Octopus Overlords

This happened to a tree on mah yard. Not sure how, maybe lightning.

I spent a few hours sawing up the fallen portion so it can be hauled away. But can the remainder of the tree regenerate its bark and survive?

For a while, probably.

But I doubt it will ever "recover". That's a lot of damage.

That looks like a lot of damage for the tree to survive. It's an invitation to insects.

No. And I dont see any burn marks from lightning. Probably just the weight of it broke it at the split. Sometimes happens to a split tree.

First good wind storm that comes along is likely to snap the rest of it in half. That is an ex-tree.

I lost half of a bradford pear tree last winter, but the break is much higher and it's recovering.

Also had a maple die after those little green caterpillars stripped its foliage several years in a row. It managed to re-leaf each time, but after all that stress drought finally finished it off.

As long as you don't have to worry where it falls down to you can leave it like that indefinitely.

My step grandson cut down a tree he didn't like in my front yard (bless his heart) and it's growing back from it's stump.

Hard to tell from the angle, but are some of the branches bare?
Any signs of rot?

And living in Chicago, I think that tree is going to have a hard time recovering.

If you'd prefer to save the tree, you should contact a local arborist to find out if there's anything they can do to save it.

I am not an arborist, so grains of salt are advised. But that tree is gone. Not immediately, perhaps, but 100% gone. I lost a tree a couple of years ago in almost the same way - it just split under it's own weight in a storm one night. That split was far less dramatic - you kinda had to look for it, but just like here, it went from crown to base. I just took the tree down at that point - no sense prolonging the inevitable.

Speaking with a licensed arborist is always a good move, however according to the Arbor Day Foundation's website, you're in "Farewell to a Friend" category, imho. There aren't too many times I'd say trust a picture on the internet for tree advice, but I think this one is textbook.

Sorry to hear about it. Losing a big tree stinks.

We need a dedicated tree thread. Maybe this one is it?

Were you close to the tornado that hit Naperville/Woodridge/Darien last night?

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:57 am Were you close to the tornado that hit Naperville/Woodridge/Darien last night?

Check your time stamps.

A few years back we had a huge tree with three trunks. For whatever reason the middle one fell down leaving the two outer ones intact albeit at 60 degree angles. Much as I loved that tree the two outer ones had to come down.
To the tune of $700 and I had to remove them myself. They did cut up the trunks tho.

In recent years I've lost a Blue spruce in the back and 2 of 3 Scotch pines in the front. Losing a tree sucks indeed.

Had awful luck with trees here. But this place is old..like 80 years..and before it was a church in the 1800s. The trees are huge and old and its their time a lot...except the giant oak that lightning killed by hitting it twice in the same spot.

Lets see. In 1988 when I first came here there was a giant dead tree in the yard. I actually parked behind it and you couldn't see my car. It fell a year later to wind. In the 90s a hickory half its size blew over. Then lightning killed the grand old oak..the biggest on the property. No telling how old it was. My favorite tree here. Then a tree in the back that had 3 limbs branching off decided to simply fall apart. All three split and broke. Then a big cedar at the end of the drive way blew over. In 2011 the tornado blew another big ass scaley bark hickory onto the front of the house and a giant elm onto the back .

Just waiting on the last 3 to fall on the house.

Hipolito wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:19 pm This happened to a tree on mah yard. Not sure how, maybe lightning.

I spent a few hours sawing up the fallen portion so it can be hauled away. But can the remainder of the tree regenerate its bark and survive?

In my humble, and mostly non informed opinion; Just by looking at the branching on the fallen half I can tell that the tree wasn't properly trimmed. That was the most obvious reason that it split like such. Oh, and I'm no arborist but I think that trees prolly dead.

Unagi wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 9:07 am

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:57 am Were you close to the tornado that hit Naperville/Woodridge/Darien last night?

Check your time stamps.

I thought I did! I must have picked up a later one.

Thanks for all the info and support, happy tree friends! Sad to hear your stories of tree loss, too. Probably going to have the whole thing removed as some suggested, but I'll keep you posted on the status of Eric the Half-a-Tree.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:57 am Were you close to the tornado that hit Naperville/Woodridge/Darien last night?

There was a thunderstorm a couple of days before I noticed the downed tree. It wasn't very strong, though, and I don't think there were any close lightning strikes.

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 11:26 am Just by looking at the branching on the fallen half I can tell that the tree wasn't properly trimmed. That was the most obvious reason that it split like such.

You could tell that from the picture? How, is it because the the fallen half has a lot of branching?

stimpy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:23 pm Hard to tell from the angle, but are some of the branches bare?
Any signs of rot?

No, no bare branches or rot. I looked at the other trees in the yard, no signs of rot or bare branches (or splitting) on them, either.

I think Draz was going by the number of branches for the part on the ground. Though it looks a bit more complicated to me. It doesn't appear that it split in half, exactly. It looks like it split slightly down from the top. I don't think pruning would have helped. But there was definitely more weight on the part that split off; it looks like it was 'top heavy', if you will.

Do you know what kind of tree it is? My knowledge of ornamentals isn't great. But I can tell you that "normal" trees would have the main trunk growing up and the branches growing out at intervals. But that image looks like the main trunk basically stops and a whole bunch of branches all started growing at that point. That's usually a sign of damage to a tree. The main growing bud/trunk gets taken out so the previously suppressed buds on the sides all start growing at once. If there was damage in the past that caused this kind of growth, then this outcome was likely a foregone conclusion.

Yeah, the weight on that half (or less) of the tree on its trunk split it, you can see that mass of branches all in one ‘node’. It’s not the end of the world for a tee at all, but given a small tiny little localized microburst during a storm, it’s crown was pushed down and the fulcrum just split the trunk.

In my complete amateur opinion.

I'm sad to report that Eric the Half-a-Tree has met his demise. Unable to bear the weight that fate put upon him, he was found toppled over and lying peacefully in the grass.

Pour one out for Eric, a tree of unknown type. He worked hard and could photosynthesize like no one's business. But he always had time for a beer and a friend.

Oh, Danny boy ...

R.I.P.

O Eric, we hardly knew ye.

Ashes to ashes, sawdust to sawdust, such is the lot of trees . . .

Of course, depending on what kind of tree Eric was, he might NOT be dead. When my tree split 2 years ago, I took it down and then used the stump for axe practice until it was gone…but my tree was an ornamental pear, and a new trunk was already popping out of the ground a few feet from where the old one had been. It’s already about 10 feet tall, even though it’s very young, presumably because it has a fully developed root system to build on.

Although technically I’m not sure if my new tree is the same tree reborn or a child. That distinction gets muddy sometimes.

Regardless, may Eric find peace in the arms of the Goddess.

Little Raven wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:59 pm Although technically I’m not sure if my new tree is the same tree reborn or a child. That distinction gets muddy sometimes.

It is Groot.

I think he should be made into a table or a lawnchair or something.

Hipolito wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:23 pm Thanks for all the info and support, happy tree friends! Sad to hear your stories of tree loss, too. Probably going to have the whole thing removed as some suggested, but I'll keep you posted on the status of Eric the Half-a-Tree.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:57 am Were you close to the tornado that hit Naperville/Woodridge/Darien last night?

There was a thunderstorm a couple of days before I noticed the downed tree. It wasn't very strong, though, and I don't think there were any close lightning strikes.

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 11:26 am Just by looking at the branching on the fallen half I can tell that the tree wasn't properly trimmed. That was the most obvious reason that it split like such.

You could tell that from the picture? How, is it because the the fallen half has a lot of branching?

stimpy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:23 pm Hard to tell from the angle, but are some of the branches bare?
Any signs of rot?

No, no bare branches or rot. I looked at the other trees in the yard, no signs of rot or bare branches (or splitting) on them, either.

In my uninformed opinion, do you see how the right side of the tree has pretty much normal looking branches with no crossover or twisting? And the left side of the tree that fell looks not only substantially heavier with branching that sort of criss crosses and twists around? Again, I'm no arborist or gardener but that tree looked like it had substantially more weight then the normal right side, thus the split.

I've talked to a few gardeners and they tell me that when they trim they eliminate the gnarled twisting branches and that makes a healthier tree. WMMV.

Ermmm... ALSO there are certain kinds of softwood trees that will grow gnarled and funny and top heavy, and thus are considered the "weeds" of the tree world because if left alone to their own devices will naturally cause you tons of trouble, drop branches, split, fall over randomly in a storm, and are thus unfit for ornamental use.

I don't want to kick you when you're down, but I noticed from the original picture you have a mulch volcano thing happening. Assuming you replant (and you should!) I'd humble advise against that.

A link local to my neck of the woods.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 5:08 pm I don't want to kick you when you're down, but I noticed from the original picture you have a mulch volcano thing happening. Assuming you replant (and you should!) I'd humble advise against that.

And when you do replant, make absolutely sure that the split tree is cleared out completely roots and all. When you plant a new tree you don't want the old unsuitable trees bastard root children competing with your replacements.

We've got a gorgeous horse chestnut tree in the backyard that's probably more than 100 feet tall.

Every now and then it sheds small branches. That is, a windy thunderstorm might bring down one or two 1-inch-diameter branches that are two or three feet long. This happens every few months. I've been worried that this is a sign that the tree is sick.

A few weeks ago, a sizeable branch (larger than usual) came loose and was caught in the upper branches just above where we park. Since we didn't want it to come down on the car, we called in an arborist to snag it and bring it down.

Interestingly, the arborist pronounced the tree completely healthy. Shedding unproductive small branches is just what they do.

Capitol Hill terrorists, covid delta super-variant, and now mulch volcanoes?! What a year.

But thanks for the heads-up. All mah trees have mulch volcanoes. I'm looking into this.

I don't know
I don't know
I don't know where I'm a-gonna go
With a mulch vol-ca-no (Mista Smoove B!)

Have a Tiki bar map.