Ash Tree Advice

[ayemonkey]

I went to view this tree for a reduction and noticed this damage to the trunk, The owners have only been in a year and said it started to happen in the summer, At first I thought it was physical damage done by a digger they had in but on closer inspection there are cracks appearing all up the main trunk and I could see some on the lower branches too. Where the damaged bark meets the good bark, there appears to be a callus formed where it has tried to heal itself under the bark itself sealing the edges. There is no evidence of any fruiting bodies around the base or on the tree itself and the owner hasn't noticed any. There are one or two insect trails, but nothing that would point to EAB. Some blackened staining which is damp. I was thinking phytophtora and would advise to remove it as it's quite close to neighbours house.

[ayemonkey]

Any other suggestions??

[Paul Melarange]

Could be a girdling root or root damage that has resulted in dysfunction on that side of the stem.

 

It could also have been caused by an adjacent bonfire, that wasn't close enough to scorch the bark, but the radiant heat enough to damage the cambium on that side.

 

Just some thoughts. I hope these are helpful.

[agg221]

Bear in mind that I am in no way qualified to offer advice, so please take this rather as thought to initiate discussion.

 

From the pictures you have posted it is hard to get a sense of scale, but the tree clearly has a distinct crown break, rather than a centre leader. If this is at a suitable height, it looks like all the branches are currently small enough to initiate a pollard?

 

Not to everyone's taste I know and it will require regular management on a suitable cycle. If the break point is too high (over about 10-12') it will look rather odd. However, if the owners like having the tree then it could be a way to enable long term retention as the sail would be minimised and think how many pollards there are with highly dysfunctional main trunks. The ecological benefits would also be significant.

 

Alec

[Daniël Bos]

I reckon fire damage too.

 

Retaining as a pollard (if feasible) seems a good option

[ayemonkey]

Ah never thought of fire as a cause, does that account for the cracking of th e lower limbs? Root damage is certainly one probable cause as they had a digger in to clear the garden and there are no cracks in the other side. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll ask if they had a fire and take it from there.

[Mick Dempsey]

It's already been "pollarded" ie. Cut to a totem pole. At the very least that must be done again.

 

In the medium term I can't see that tree having a future as anything but firewood.

[ayemonkey]

Yes the owners have had several fires to clear the garden so this seems to be the cause of the cracking. Thank you for your valuable advice, they have decided to remove it instead of pollarding.

[Daniël Bos]

Thanks for the update!