All the above.......

[David Humphries]

Attended to this interesting Willow failure this morning.

Not that it really matters in the grand scale of all things Arboricultural, but who's action or non-action is at fault here.

 

The saw operator who possibly got Alex Shigo mixed up with Gunther Von Hagen, or the Inspector who missed including the possibility of potential failure of a flush cut on a soft broadleaf species on their survey report, or God, for his randomness.

 

Appears to me, that the branch has at some time in the past been subject to a torsional fracture, which has then been colonised by an unknown white rotting fungi (picture of mycelium) gaining entry more than likely via the large side wound, and destroying the lignin.

 

The psuedosclaratial plate seen in shot 10, is possibly the reaction zone between two different competing fungi.

[Rod]

might this be a simmilar fungi also on the bark collar of a willow near an old wound

 

dont know if you can see it very well but it had a white mold like line almost right around it

[Stephen Blair]

great pic there dave, never seen anything like that before with the old pruning cut, arnoldbussanger explained to me what causes that type of split, you need to stand up and make circles with your arms, i call him mr windmill now. cant remember the fancy name he gave it though.

[Highland Forestry]

What does cause that kind of split??

I cam acriss something very similar today on scots pine, although much much smaller than pictured with this willow.

I was carring out remedial works on roadside pibes today, and nearly every one of them have branches with that kind of split in them... would it be something do to with high winds?? the wind could cause the branch to fracture through the middle, and then the next seasons growth open it up? got me puzzled..

[Charlieh]

random question but the limb is pretty low and has had fracture pruning carried out on it, whats the deal with health and safety on that, is there not a risk that some one could harm themselves on the sharp points? or now that the tree is likely to shed limbs are people being excluded from the area around the tree?

[Stephen Blair]

i take it they were long long branches, hold your arm out mat and make circles with it. have you ever played in big low limbs on beeches that are really long, they dont really go up and down, they go around and around. it like tall larches swirling in the wind, they twist out and snap over, similar to the pick you put up a few months ago

[Rod]

was it hazard beam crack?

[David Humphries]

random question but the limb is pretty low and has had fracture pruning carried out on it, whats the deal with health and safety on that, is there not a risk that some one could harm themselves on the sharp points? or now that the tree is likely to shed limbs are people being excluded from the area around the tree?

 

Not nearly as low as it looks Charlieh.

Couldn't do the Coro from the floor, hence the reason for the ropey thing.

 

Would need to be about 8' tall to get a wee glasgy kiss from that one

 

 

The Willow is on an enclosed pitch & putt course, no under canopy picnickers to cater for.

 

 

 

.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Monkey-D

[MattyF]

dunno if i like the corronet cut idea maybe time the willow was pollarded

[Amelanchier]

I'd say fault is a socio-cultural concept and if you trace a causational chain back you can aportion blame to anyone you like!!!!

 

I blame Osama Bin Laden / Dave Lee Travis / Pele...