Cold Air against Tree

[rustyh]

Good Morning,

 

Bit of an odd morning question this.

 

I have a client who is luckily enough to have a heated swimming pool. It has a heat pump that heats it. These heat pumps suck in ambient air, and through what ever it does inside, then send very cold air out the back of it.

 

They had it fitted beginning of last year, and the cold air was blowing (around 1 meter away) on to the trunk of a well established (around 25 years old) blossom tree.

 

The tree unfortunately has died, no buds forming, no greenness under its bark, no flexibility in the branches.

Im assuming that the cold air on the tree all summer lead to something happening that killed the tree??

 

There is another Blossom tree near this heater thing, but its on the inlet side of air (so cold air is not blowing directly on its trunk). They are not able to move the heater, and are concerned for the health of this second tree.

I was wondering if I would protect the trunk with maybe a wooden surround to prevent any cold air getting to it, maybe even insulate it to be sure.

 

Any advice on this?

 

Cheers

 

[Khriss]

Sounds like they should have ducted the cold air into their house so they could switch the house A/C off K

[rustyh]

😄 Good idea, but its right up the other end of the Garden

[Dan Maynard]

Was there excavation near the tree? Just thinking it's possible that it's not the cold air.

Otherwise, not sure the exact mechanism for cold air to kill a tree. Drying out the ground?

[Khriss]

Dan the nearest there, cut roots, cement washout or pool chemical spill could do it. K

[rustyh]

I dont believe there was any excavation don't in the area of the root, but I did see damage to the trunk and main branches of the tree that died. The own said the build ran in to it with the mini digger. 

Looked like it caused good wound, removing the bark. 

Could that damage cause the whole tree to die? 

 

The pool is far enough away that I don't think it was chemicals. 

 

I was thinking with the cold air blowing on it all summer, would it put the tree in to thinking it was winter, and it just spent to long in that mode? 

 

 

 

[Dan Maynard]

I wouldn't think knocking a chunk out with a digger would kill it stone dead, no. That would be more longer term decay and so on.

Thinking about it, could be the cold. Trees in pots inside don't do well in continuous warm, which I believe is due to the disruption of seasonal cycles. TBH there is a lot about trees chemistry that we observe but loosely understand.

[Khriss]

Plant another tree. K

[Doug Tait]

Often see trees damaged by machinery but not noticed any that have died outright so quickly. Would be interesting to know what temperature the cold air pocket is, compared to the other tree