Quercus x hispanica 'Fulhamensis'

[Lee Winger]

 

i have a gut instinct that to cover the trees and my arse, a reduction is needed.

At present i am thinking along the lines of 20% crown retrenchment using Natural Fracture Prunning

 

Totaly wrong road imo, the tree needs all its stored energy fighting off the honey fungus, the last thing it needs is a reduction, if I were that concerened about faliure i'd fell it.

[telhol]

Hey my bonsai have to be well looked after and root rot from to much water is a problem and soil compaction i knows its on a smaller scale but there trees all the same.

 

Also what if the soil chemistry has been changed maybe by decomposing organic materials if the tree grew in one soil condition and then was slowly altered would that maybe cause stress and infection.

 

I know if the soil is clay water can build up in the soil and its harder for the smaller roots to pass through clay. Maybe the tree has reached a depth with clay making it harder to pass through and may cause a problem

[Lee Winger]

Hey my bonsai have to be well looked after and root rot from to much water is a problem and soil compaction i knows its on a smaller scale but there trees all the same.

 

Also what if the soil chemistry has been changed maybe by decomposing organic materials if the tree grew in one soil condition and then was slowly altered would that maybe cause stress and infection.

 

I know if the soil is clay water can build up in the soil and its harder for the smaller roots to pass through clay.

 

Think of mulch as a bowl of chicken broth given to an ill man,your not forcing the ill man to eat a 5 course rich meal. Better to do somthing rather than nothing

[Amelanchier]

To act as a total devils advocate - have we seen any evidence of infection at all?

 

Any Cambial death? Lesions? Decay? White mycelium? Crown Symptoms?

 

In accordance with the three steps of Matthecks VTA.

 

1. Visual inspection for defect symptoms and vitality. If there is no sign of a problem, the investigation is concluded.

2. If a defect is suspected on the basis of symptoms, its presence or absence must be confirmed by a thorough examination.

3. If the defect is confirmed and appears to be a cause for concern, it must be measured and the strength of the remaining part be calculated.

 

On the limited basis of the attached photos, I consider that we have not yet completed step 2. As such we should not jump to remedial work specifications.

 

Happy New Year all.

[David Humphries]

As of now,

 

No, No, No, No, and No stag headedness, or general crown die back other than the odd internal branch due to over shading/age etc......

This is a bit hard to determine completely though, as this year the tree has decided to shed most of its leaves. Which seems to be in line with other Fulham Oaks in this part of the UK.

Which is roughly once every 4/5 years.

Im sure that this is dependant on local climate etc....

[Arob]

Just reading through old posts, and am wondering what happened next...

[David oakman]

Ino reduse and inspect some main roots you will find they have decayed by butt rotters once the main roots have decayed honey fungus will move in and do its job. I have an oak avenue with HF and as i have said before i removed a large stump and dug a 3 metre hole and planted a new oak since then 2 more have died and been felled and the HF comes every autumn the tree i planted is still healthy the secret is in the roots healthy roots healthy tree.

[Arob]

Sorry posted too soon, have now seen follow up thread.

[Giles Hill]

Sorry posted too soon, have now seen follow up thread.

 

Arob, can you post a link to the follow up thread, or tell me where it is?

[Arob]

Hi Giles,

it's http://www.arbtalk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=957

enjoy!