Question about that maple that split right down the middle last week

I had a mature silver maple come apart during a storm last Tuesday. The whole crotch split open about 8 feet up and dropped a 15 foot limb onto my client's driveway. I had to cable it back together with a 3/8 inch steel core rope and install a bolt through the trunk to stop the crack from spreading. Has anyone else dealt with a maple that just decides to explode like that without any rot inside?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_brown1011d ago

Had a silver maple do the exact same thing about 3 years ago. Clean split right down the middle with no rot at all, just bad crotch angle. I ended up doing what you did with the cable and bolt, but I also took off about 30 percent of the canopy on the heavy side to balance it out a bit. That tree is still standing and hasn't given me any trouble since. Just make sure that bolt is sized right for the trunk diameter, a lot of guys go too short and it pulls through.

shane_fisher3710d ago

Yeah exactly @mila_brown10 hit it on the head with the canopy reduction too. Same thing happened with a red oak at my old place, bolted it up and trimmed the lopsided side by a third. Still holding fine five years later. That bolt size thing is no joke too, learned that the hard way with a poplar that pulled right out.