Can I Save My 100+ yo Red Maple
This poor tree has been through alot... when we moved in 2 years ago it was healthy looking other than the reverse mohawk. So we found out that a tornado had hit the house in 2011 and taken 5 trees from the front yard, and left the sweetgum looking thinned in that tornado damaged way and the elder and red maples as just 15ft tall trunks. The elder grew back wonderfully but the red grew back oddly. Then a year or so before moving in the previous owner who was a 22yo moron trying to start a business cut 2 primary roots out of the tree. The ones going down the hill toward the fence. Initially this only killed 2 limbs down the center of the tree causing the reverse mohawk. I cut the dead limbs out and removed a ton of poison ivy growth when i moved in. Last year the tree seemed to improve a bit. But then this year multiple limbs in line with the mohawk just never came back. Then in a storm a primary healthy one broke off.. then the whole downhill side just browned and died. Now after the SEVERE heat and drought we just had the only remaining healthy limb has turned brown. But its fall and this is widespread in this area right now.
I was going to prune all limbs except that last healthy one off in a month or so and let the tree recover from its remaining roots... but now idk if thatll even work. I REALLY want to save this tree, nomatter how stupid it looks. Do i cut it down to a 6ft stump to regrow? Is it a lost cause? I need real advice and cannot pay a tree company thousands of dollars. I can do the work myself. Thank you.
