Advice on cedar problem please

[maybelateron]

This 40 year old cedar was planted by the current resident. I have never seen anything like this before. On the left side of the photos the root buttress sounds a bit soft/hollow but otherwise the trunk base sounds pretty solid when knocked with nylon head hammer. The fact the tree has a fair lean towards a neighbouring house, and the dubious buttress is the most critical to counter the lean, the owner want the tree down. I think this is the right decision.

 

The crown is not showing any obvious signs of distress/needle loss.

 

Anyone any thoughts on the diagnosis?

[Steve Bullman]

Thats an interesting one!

 

[Stubby]

If you want the work Ron , take it down .....🙂

[openspaceman]

Looks like the bottom took a bash a few years back and has developed adventitious rooots as a reaction to the loss. 

 

As there is a building that may be hit if it falls I wouldn't worry about taking it down. At 40 it is hardly mature.

 

Cedars are lovely trees but they need a very big space to develop to maturity.

 

One was planted to the front of our church in the 1880s, it was lovely in pictures from 1930 but by the time I was working it had taken over the frontage and ruined that aspect of the church. My suggestion to fell it was met with horror by the PCC. Luckily a few years ago a "tree surgeon" said he had detected a hollow some feet up, he was wrong but a local firm did a good crane take down and the church looks so much better for it.

[Mark Bolam]

I wondered if there had been a historic ‘incident’ that this stems from.

[sime42]

Nice pun. Looks like a classic strimmer bite to me. Not sure if they were in widespread use 40 years ago though. 

[Mick Dempsey]

17 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Nice pun. Looks like a classic strimmer bite to me. Not sure if they were in widespread use 40 years ago though. 

You don’t think strimmers were around in 85?

When were you born out of interest?

[sime42]

17 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

You don’t think strimmers were around in 85?

When were you born out of interest?

 

1976. 

 

I'm sure they were around in 1985, but I was posing a question to any older farts as to whether they were in widespread use then. I wasn't taking much notice at the time.

 

 

 

 

[Mick Dempsey]

30 minutes ago, sime42 said:

 

1976. 

 

I'm sure they were around in 1985, but I was posing a question to any older farts as to whether they were in widespread use then. I wasn't taking much notice at the time.

 

 

 

 

Yes strimmers were a very common tool in 85.

[openspaceman]

9 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Yes strimmers were a very common tool in 85.

I was not aware of them when I bought a first brushcutter in 74. I experimente with wire rope but it fatigued almost immediately and span off. I first became aware of nylon cord strimmers from a jack Hargreaves program on the beeb TV.  Probably a couple of years later.