Beech limb cracks ?,

[johnanderton]

 

 

 

 

Spotted this crack on a limb today while dead wooding , just wondered any thoughts on it & would you go to the trouble of "scanning " the limb to get a better idea of the depth of the. crack , I've found in the past some look dodgy but didn't go that far into the limb ,

[ScottF]

Looking at the first picture I'd saw that linear "bulge" along the length of the top of the branch is probably indicative of adaptive growth to some sort of delamination inside the it, and the superficial (as you've observed elsewhere by the sounds of it) bark cracking is a function of that locally increased (in volume/increment terms) growth.

 

If by "scanning" you mean PiCUS or Resistograph I'm not sure it would tell you a great deal. The resistograph might give you some feel of the severity of the crack, as might the PiCUS, but I'm not sure it would be worth the effort and expense.

 

If the limb's heavily end-loaded, and you have good points to reduce to, that might represent a better use of resources.

 

When in doubt, monitor.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

as scott says, this looks like a growth crack, wouldnt worry too much.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

in fact it would appear to be rapid growth in the tension woods due to the lean, a good sign not a bad one. if the tree was forming these on the compression side THEN its time to loosen the load a little.

[johnanderton]

Thanks for your advise , there is scope for maybe taking some weight off & keep a eye on it ,

[ScottF]

As usual, I'm with Tony on this, sometimes quick adaption is what's needed. Wait and see...

[Fungus]

Spotted this crack on a limb today while dead wooding, just wondered any thoughts on it & would you go to the trouble of "scanning " the limb to get a better idea of the depth of the crack, I've found in the past some look dodgy but didn't go that far into the limb

 

John,

What's the black stuff breaking through or growing on the bark to the right of the crack in the second picture ? Dried out reminants of fungi, such as Chondrostereum purpureum or a Xylaria spp. ?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

John,

What's the black stuff breaking through or growing on the bark to the right of the crack in the second picture ? Dried out reminants of fungi, such as Chondrostereum purpureum or a Xylaria spp. ?

 

 

just moss Gerrit:thumbup1:

[johnanderton]

Don't think it was fungi , just bark but shaded due to iPhone & light that day ,