The largest silver maple in the city I live in is in my backyard. I don't recall the circumference at the moment, but let's just say it's as big around as a pickup truck cab. Real big. Ninety feet tall. Many leads are as big as some full-grown trees. This tree shades four different yards. We've lived here since'81, and over that time, some large limbs have failed. No major structural damage yet. Where limbs came off, there are some pretty sketchy looking wounds now. SM does not wall off wounds very well and the result is decayed pockets at each former branch location. Since decay moves most readily in the vertical plane, I surmise that there are considerable hollow or punky areas now. Because huge portions of this tree do overhang our house, I'm thinking about taking it down. But even though I am a horticulturist who turns into an arborist each winter, this job is beyond my talents at this point. Actually, if I had long-term access to a bucket truck, I could get it down, but lacking that, it's just way too much. Estimates for removal ranged upwards to one of $7500. Yeah, it's a beast and plenty of targets in the way below it. Still, I'm not a SM hater. For all the reasons already stated, I think they are of value. But I wouldn't plant one as near to a house or other high value target as this one was. +oM

If the tree did grow so fast that it doubled it's planting size, you are most likely correct about the wind. If your root system is no better than the symptoms indicated, it is a wonder the tree did not blow over during those storms. Maples are such fast growers, and the largest fastest growing ones usually have extensive, shallow roots. In only one month of a maple seed hitting the ground in my yard, I find the seed has germinated and grown into an at least one foot tall sapling that I can very easily with almost no effort pull out of the ground. Any oak saplings that I try to pull out once they get 5 or 6 inches tall, takes all my strength pulling on them and at best the trunk just breaks off from the root. I have to use a pitch fork if I want the get those Oak sapling roots out of the ground. I also have one of those sumard oak saplings, which almost 10 years ago at that time I transplanted to a better growing spot. Today the tree is full and just over 16 foot tall and never has been staked. Early on for the first several years that oak was growing my young daughter nicknamed it the stick. Winds pounded on that tree almost every year. When it grew 10 feet tall and I raised the lower branches, the tree took on a top heavy appearance for a while. During that time such strong north south winds would often make the canopy bend almost to the ground. Yet with all this the tree's trunk never broke. The roots never loosened, the tree never got blown off center. I often marveled at the trees ability to stand straight and tall once the relentless seemingly steady winds finished blowing it toward one direction for a week or more. I do not know why the tissues in the trunk of that oak were not damaged with all that wind force so often bearing against it. The soil this tree grows in is also heavy clay that gets hard as rock if it is allowed to dry completely. There is a seven gallon 7 foot tall potted Black Tupelo, that I am holding to be planted at my daughter's home this coming fall. Black Tupelos are also hardwood trees. I have it sitting under the above described Sumard oak tree. When the wind blows both of those trees it is a marvel to see both standing straight and tall once such forceful winds have ceased. I know it is hard to think of waiting for hard wood trees to grow large enough to provide shade, but I have so many times found multiple reason why I am glad that I chose that route. Today my hardwoods are beautiful and tall and hold the promise of many more years of life. Most of the maples that were planted back when I planted my trees have either been broken by storm winds, blown over, or lots of the ones still standing look like they are near the end and needing to be replaced. I feel good to know that when I eventually sell my house, the new owners will only need to take those hardwood trees down if they want to create a different style of landscape. But, if they happen to love the benefits of the trees as much as I do, My hardwood trees contain the potential to stand tall for them and even for generations to come.

Do you see strips of dead bark leading up to the branches that are dying? The first thing that springs to mind would be the increased soil depth, but it seems like the root flare is still reasonably above the soil level. Compaction could also be the culprit. I've heard of people aerating soil by driving holes in it, but I've never seen it done. You might get up on a ladder and look for insect damage. One other thing to look for is dark spots in the wood of the dead branches. If you find these spots, you should sterilize your pruners immediately. This could be a sign of verticillium wilt, a fungus that colonizes the interior of the tree, blocking water and nutrients from getting to the branches. If this is the case, the only thing I've heard of helping to slow the decline is regular waterings with compost tea. I don't mean to be alarmist. I've seen maples planted too deep that look like they could suffering from verticillium, but it is a possibility. best of luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Verticillium wilt

Silver maples are one of my favorite trees for natural woodland landscapes, wildlife value, general hardiness, quick growth and shade, ease of growing from seed, ease of transplanting saplings, massive leaf production for fall collection and composting for the vegetable gardens, firewood, and sap harvesting for syrup. I have around 45 of them on my property and they suit my needs just fine, and I would never want to go without them. That being said, they are one of the worst varieties to use as a landscape tree in an urban environment. The exception is if a person only intends on owning a certain piece of real estate for fifteen or twenty years and wants some quick shade or to have an established tree on-site to add value to the property at the time of eventual resale. The next owner will then be the one who has to deal with all the major negatives of having a maturing tree of this variety on the property. Many house-hunters are ignorant of tree varieties and will not even think to consider potential tree issues when buying a house. They will see a healthy tree in its prime, putting out wonderful shade, and will only see it as a positive feature of the property. Caveat emptor. The negatives of this variety include relatively short lifespan (for a tree), exposed roots, shallow root balls making mature trees susceptible to uprooting and blow-down, perpetual shedding of small branches, lots of dripping sap in spring (attracts flies, dirties house siding, windows and lawn furniture, and is not good for automobile paint), brittle main branches susceptible to breakage due to snow or ice load, very soft wood susceptible to wound rot and insect damage, suckering at the base of the trunk, profuse amounts of bud scales and finished blooms everywhere in spring during the budding-out process, and profuse seed production in early summer that quickly clogs roof gutters and creates volunteers everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE - even in the gutters if not properly cleaned out).