I called the tree service after I saw this

[Marthe48]

I heard a thump the other day, I looked around the front and back, but I didn't see this till today. The limb is about 15 feet long. Many of the main limbs in this maple tree grow straight up, like the trunk. Lucky if fell straight down, as the tree is close to my house, the neighbor's house and my old shed. I called the tree company to remove this, and some other branches that have fallen. I don't know if the tree is healthy with some dead branches or if it is diseased and needs to be put down.

[SheltieLover]

1. I'm glad it didn't hurt anyone or hit your house or the neighbor's!

[Marthe48]

7. I am too

It's in a pretty tight corner.

Thanks!

[Diamond_Dog]

2. You were lucky it didn't cause more damage or hurt someone!

That has happened here, too. A few times a heavy tree limb fell on our stockade fence out back, seemingly out of the blue. They sure can cause a lot of damage.

[Marthe48]

8. I have 2 maples

and they shed constantly. This is pretty extreme!

Stay safe!

[Diamond_Dog]

12. You too Marthe!

We have two big willows that drop limbs all the time too. When the wind blows, you can hear them creaking.

[LuckyCharms]

3. Marthe, I'm glad you're ok. If I lived near you...

I'd take care of that for you tout suite.

I did my neighbor's a few years ago, Hers was a maple tree as well.

I took care of it with an old corded Porter Cable reciprocating saw, with a Skil brand pruning blade that they market under the name "The Ugly".

Glad you were not injured, Marthe.

[Marthe48]

6. Glad to hear from you!

If I were younger, had tools, ropes and so on, I probably could have gotten it down. But I think they call these widow makers.

The limb in your pic looks about the same size as the one that dropped here

[LuckyCharms]

10. Thanks, Marthe.

And I'm not kidding...I would happily take care of that for you.

That limb in the pic was huge. You can't really tell from the pic how big it was, but back by the garage, it was very full.

Me and two other people dragged that from her backyard to her driveway.

So glad you were not hurt...those things will kill you if they fall on you!

[Marthe48]

15. It looked like a whole tree

I'm grateful nothing was damaged.

Your neighbor is lucky to have you!

[Niagara]

4. Hoo boy!

I'm glad no one was hurt, Marthe.

Falling limbs are dangerous. I'm glad that you made that call!

[Marthe48]

9. I am too

My back yard has become the realm of critters. But I'm glad it missed the shed and houses.

[Traildogbob]

5. Depending on the species of maple.

Most are prolific at spouting. If you are concerned cut it below the dead limbs, and before you know it, it will be spouting from the cut, creating a cool multi limbed top you can easily maintain to be a full rounded crown. I have an adult 5 trees, red maple being one, that I prune all summer and it looks like a little bonsai forest plot. Good luck, County Forest Rangers will come out and advise for free.

[Marthe48]

11. I've got 2 maples

I think they are a common species. When the tree service was here a few years ago, they trimmed the sweet gums, but not the maples. The sweet gums are bigger trees, but they don't shed twigs and limbs the way the maples do. There's a ranger station right up the road from me. I didn't know they'd do that.

Thanks for the info!

[Traildogbob]

13. Good luck

I taught Forest Management for 30 years at college.
I remember lots of what I taught.
Red, Silver, sugar, mountain, and stripped are the most common. Lots of cultivars out there from nurseries.
The best I remember, all sprout like crazy after trimming. You will probably see a sprout fest from the broken limb on your tree. I have a Red with some elms and poplars on a small spot and I keep them about 7 feet high. They are thick and Full of birds and I have to trim them all about 2 weeks apart. But I can reach and control them easily if I keep up with the sprouting. Many of my grads are county Rangers, under State Control and are there to assist the residents, and fight fires.
Hope you have Sugar Maples. Fall colors are great with all maples.
Hope I have helped.
Cheers.
Pray for our USFS and NPS. Trump is trying to end them all and sell our public lands to the likes of JaVanka.
I fear for my Grads. Most work for those public lands and others, like BLM and many as State County Rangers. 🤬🤬

[Marthe48]

17. I just worry about our natural world

I wish humans would go back to respecting the planet, but there's too much greed and stupidity.

I'll send a prayer for USFS and NPS. Gutsy people on the front line!

Thanks for so much information

[Traildogbob]

18. I zoomed

In for a close up on your tree. The leaf structure looks to be a Sugar for sure. The deep U shaped sinuses in the leaves with very minimal serration on the leaf edges. The only maple with those characteristics on the leaf’s edges and the deep U shape cut into the leaf.
Acer saccharum.
Cheers to ya

[mopinko]

14. silver maples, probably. their a native and can live to b quite old.

if the branching is straight up, they’re vulnerable. that’s not stable, and they often split. they can do an awful lot of damage. had 1 split next to a rental that took out the brand new deck, and the 1 next door.
there r lots of them in my hood that date to the original construction in the early 1900’s.

get it checked out. a good tree service will take out the limbs at bad angles.

[Marthe48]

16. I think they might be sugar maples

By the leaf shape.

The limb that dropped is dead. Bark is gone. I saw it was dead before it fell. I see tracery on the dead wood that makes me wonder if it has been invaded by some kind of fungus or insect. I didn't think the tree was going to leaf out this spring, but it finally got there.

I hope I don't have to have it taken down. But I'd be horrified if it fell and caused damage like the tree did to your property.