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Sean Freeman · 22nd March 2008, 06:06 PM

I have very limited experience with silver maple, so will defer to the US guys on the tolerances of this species....however some points that apply to all species....

Hard to judge from the pics (which are nice, kind of hot and humid here...snow is good to look at!) just how large the injury is in relation to the stem, all pruning represents an injury to the tree impacted how much of an impact the specific pruning has on the tree depends on the age, health, and genetic tolerances of the tree. But first.......
If you have serious concerns you need to have someone come by and look at your trees on site....in fact if they are of any real size I would strongly advise that anyway $100/200 is a small amount to pay for peace of mind for the next 12/24 months.

The wound on your tree indicates the cut was made too close to the stem....flush in fact, the tree is struggling to close the wound..occlude, this places added stress on the tree and leaves an opportunity for other nasties insect and fungal to establish a foothold, but a healthy undermature tree will have little problem dealing with this type of injury.

The decay you can see may well (i would expect it to) extend further into the stem tissues of the trunk, however the amount of woundwood development (dounut shaped edges to the injury) seems normal. Again the consequences of the injury are to increase stresses on the tree, but a healthy tree with good soil and root environment can deal with these pressures.

The single most important aspect of your tree is the soil and the roots that grow there, so long as your tree has not had excessive cutting of live foliage from its canopy, that the limb removed did not represent more than 20% of the live tree at the time of removal, and there are not serious pest and pathogen problems in your area...I would expect a healthy undermature tree to deal with this type of injury adequately...yes it will have an impact, the tree will have the physical results of the injury for the rest of its life, and it will have shortened its expected lifespan to some degree.

My advice is as follows...

Do NOT drain the water from the injury and decay site, water in the hollow is aiding the defences of the tree, fungal pathogens do not thrive in saturated wood tissues, they require oxygen.

Do NOT paint the injury site...wound paints do nothing proven to aid in the defence mechanisms of the tree, in fact there is substantial evidence that the opposite is true.

DO ensure the soil and root volume around the base of the trees reaching out as far as possible (literally as far as you can) is free of competing plants, sealed surfaces such as bitumen, not compacted by vehicle or foot traffic, is mulched with well composted forest wood chips....healthy soil and root environment = Healthy trees.

22nd March 2008, 06:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
Sean Freeman PDF King & Arborist Extrodinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 1,735	Re: Rotting Silver maple. I have very limited experience with silver maple, so will defer to the US guys on the tolerances of this species....however some points that apply to all species.... Hard to judge from the pics (which are nice, kind of hot and humid here...snow is good to look at!) just how large the injury is in relation to the stem, all pruning represents an injury to the tree impacted how much of an impact the specific pruning has on the tree depends on the age, health, and genetic tolerances of the tree. But first....... If you have serious concerns you need to have someone come by and look at your trees on site....in fact if they are of any real size I would strongly advise that anyway $100/200 is a small amount to pay for peace of mind for the next 12/24 months. The wound on your tree indicates the cut was made too close to the stem....flush in fact, the tree is struggling to close the wound..occlude, this places added stress on the tree and leaves an opportunity for other nasties insect and fungal to establish a foothold, but a healthy undermature tree will have little problem dealing with this type of injury. The decay you can see may well (i would expect it to) extend further into the stem tissues of the trunk, however the amount of woundwood development (dounut shaped edges to the injury) seems normal. Again the consequences of the injury are to increase stresses on the tree, but a healthy tree with good soil and root environment can deal with these pressures. The single most important aspect of your tree is the soil and the roots that grow there, so long as your tree has not had excessive cutting of live foliage from its canopy, that the limb removed did not represent more than 20% of the live tree at the time of removal, and there are not serious pest and pathogen problems in your area...I would expect a healthy undermature tree to deal with this type of injury adequately...yes it will have an impact, the tree will have the physical results of the injury for the rest of its life, and it will have shortened its expected lifespan to some degree. My advice is as follows... Do NOT drain the water from the injury and decay site, water in the hollow is aiding the defences of the tree, fungal pathogens do not thrive in saturated wood tissues, they require oxygen. Do NOT paint the injury site...wound paints do nothing proven to aid in the defence mechanisms of the tree, in fact there is substantial evidence that the opposite is true. DO ensure the soil and root volume around the base of the trees reaching out as far as possible (literally as far as you can) is free of competing plants, sealed surfaces such as bitumen, not compacted by vehicle or foot traffic, is mulched with well composted forest wood chips....healthy soil and root environment = Healthy trees. __________________ Sean Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness. - Kahlil Gibran