The storm broke the top out of my tree

The storm broke the top out of my tree — What It Means and What To Do

A shattered splintered stub where the leader used to be, not a clean break; broken material still hung up in the crown, caught on lower limbs; a vertical crack or split running down from the break into the main trunk; bark peeled away in a long strip below it; a crown suddenly lopsided; the top resting on a roof, fence, deck, or into the service drop. Also check the ground: lifted soil or a raised mound on the side opposite the lean means the root plate moved too.

Call tonight

Two separate problems arrived at once. The immediate one is unsupported mass suspended in the air — hung limbs and cracked-but-attached wood have no predictable timing and come down with no wind at all. The longer one is that a torn top is a wound the tree cannot close, dropping a decay column straight down the center of the stem and leaving no leader to rebuild from. Whether this tree has a future is a question for next month. Whether anyone should be standing under it is a question for right now.

What it usually costs

Normally a storm damage cleanup job: $400 to $4,000 around Indianapolis, depending on size and access. A range, not a quote.

What it usually costs

The storm broke the top out of my tree by town

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