Had a client's oak drop a limb on their shed last week and it completely changed how I inspect trees

I always focused on the trunk and major branches (you know, the obvious stuff), but this limb looked fine from below and was rotted right at the crotch. Now I'm crawling up into every branch union with a probe on my big jobs, especially after storms. How do you guys check those hidden spots without taking a climbing saw to everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

susan_wells1mo ago

Oh man, that's a rough way to learn that lesson! A buddy of mine had a similar thing happen with a big silver maple a few years back. He swore up and down the tree was solid, then a heavy rain came and a whole limb just peeled off the trunk like a banana. Turned out there was this little hollow right where it attached, totally invisible from the ground. He ended up drilling into a few suspicious unions after that and found two other spots that were starting to rot inside. Now he carries one of those little fold-up inspection mirrors and a thin probe for looking at the back sides of crotches, says it's saved him from missing stuff like that.

the_luna1mo ago

@susan_wells that inspection mirror trick is gold, I'm adding one to my kit tomorrow.