wood. A tree company in the area said maybe a previous owner backed into the tree 15+ years ago when installing the landscaping around the tree. This year I’m noticing a white/gray fungus type growth in the damaged area. Is my tree dying? Is there a way to treat this sick part of the tree and protect it? My entire front yard shade garden depends on this maple and it would devastate me to lose it.

More pictures in comments.

Featured Answer

User

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Just looking at that bottom picture, the tree could've had a problem with a circling root, early in it's life and as the tree grew, it killed part of the trees root system.

But whatever the cause, the tree is in the process of encapsulating the open wound. It's the way trees deal with damage. Eventually it will close further and look more like the tree in the back ground of picture #2.

The mold you see is natures way of decomposing wood that is already dead and is not the cause of the problem and will only affect the dead wood. This is where hollow trees come from and the tree could be fine for many years to come. Of coarse this all could eventually weaken the tree, causing it to break off someday, in a strong storm.

The lifespan of Acer rubrum (red maple) is 80-100 years. I have no idea how old yours is and looks can vary depending on location, length of season, soil and moisture availability , but yours appears to be fairly mature.

Being the tree means a lot to you, the best idea I can think of, is to get an ISA arborist out there to age the tree and assess it's health. That will give you a better idea of what your options are.

Depending on the prognosis and how long you plan to live there, one idea would be to plant a replacement tree in an area near by, so down the road, you'd have a good start going when the other tree fails and has to be removed.

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Comments (7)

CatsCoffeePlants (Zone 5B)
Original Author
7 years ago
bengz6westmd
7 years ago
Fungus may be living on just the dead wood. Still, I'd get a stick or something & dig out all loose material (avoid living tissue like the visible callous tissue) & perhaps take a high-pressure water hose to finish up. Bottom line is dead stuff needs removing and the wound exposed to air & sun to stay as dry as possible.
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tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
7 years ago
The way that included bark runs up the tree you may want to get a ladder and see what is happening in that crotch above.

tj
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
in tree time.. we really cant say when it will happen ... but in reality ... the tree is rotting from the outside in .... and yes.. it is dying ...

ii bet its been there since the house was built in the 40s ... or so ... its probably near the end of its life cycle ... and will eventually fail .. though again.. in tree time.. that could be another decade or two .. who knows ... [btw.. how did you ID it ... not that it matters whether it is not a red maple]

it is probably worth the investment.. to pay to have a certified arborist visit and give you an opinion on its health ... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=isa+certified+arborist&t=ffcm&ia=web

imo ... there is nothing you can do about it ...

in my world.. warped as it is.. there is only one question ... if it falls.. will it fall on your house ... and if gravity dictates it will ... i might skip the expert opinion.. and remove it.. and start the cycle again ... but then.. i am a worrier ... at lest your is further from the house.. than the neighbor a little further down ...

again ... if the equation is protecting my house.. and my family ... vs removing a tree ... the tree loses every time ...i can plant new ones ..

ken
CatsCoffeePlants (Zone 5B) thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
CatsCoffeePlants (Zone 5B)
Original Author
7 years ago
We will only be in this house another 10 years maximum. Ideally, 5 years. I absolutely love the house and have done a ton of work to it since I bought it, so leaving makes be sad. I recently got engaged and it’s a small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. Fine for 2 people, but would feel a bit small with a couple kids. As long as the tree hangs on for a bit longer...

And Ken, the red maple is a guess, based on the fact that it leafs out later than all of the other maple trees in the neighborhood, and it’s the first to turn bright red in the fall.

The base of the tree is about 25-30’ from the closest point of the house.
User
7 years ago
Growing up, we had a similar tree, perfectly healthy (45-50ish yo) growing in the back yard, 25' from the house. One day a straight line wind came through (80 mph iirc). All the branches ended up in the neighbors yard. Didn't cause a whole lot of damage and the trunk held up fine. All that was standing was about 12' of trunk and a few stubs where the crotches for the tops of the tree began.

An Arborist could also identify the tree to apply the correct lifespan. There's probably no immediate danger but if a storm comes through, all bets are off.