I'm not an expert, but I think you're in good shape. Maples are incredibly tough and as long as you can keep it stabilized, I think it will survive.

I had an October Glory Maple that was broken nearly in half (4/5 of the way through, crown touching the ground) and I was able to keep it alive by simply bracing it. I ultimately removed it because it was just too top-heavy and it was a constant battle to keep it upright, given that weak spot.

If yours is stable, I think you'll be okay.

Well, if it lived this long, I guess it may make it. I don't know about the structural issue long term. Short term, if I were you I would make sure it was staked and supported very securely, since this prior injury is going to make it much more vulnerable to storm damage. I suppose long term its possible that the tree would compartmentalize the damage and basically grow out of it.

I guess the question I have to ask is "Why do you want to go to extra effort saving a silver maple?"

Dang things like to lose limbs in storms all the time. Plus they grow like weeds. Not worth the effort.

i wouldnt have that death trap hanging in my yard ...

are you seriously going to spend the next 50 years.. wondering which storm it will fail in??? just the worry alone.. would kill me ... trees are supposed to relax you.. not be a cause for worry and stress ...

i would have planted replacement trees in the next proper planting season after the injury ... and when they got some good size.. would have this one removed ...

tell us about the yard size.. how close to the house it is ... and give us a picture ...

did you have a professional do this.. or look at it.. or are you guys just winging it???

ken

I would be planting a more desireable replacement now, and still leaving the maple to stand for the time being, as long as the canopy doesn't show distress. As soon as the replacment tree is estalished and starting to grow, rid yourself of the maple. Lessoned learned over the years is that sooner or later one must address those weedy trees, and it's so much easier and cheaper to do it sooner, rather than later.

I don't have any pictures handy but may be able to get some tonight. The yard is about 1/2 acre and it is a safe distance from the house.

I hadn't thought about planting something close to it but that is a great idea. Would it compete with the Silver for resources and stunt its growth? How close could I plant a new tree to the Silver?

I am thinking about an October Glory Maple, any thoughts on those? We desperately need some shade back there as it is West facing and the Silver is currently the only tree.

The previous owners planted it. Pretty sure they got it because it was the cheapest thing out there.

If I knew the previously described injury wouldn't be a problem I would leave it, just thought if we had to remove it we could do it much easier now with it still being fairly small.

Thanks all for your help and I'm open to other tree suggestions for replacement. I am in Southern Indiana (zone 5b)

do you have any dreams of doing shade gardening in your yard.. in the next few decades ...

if so .. maple is not your best choice ... for a yard that size ...

trees basically need sun and water.. they will take care of the rest ... do not even bother to think about competition between the two.. but i would not plant them within about 20 feet of each other ...

my key.. as i said.. is to take that old one down.. while you can still do it yourself ... rather than pay for it ...

ken

Get a good caliper Sugar maple, or a nice Red oak. I live in west-central Indiana, and sugar maple is one of the most common trees around here. It can grow up to 3 feet a year in a good location. Oak takes a little longer to take off, but when it does, look out! There is one behind my brother's house that is 30 feet tall after 20 years and growing 3 feet a year now.

Well, it's hard to know for sure what we're talking about without pictures...but if if the damage is anything like I'm picturing, thinking that the tree will compartmentalize to the point that it will be fine for a significant number of years is HIGHLY optimistic. When the wood of the structural part of a tree is left exposed and cannot be covered over naturally in a relatively short period of time (and a split tree generally won't do this), rot will develop and the tree's structural integrity will be compromised.

I grew up in a neighborhood in northern OH where silver maples had been planted by the developer in many front yards during the 50s. My folks' house was the last one to still have a silver maple and theirs lasted less than 50 years. Most were gone within 15 or 20 years, lost to storm damage. The oaks are still growing and healthy.

I now live along a river where silver maples grow naturally. Many have damage, but it isn't a problem where they are sited, not near houses or as the sole tree in a yard.

My view is that a silver maple is a beautiful tree in the wild, but has no business in a suburban yard or anywhere near buildings. Several acres would be a good size for a property with a silver maple because they will lose limbs, large and small, in most any storm, causing damage to structures and vehicles. They are not able to take normal yard tree use, like being climbed by kids, without limbs breaking.

I like the suggestion of getting another tree or two established and then remove the silver maple. You might consider a pergola, an awning, or another structure to provide you shaded places to sit or to help keep the house cooler.

Do you have a picture of the damage? If it's not too close to the house, it might be worth saving.

I am a fan of Silver maples, planted in the right location! I have one that is NOT planted in a good spot, and it got clobbered in the October snowstorm last year. But there are some beautiful old specimens in this neighborhood, and amazingly, they have escaped any significant damage.

Terrene, the Oct 3.5" wet snow caused damage here too. Much worse than the 36" snowstorm the previous winter, but that snow wasn't wet.

Sib elms w/leaves still on were particularly damaged. All my longleaf pine side-branches were bent down to horizontal, tho they're recovering somewhat now.

Oh, yeah, my one, slender 15' stream-side silver maple had its top bent to the ground before I shook it off. I can't tell, looking at it now, that it ever happened.

Beng I am actually happy that my Silver maple lost so many branches - it looks a little weird, because it lost almost 1/2 its canopy, and I had another large limb removed in January (the tree guy was using the bucket and he also tidied up the ragged edges). So now the xeric garden gets more sun (yippee) and there are WAY fewer maple wings in the gutters!

Oh, and there are a couple of Elms in back that I think are Siberian and they got clobbered too, and I'm happy about that too. But not sure of that ID, because it's supposed to be invasive here and oddly, there has never been a seedling from these trees anywhere is the yard ever.