Two weeks ago, as Hurricane Isaac loomed large in the Caribbean, I decided to remove a limb from a Southern Live Oak tree that has hung over my house for decades.
Here I've made a panoramic view from three photographs of my roof. As you can see, the limb extended the length of the house. What the panorama doesn't show is that at the end of the limb, branches extended upward, putting extra stress on the whole limb.
Here you can see all the growth at the very end of the limb, and how high it extended.
What's truly amazing is that when this photograph of my house was taken in 1950, the Southern Live Oak was nowhere in sight!
Notice all the
Spanish Moss! It was exciting to watch the trimming process, and a relief to know that the weight of the limb (estimated at one ton) won't come down upon me in the next storm.
.
Talk about the Sword of Damocles! Although it is nice to have mature trees and a grown-in landscape, it's easy to forget that not all trees are desirable. At my last house in Ohio, the trees in the yard had grown so much that they were constantly shading the house and starting to cause dampness problems; if I had stayed there I would have been faced with the delicate (and expensive) task of removing a number of them.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Hurricane Isaac spared your area.
--Road to Parnassus
Hello, Parnassus,
DeleteThe Sword of Damocles is a very good analogy! We have enough sun and heat here that I have not experienced mildew, but I do know that the tree limb cooled my house by about five degrees.
We had the outer ring of Hurricane Isaac pass through the area, which resulted in several days of rain and wind, but no major damage. Sometimes we get more damage from no-name storms.
Dear Mark - your headline grabbing title really attracted my attention, and I wasn't disappointed in the read.
ReplyDeleteThe size of the limb is huge, a very wise precaution, and exciting pictures to see.
The Spanish Moss lends an ethereal quality, it is something that we do not have here.
Did you have a ride in the crane to get that panoramic photo?
Dear Rosemary,
DeleteI climbed up on the roof before the arborist arrived for that panoramic shot. You can imagine that with all that Spanish Moss, I get up on the roof every few weeks to clean. With the bigger limb gone, I'm sure to have saved some work!
The Spanish Moss does have an ethereal quality, and I have a love/hate relationship with it. On one hand, I enjoy that it appears rather exotic, and on the other (as I said in my Spanish Moss posting), I'm not convinced that it doesn't strangle trees.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteThe first photo looks like a story book image of a tree extending its curved arm up and over the house--as if to give a hug.
I'm glad you took care of the situation before it's big arm decided to give you a squeeze.
Mrs. D
Hi, Mrs. D.,
DeleteThat sharp curve at the fork of the tree made me worry about it being at extra danger of stress, but several arborists assured me that the wideness of the "V" in the fork made it very strong. I was more worried about all the extra weight at the end of the limb, the branches that were removed with the cherrypicker.
Dear Mark, what a smart thing you did. That beautiful oak tree will thank you and so will your house. We can relate. We built our house between two very old trees and have had some damge to the house and roof. Your post is a reminder for us to ask the tree surgeon to come by.
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking about you and hoping that you were not affected by Isaac.
Dear Gina,
DeleteThank you for your concern. You may remember that last year I took a trip to New Orleans, and it is my hosts from that trip that got the brunt of the hurricane. One friend evacuated to another state, and one stayed behind, without electricity for many days.
Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteWe really do think that this was a wise decision, and we, like you, would be very reluctant to fell any part of a tree. But in this case we really do believe that you were possibly courting danger and such a weight, if allowed to fall on the roof, would cause a huge amount of damage.
How intriguing to see the early photograph of the house.
Hello Jane and Lance:
DeleteI've been told that Live Oaks, Cedars and Mahoganies are the three trees that best survive hurricanes. With that knowledge, I really did a lot of soul-searching in respect to how much to trim. In the end, peace of mind won out.
Removing or pruning an old tree can be difficult, expensive and political. As a tree hugger, I hate to see old trees come down. But, safety first!
ReplyDeleteMark, your front portico looks very classical....fabulous! And quite different from the 1950s photo. Same part of the house?
Enjoy the long weekend ~
Loi
Hi, Loi,
DeleteI'm glad you like the front of the house! If you look on my side bar, you can see more under "My House: Becoming Neoclassic." That front has gone through quite a transition.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend!
Thanks for mentioning the link on your side bar. I just visited. Very cool. And very handsome curb appeal. Well done, Mark :)
DeleteL
Thanks, Loi! :o)
DeleteThat tree looked like someone twisted its arm. I always find these jobs--tree trimming, water main replacing, etc.--very stressful. It must be nice to have to out of the way.
ReplyDeleteHi, Steve - I think Parnassus said it best — this tree limb was like having the Sword of Damocles over my head. You're right, it feels good to get it out of the way (literally), and if I don't get anything else done to the house this year, I will still have accomplished a lot!
DeleteHello Mark,
ReplyDeleteI like your blog and I enjoyed this post. I also agree with the Sword of Damocles remark and I think your decision was wise. It reminded me of a tree in my parents' garden when I was a child.
We called it 'Old William' and one day one of his branches fell down from a great height, just missing the house. The branch was like a tree itself! My father immediately had any other dangerous limbs 'lopped' and Old William was a much friendlier tree after that.
Bye for now
Kirk
Hi, Kirk,
DeleteThanks for visiting my blog; I've found that the best part of blogging is making new friends! Regarding the tree, I can say for certain that the branch appeared much larger when it was all down and at eye level.
it was so charming but you still have the tree -and better safe than sorry! Love the spanish moss.
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan,
DeleteI was actually very conscious during this whole process of news reports about the propensity for trees in the Washington area to get top heavy and crash into old D.C. brick homes, destroying them. My tree, in its current state, would fall away from the house.
Incidentally, my house has two Live Oaks next to it, so the view in no way appears bare.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief!
I can relate to that. St Marys is located in a valley, in the middle of three big lakes on a "relatively" small piece of land and never did I experience such powerful wind storms. I always worry about trees falling on the house. Yes, it's an expensive process and too bad for the tree, but safety first, especially in these days of extreme weather conditions.
Anyes
XX
Hi, Anyes,
DeleteYes it is a great relief, particularly late at night, when there's stormy weather!