Had to decide between a full removal or a risky crown reduction on a big silver maple

The tree was over a garage in Cincinnati, and the owner wanted to save it but the decay was bad. I went with the reduction, using a Silky Zubat for the fine cuts, and it held through a storm last week. What's your rule for when a reduction is just pushing your luck too far?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam_robinson2d ago

That decay over a garage is the line for me... if it's holding up a big target, the reduction's luck just ran out.

leow902d ago

Yeah, "holding up a big target" is exactly it. That garage changes the whole math. My rule is if a major failure would hit a structure or a place people always are, the risk is too high. A reduction just buys a little time, it doesn't fix the decay. At that point you're not saving the tree, you're just hoping it falls somewhere else.

tara7452d ago

What about the soil around the roots? If that garage changed the drainage and the root zone is compromised, like @leow90 said about the target, then a crown reduction is just trimming a sinking ship. I've seen trees with bad decay hold until a wet season loosens everything.