Red Maples: What a Bummer

By some twist of arboricultural fate I was charged with doing an 800 tree inventory this past week.  About 60% of the trees were.... you guessed it red maples.  Of these not one was with out co-dominate stems combined with some kind of defect.  Be it girdling roots, buried root collar, gloomy scale, or all of thee above.  Lets take a pictorial look at the mayhem.

So many co-dominate stems all coming from the same area on the tree.

A crack in the stem originating from co-dominate stems and leading almost to the ground.

Gloomy scales piled upon gloomy scales feeding upon there victim.

More sever cracks originating from co-dominate stems.

Of course a pictorial account of red maple defects would not be complete with out some impacted stem girdling roots.

Multiple upright branches with associated storm damage.

Left unattended since planting, these trees have become a maintenance nightmare.  Young tree pruning and proper planting are paramount, and this tree inventory is a prime argument.  To correctly mend these issues this home owners association will be looking at more than a $50,000 price tag.  Red maples, what a bummer right?