Oak decay

[Dave177]

Hopefully I have attached the pictures right today.

Went to look at this in my aunts garden today and not quite sure how to proceed. Its a fair sized Oak, the Crown looks full and well shaped, its lost a major limb off one side previously and the resulting damage has caused dead tissue around the wound.

In the base of the stem are signs of decay in at least 2 locations and a third spreading up a crack to about 6ft in height. There is also a large bulge also around the 6ft mark.

There were some some fungal brackets at the base but they were removed to "kill" the fungus my my uncle

 

They want to keep the tree but at the same time dont want to risk damaging their property or the road.

Any ideas what I should tell them to do, I was thinking getting someone in to do a detailed assesment to check the extent of decay in the stem or doesnt it look too bad/is it not work the expense?

 

Cheers guys

[Gary Prentice]

If the average reading age is 12-14, do we have to dumb down our posts so everyone understands!

 

remodeling of crown architecture = pruning

 

Pruning?

Remedial pruning. To remove deadwood, diseased/damaged/rubbing/crossing limbs.

Formative pruning.

Crown/canopy lifting/raising.

Crown thinning.

Crown reduction.

 

I think I preferred RobArbs terms.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

If I started talking technical you would have good reason to ask me to dumb things down!

 

A typical= a surprising definition showing my own illiteracy, as it means in fact, is UNLIKE the norm, the exact opposite of what I assumed.

 

so to say again, the example here is very typical, say out of 100 trees colonised at least a third look like this and most will at late stages

[Blakes 7]

If I started talking technical you would have good reason to ask me to dumb things down!

 

A typical= a surprising definition showing my own illiteracy, as it means in fact, is UNLIKE the norm, the exact opposite of what I assumed.

 

so to say again, the example here is very typical, say out of 100 trees colonised at least a third look like this and most will at late stages

 

Touche!

 

The crux is I knew what you were trying to say even though you used the incorrect word.

 

My point proved completely.

 

This wasn't supposed to be an attack on you Tony just my thoughts why Jonny posted what he did.

 

p.s. as you have now put a space between A and typical it means the opposite as we both assumed earlier.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Touche!

 

The crux is I knew what you were trying to say even though you used the incorrect word.

 

My point proved completely.

 

This wasn't supposed to be an attack on you Tony just my thoughts why Jonny posted what he did.

 

p.s. as you have now put a space between A and typical it means the opposite as we both assumed earlier.

 

stop it now im getting confused!

[Blakes 7]

If the average reading age is 12-14, do we have to dumb down our posts so everyone understands!

 

remodeling of crown architecture = pruning

 

Pruning?

Remedial pruning. To remove deadwood, diseased/damaged/rubbing/crossing limbs.

Formative pruning.

Crown/canopy lifting/raising.

Crown thinning.

Crown reduction.

 

I think I preferred RobArbs terms.

Btggaz,

how does the original convoluted term give more information than the single word?

[Blakes 7]

If the average reading age is 12-14, do we have to dumb down our posts so everyone understands!

 

If you want to be understood by everyone, yes.

[Blakes 7]

If the average reading age is 12-14, do we have to dumb down our posts so everyone understands!

 

p.s. look at the title of this sub-forum, just a thought.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

If the average reading age is 12-14, do we have to dumb down our posts so everyone understands!

 

p.s. look at the title of this sub-forum, just a thought.

 

yes. well spotted, its the homeowners advice portion of the site which makes this all rather ridiculous!

 

appologies to the OP.

 

Basically Inonotus dryadeus is what you have causing some fairly significant decay (dont panic) for a similar and recent example heres one I reduced end of summer (6 months ago) and have done MANY more all of which are standing, in fact there can be seen three others within a mile or two of this one that have the same issue, and all still stand.

 

It is a widely over estimated fungus, and causes very few trees to collapse, accepted wisdom largely dictates trees are felled but this is just simply not at all needed. In 1 in a thousand cases that may be so, but reduction of the crown (pruning) is usually more than sufficient to ensure no threats. It is always desirable to retain trees of this age and calibre if possible, they add greatly to the ecology of the area.

 

One of the members posting here would have you believe that there is only one option, that of fell and remove, I guess youll have to wiegh up wether you feel comfortable and make a decision, but getting a profesionl in to have a proper look and do a full inspection is the way to go.

 

again i apologise for not realising you was a homeowner looking for some advice, we get carried away here us arbs all battling it out!

 

heres some images of the trees I inspect every year most I worked on at some point, i am soley responsible for many many Inonotus dryadeus colonised trees in many urban loacations.

 

 

 

 

[RobRainford]

I'd be interested in going to see some of those oaks we visited last year tony, to see how they are getting on and to get some more pics and to get back on track with this side of things.

[JonnyVine]

Clearly a huge amount of ignorance has resulted from trying to hold up nonesensical statements.

The original task was to quantify this "the most highly fluid active cambium channels" which none of you have done.

 

Instead you have made fools of yourselves and displayied your lack of arboricultural knowledge.

 

Cambium does not have "channels", Cambium is a layer, it is zonal, it generates the cells in a tree and is omni-present in living sapwood! No channels there.

 

No part of a tree has "channels", they have vessels (angiosperms) or Tracheids (gymnosperms) for fluid transport!

 

 

That basal fluting you are struggling to describe is a natural reaction of a tree that has been colonised by a fungus with a strategy of selective delignification, so no education here, just a statement of the bleeding obvious.

 

There is plenty more missinformation and claptrap in that functional iliterate cess pit of 16000+ posts if you care to read a few (if you are able of course)

 

In the future, if you are going to try and vouchsafe BS for your chum, at least come up with something more realistic.