Mountain Ash Trees (Rowan Trees) Looking like they have Ash Die-back, But They Can't Get It! Advice

[Khriss]

I would look at base of tree first. Strimmer damage usual initiator. K

[Stubby]

On 18/09/2021 at 20:35, spuddog0507 said:

Yep i have noticed it as well and about a month ago i asked a expert from this site and he informed me that Rowan can not get Ash die back, i tend to differ in that one, the ones have seen are well on there way out and it does look like Ash die back to me, there is a lot of trees around us in north Lancs that are looking sick mainly Beech and Sycamore but noticed several Birch this morning that have either shed most of there leafs or have all turned yellow and starting to drop,

Rowen cant get " ash Die back " ( Chalara fraxinia )  because they are not Ash ( Fraxinus ) They are sorbus  . That does not mean they can't get something similar . However ,  I'm going with Kev on this one .

Edited September 20, 2021 by Stubby

[spuddog0507]

23 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Rowen cant get " ash Die back " ( Chalara fraxinia )  because they are not Ash ( Fraxinus ) They are sorbus  . That does not mean they can't get something similar . However ,  I'm going with Kev on this one .

The ones i so are in a woodland and will be just self seeded, so not down to planting but they do look as they are on the way out,  then some more in another woodland 3 fields over and they look in perfect health ?  , i think 2018 has a lot to do with what is going on around us as mentioned in last post a lot of sick looking Beech and Sycamore about,,,,

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

13 hours ago, spuddog0507 said:

The ones i so are in a woodland and will be just self seeded, so not down to planting but they do look as they are on the way out, 

 

Self seeded might still be struggling with competitive or sub-optimal growing conditions - just saying, self seeding doesn’t guarantee growth to maturity. There needs to be a natural ‘failure rate’ such that the strongest push through. It might be that other faster growing trees / vegetation are out competing self seeded trees.

 

13 hours ago, spuddog0507 said:

 

then some more in another woodland 3 fields over and they look in perfect health ?  , i think 2018 has a lot to do with what is going on around us as mentioned in last post a lot of sick looking Beech and Sycamore about,,,,

Certainly agree 2018 presented considerable challenges which were observable in crown of many trees. Hopefully just a particularly bad year in a 100 and established trees will shrug it off over a longer period. 

[Jamie Jones]

On 20/09/2021 at 11:45, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Notwithstanding the broader regional observations from other posters, the tree(s) in the pic(s) look like they might be subject to a combination of some or all of the following:

 

 = sub-optimal nursery stock struggling to become established

 = poor planting and after care (stakes and bands still in situ, possibly poorly planted, inadequate planting pit, inadequate watering?)

 = poor surface area preparation / maintenance around base of tree(s)

 = strimmer damage?

 

They don't look like they were given the best chance to get established.   This might be combined with, or contributing to, poor resilience which denudes the tree(s) ability to withstand environmental and biological challenges.

 

Part 2

 

What should you do?

 

They don't look like they would present any particular hazard so probably no need to remove straight away.

 

You could either retain and try giving them a helping hand for a year or 2 and see if they stand a chance of recovery or remove and properly replant good stock with a suitable after care schedule. 

 

If there's no rush, give them a helping hand and see what happens for a year or 2, if it's a lost cause, cut your losses and start again.

Thanks for your well thought out response to my original posting...

I should point out that it is not just the smaller trees, much bigger Mountain Ash (Rowan) are also in the same situation in this area.

The trees pictured are just the ones on my site.

 

[Jamie Jones]

On 20/09/2021 at 12:45, Khriss said:

I would look at base of tree first. Strimmer damage usual initiator. K

There has been no strimmer damage in the three years that I have been managing the site.

[peatff]

We've got one self seeded in a tub on the garden and it's always the first thing to lose it's leaves and look dead but it comes back next year, spindly and ratty as ever. I still ignore it and it keeps surviving.

[Gardenscape]

It's not just Rowan, but trees in general are suffering badly now across the country. Our seasons and weather patterns are all over the place now and this sudden change constantly is stressing them out. It's only going to get worse.

[porky]

Stress caused by drought I reckon. Seen it with cherry as well.  Time to stop mowing so frequently around the trees and leave a uncut circle extending out to the leaf canopy through the summer months?

Better for biodiversity as well.

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, porky said:

Stress caused by drought I reckon. Seen it with cherry as well.  Time to stop mowing so frequently around the trees and leave a uncut circle extending out to the leaf canopy through the summer months?

Better for biodiversity as well.

I expect they have covid . 🙂