oak, with smelly pool of sap at base

[travis]

i gather from reading the google search results that there are a few reasons for this oak tree's response. some sort of pest or toxin.

i know that this tree has the (minor?) problem with the wasp grub in the acorns. but its never made the ground mushy with sap.

i thought it was a leaking drain when i first saw it, but have since seen butterflies etc feeding off it.

 

what can we do? or do i have to find out the exact cause ?

or is this something that happens and resolves itself?

thanks

travis

[Steve Bullman]

pictures would help if you have any?

[Bundle 2]

Im gonna go with bacterial wetwood but without pictures its a bit of a guess tbh()....check this lot out or put up some pics or both!?

 

bacterial wetwood - Google Search

 

Bacterial Wetwood - Prevention and Control of Slime Flux

 

Slime flux wet wood trees oak shade tree

[janey]

Next door's dog over enthusiastically marking it's territory?

[travis]

here is a (bad) photo of the base of the tree,

do you think my neighnour needs an expert ?

as i am just a butcher (CS39)

travis

[Bundle 2]

Hi Travis,

There are experts and then there are experts! It would certainly appear to be worthy of further investigation. I say this because the base seems to show little or no flare making me think that soil levels have been altered recently (ish) This is bad for soil ecology and poor conditions will prevail. This is conducive to bacterial success and the more benign and beneficial soil fauna perish. This has some obvious effects on tree health longterm.

It would suggest that a basal investigation might furnish more info. A degree of knowledge is indeed preferable I guess. Do a buttress and root investigation.....enquire further about recent development perhaps.

The more info we have as to the trees size, aspect, age class, condition and so on, the more easily we might determine the scale and nature of the problem.

[travis]

i think that the tree is about 15-20 yrs, about 1ft dia.

im going to have to go and measure it, arn't i?

as far as i know, nothing has changed. it's right by where i park my car.

under the gravel, flint or chehire pea is that geo membrane to prevent weeds.

could that and the tarmac everywere, be starving the tree of water?

on the other side of the fence is just pavement then gardens.

[travis]

here is a macro photo of (one of many) larvae that i found in the sap/flux.

can anyone identify this beast? they do look like they are emerging from the tree.

they are very small! 2-3 mm ?

awesome!

[Bundle 2]

OMG...Terrific image Travis...Haven't a clue ol' mate..useless n'est pas!?

Yes, drought is very likely a symptom pushing the tree's physiological system from stress to strain.Damage during the installation of said tarmac seem quite likely also.

Looks like a bacterial infection right enough. At 15-20 years I might try something to improve the soil conditions....?

Tim

[travis]

improve soil conditions, that sounds like a good suggestion.

a brilliant course of action would be to water the tree(hose pipe ban, and tight-bummed owner)

so what would i do to improve soil conditions ?

dig up soil around base and replace with mulch / manure ?