Oak advice please

[adam4838]

Been to look at a job to sort out a wind damaged Oak. Sounded minor on the phone but when I got there saw this.

 

Being fairly new to work with mature Oaks, I want to make sure I am offering the best solution.

 

Due to the size of the limb which has fractured, and the state of the wood, would you recommend work to the remaining tree to reduce weight or fell, or is this sort of thing common on mature Oaks and therefor could be left alone as a "happens all the time in nature?"

 

Sorry if these are obvious questions to some of you, but I am not entirely sure what to offer to the client and avoid unnecessary work.

 

Many thanks,

 

Adam

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

laetiporus sulphureus at work, and an old cavity at the failure site.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Tony Croft aka hamadryad

[RobArb]

Laetiporus sulphureus - Chicken of the wood/Sulphur Polypore - David Humphries’s Fungi Directory - Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists

[adam4838]

Thanks for the quick diagnosis!

 

What would you do? (sorry, I know its hard with just a few pics!)

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

reduce the tree, 20 25 % would suffice.

 

though thats a general giude, be prudent to scope the tree in person. (binoculars)

[Riggerbear]

Hi there,

The stub thats left as it is would be good habitat but the customer would probably like a nice tidy cut on it. If so, remove the stub back to a suitable postion and see if there is any decay at that point. If there is any sort of decay there i bet it is minor anyway, if you find anything that is of concern i'd recommend to the customer a 20% reduction of the remaining crown. Remember that cavity has not been there 5 minutes so the tree was able to support that limb that has fallen for quite a while so don't think that if there is a little decay at the base of that limb that the rest the tree is going to fail straight away. Their alot tougher than we think !

[adam4838]

Thanks Riggerbear and hamadryad.

 

Thats great advice.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

the decay is a core/heart rotter, it will be in that twin stem union most likely now or in a few years weakening the union from the inside out.

 

reduce this tree, NO arguments.

[Harrison2604]

laetiporus sulphureus at work, and an old cavity at the failure site.

 

Where can you see Laetiporus sulphureus?

 

D:

 

You amaze me ha

[RobRainford]

Where can you see Laetiporus sulphureus?

 

D:

 

You amaze me ha

 

Don't need to see a FB to see it's effects. L. Sulphureus is a heart wood brown rotter. Plenty of brown rotted heart wood there!