Question
I have a 30-40ft aspen tree that has been neglected for some time. It has a ten foot section in the crown that has been dead for many years. I just removed the dead section and a few other dead branches, about 15% of the whole tree, and sprayed it with horticulture oil.  I am wondering if this tree has a chance or does it have a fatal disease?
Thanks for your advice


Answer
Sounds like either the top was damaged by a storm or maybe a borer insect infested the top and killed it. Either way it died and the rest of the tree did not. What will happen is one of the lower limbs will grow and become the new top. This will take a few years but over time the tree will look like a tree again instead of a flat top. You may have a fork where the top was cut because sometimes a couple of limbs will grow the same size but normally one will be taller than the others and be the top. You will have a slight crook in the trunk where the top was cut and the limbs take over. This is not a problem and will be less noticeable as the tree grow larger.
The horticulture oil was not necessary but did not hurt anything. I think the tree will be ok.