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

Too dirty? Too DIRTY? What's this, hostas cannot take dog vomit? But they can live on the driveway, tough as nails, but NO DOG VOMIT? Jim, I am totally impressed with the way you have navigated all your issues to create the gorgeous hosta garden whose pictures I've been admiring over on the Gallery side. It shows me I have no excuse for thinking I don't have much room. Because apparently, I have a good deal, just undeveloped. We got rid of 5 pines, 1 water oak, and 1 sweetgum tree in 2008 or 2009, cannot remember. I had chips everywhere, to my delight. But now they are mostly gone, and I'm ordering dump truck loads of bark and composted soil at $100/truck. It is a small dumptruck. It took a long time to get used to no shade in much of our garden, but I planted a cypress, a river birch (to shade my sunporch from the west but only in its leafy seasons). If I could live long enough, the ghinkgo biloba would be the perfect shade tree, with no root problems, and fantastic color. I also put in 3 japanese maples, two purchased and one large one transplanted a year ago from our river lots where Katrina destroyed our home. My bananas don't count for shade, because I cannot put the hostas near them. Like Ken says, take out the tree. You probably don't have the issues with hurricanes doing a little urban renewal like we do, but our insurance company was very pleased we did it. Oh yeah, I have a lot of covered pathways inspiration photos in my computer, which I can upload and send you a link to browse. Also, at Sturbridge Village, there was the most gorgeous tunnel-effect arbor I ever saw. I'll look for it in my 2004 pictures. Consider that Monet used big steel arches to mark his walkways at Giverny, but instead of hosta he had nasturtiums rampant on the ground, leaving the edges like the banks of a meandering stream.

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking to buy that book (I've read most of what the UNH extension has online) already, and I probably will. Unfortunately, I think what I really need is some intro to landscape design ;( I agree that the location of the tree in the bed is odd, and well, the bed itself isn't the most aesthetic shape. I put this in when I built the retaining wall, in order to not have it all boring lawn. Maybe I'll see if I can get some better picture this weekend and see if I can get some design help here ;) The septic doesn't make it any easier, and I don't even know exactly where it's at. Definitely too close for a large tree (20 ft to the edge would be my guess, certainly not 100). So is the tree really going to straighten itself out if I cut one half off? The crotch angle is wider than it may look in the picture. That may be all academic, but I guess I might keep it for a couple of years while growing some replacement. I'm thinking an upright Japanese Maple might be a nice center piece there, how about a Seiryu? I just ordered one, but it'll be years until it has any kind of size. I don't think even a silver maple will compete with most of the other trees there any time soon, though, there are many really tall pine trees there (which are left from what I guess basically used to be a forest, and so they're not particularly pretty, having only green near the very top. But that's another subject... (though actually related to the whole "where do I want my landscape to go" thing)

UPDATE April 16: OK, it is now 6 weeks after my first post. 6 arborists from 4 firms later (most of who did not charge for visits or opinions), the fungus has been identified (by UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and the State of CA forestry dept, - and all of the arborists agreed) as inonotus andersonii, common name "canker rot". Accd to what the arborists told me, and what I found on line, rots & kills oak trees, and can cause failure of main limbs AND TRUNKS. Drattt! We did hire an arborist who only assesses risk - does not do tree work. He used a ressistograph to drill into the main trunk 2 feet below the wound. Found bark and sound wood the first 5 or so inches, and then hollow or rot the next 6 inches (which was as long as his fancy drill). He did a report for us and recommended that the tree be taken out. He said that, because of the area of rot, and the closeness of our next door neighbor's house, he thought if the main trunk failed the 80' tree would fall in the direction of their house,and land on and squash our neighbor's one story house. Double Drattt! So, we are getting another bid to take out the tree. I am so unhappy - we really wanted to save that tree. We even had 2 specialist technicians from a nationwide firm who do some sort of sonic investigation of trees, and can produce pictures of cross sections of the trunk using sound, come and look at it. I asked them to give me a quote to do their fancy sonic investigation at the base of the tree (where they normally do it), and also above and below the wound. After I sent them the risk assessment arborist's report which identified the fungus, they told me it was not worth the large cost of doing their investigation, as that fungus is very very bad, and the tree was a gonner. So, I only have one question for anyone on here who knows about this fungus (trying to make myself feel better) - is it as bad as they say in oak trees? Thanks for all of your assistance again - this has been a real education which I would rather not have! The only good news is that we have ANOTHER scarlet oak in the back of our property, which is sort of leaning over our fence and going above another neighbor's garage. The risk assessment arborist said it is not diseased, but recommended we take out two major limbs which are going sideways, to better distribute its weight. We are getting a big to do that too. Jackie