Maple Tree Splitting At Trunk HELP!

[FoMoCoSHO]

He may be smart but mother nature is smarter.

One of our maples at my Grandmas took a direct lightening hit many years ago and split it. I don't remember and she's no longer here to tell me what she did but she made the repair and the tree did the rest.

You can still see the battle damage but she's still standing and beautiful.

Hell , one of the Maples we cut down here sprouted another tree from the stump. It wants to live And basically turned into a Maple bush so I keep it trimmed up.

If it were me i would install the line to bring it back in line then I would use the tree goo heavily around the edges and see what happens. I don't see that there is anything to lose and mother nature may surprise you.

I agree.  The nicest tree I have in my yard is a Red Maple that has half it's trunk missing at the base.  My uncle had an ash tree split like the one you posted.  He winched it back together and put two 3/4" threaded rods with large washers through two holes he drilled and the tree it still going strong 10+ years later.  It's almost completely grown around the threaded rod now.

Great idea!

[glock-coma]

Since FoMoCo mentioned lighting , this is a pic I took last year.
There was bark scattered roughly 20' from the base in all directions.
Striped it like a barber pole
It was at a school I was doing some repairs at.

[SilvererSHO]

Since FoMoCo mentioned lighting , this is a pic I took last year.
There was bark scattered roughly 20' from the base in all directions.
Striped it like a barber pole
It was at a school I was doing some repairs at.

I've heard in sandy soil you can dig around near the base of a tree that's been struck by lightning and find small pebbles that look like glass from the sand fusing together.  Or even neat looking sculptures.

https://www.pinterest.com/suzanator339/fulgurite-lightning-glass/?lp=true

[Vortech347]

Drill it then run threaded rod through it.

I repaired my tree that looked EXACTLY like yours 5 years ago.


(Not mine but what it looks like)

I used 3 rods.  One at the very bottom of the split.  One at the point where the split was.  Then one about a foot higher.   It has survived through wind storms and winters no problem.  The tree has actually started to grow around the washers/nuts now and healed itself at the split.  It's amazing.

Don't use any kind of ratchet strap.  They don't do a damn thing.  They stretch from the forces involved.  I'd only recommend using the ratchet if you want to stabilize while drilling.   I can get you some pictures if you want to see how mine looks.  Just PM me your number and I'll text you some.

[AJP turbo]

Drill it then run threaded rod through it.

I repaired my tree that looked EXACTLY like yours 5 years ago.


(Not mine but what it looks like)

I used 3 rods.  One at the very bottom of the split.  One at the point where the split was.  Then one about a foot higher.   It has survived through wind storms and winters no problem.  The tree has actually started to grow around the washers/nuts now and healed itself at the split.  It's amazing.

Don't use any kind of ratchet strap.  They don't do a damn thing.  They stretch from the forces involved.  I'd only recommend using the ratchet if you want to stabilize while drilling.   I can get you some pictures if you want to see how mine looks.  Just PM me your number and I'll text you some.

Does that cause the tree any pain?

[FoMoCoSHO]

Drill it then run threaded rod through it.

I repaired my tree that looked EXACTLY like yours 5 years ago.


(Not mine but what it looks like)

I used 3 rods.  One at the very bottom of the split.  One at the point where the split was.  Then one about a foot higher.   It has survived through wind storms and winters no problem.  The tree has actually started to grow around the washers/nuts now and healed itself at the split.  It's amazing.

Don't use any kind of ratchet strap.  They don't do a damn thing.  They stretch from the forces involved.  I'd only recommend using the ratchet if you want to stabilize while drilling.   I can get you some pictures if you want to see how mine looks.  Just PM me your number and I'll text you some.

Does that cause the tree any pain?

Maybe but its probably less than a slow painful death.

[Macgyver]

As long as it is not going to fall onto anything if it does fail and or die. Let mother nature do the work. My sister used to run with a Large Tree planting and maintenance  company. She now runs with Met-Ed and schedules all their Large tree line clearing work etc.

She said give it a chance.

[SHOdded]

A hug once in a while wouldn't hurt either

[SHO2GO]

If the leaves on both halves of the split are still green and growing, the tree is salvageable.
I have one that split well over a decade ago. I winched the two halves back together (ratchet straps for pickup) at a higher point in the tree for maximum leverage. Then bored two holes about a foot apart all the way through the split area. Inserted a 1/2" threaded rod through each hole with large, flat washers and nuts on either side. I hand tightened all four nuts and then alternated tightening between top and bottom rods to apply even force. Keep tightening ratchet straps to maintain pressure/leverage so you can tighten bolts further.
The threaded rods stuck out about six inches on either side of the trunk but the tree has now grown almost completely over them.
Do not drill through the trunk until two halves are winched together or holes will never align.