treeseer

Harvesting and visibility aside, summer pruning results in less sprouting than winter pruning.

Mick, I've never seen clearer evidence. Your eye is well trained. The tree lost all the resource-gathering power that branch once delivered, so no surprise it cannot seal the damage. This is why BS3998, like the German ZTV, recommends against any cut >10 cm. The US is slow to adopt that proven guideline, as it might get in the way of production, and challenges the myth that collar cut = proper pruning.

Agree with Paul and Huck, and can't help but point out that no matter how precise a 'collar cut' is, a big wound is a big wound is a bad thing for the tree.

Gorgeous display of tree adaptation to fungal colonisation: Good woundwood growth on the top of that large pruning wound, and sprouting below the 'infection', all strongly indicating compartmentalisation, and tolerance of the habitat created by Laetiporus. In any location, with any people and property around, the tree's response is a force not to be denied! Thank You!

No argument there; I agree taxonomy is less relevant in the field, and precision of species is difficult with or without getting into the genes (there's a bad joke there somewhere), especially given the process known as evolution! I've seen Armillaria in several regions get compartmentalised, and confess to some skepticism that they all are the less virulent species or types or strains or whatever. Until the drying protocol is tried and fails, how can one say it will not work? And how can ANSI A300 put out an IPM standard that does not cover managing pests that decay wood? That just perpetuates the myth that we are helpless, resulting in the loss of so many valuable trees!

Nope the signs of the infection were only in that sinus, though the other side has a sketchy sinus still, below. Crown is normal. re taxonomy there is a lot of discussion and sorting over here so I did not try for species ID. ime host condition is the primary determinant. Exposing the infection is a necessary diagnostic step, and drying it is a reasonable treatment in any case. What's to lose?

Revisited a Quercus alba that had Armillaria 10+ years ago treated by exposure and drying. This was before a blowtorch and phosphorous acid were commonly used. The sinus was dead >16" wide and 12" high. Most of the black shoelaces, white fans were removed. Now the woundwood closing the wound is taking on lumpy veteran characteristics. Old Ironsides!

Perhaps wait til leaves are formed to ID and assess? If cuts are specced to <3", <20% off, decline seems unlikely. Need a better look at fork before speculating on support, but through-cabling would be much less invasive than pruning. Rigguy, Inc >> Product Info

"hand dig around the base to see if any decay can be found," Right; there is no better evidence than hands-and-eyes-on. The bling toys are great but the growing weakness that caused the failure could have been fairly sussed with the use of hand tools; trowel and a yardstick. Shaggy turf obscured the cavity, another reason to install a 6" radius round the stem of expanded aggregate and/or Prunus woodchip. One how-to scheme from a yank below; if anyone has suggestions on 1-12 I am always revising... "83.3.9 The flare and buttress roots should remain visible... Specify the method, area, depth, tools, equipment and limitations of excavation. Diagnose detectable flare and root diseases and disorders. Protect root and stem tissue newly exposed to sunlight where needed. Sample specifications Root Collar Examinations using hand tools Scope: Trees with fill contacting the trunk. Objective: Avoid damage to the tree from the effects of fill on the trunk. Lessen risk and maintenance needs. Improve health. Provide maximum vitality health and safety. Specifications: 1. Rake any coarse woody debris or fresh mulch away from the root collar area. 2. Press the blade of a shovel or a trowel against the trunk. Slide it carefully downward until resistance is met. 3. Push the handle toward the trunk, moving the blade away from the trunk. 4. Remove individual adventitious roots <1 cm and stem-girdling roots <1/10 trunk diameter. Manage larger roots per A300 (Part 8), 83.4 and 84.4. Avoid contact between the trunk and any remaining adventitious, girdling, and circling roots. 5. Lift the fertile material away from the trunk and set aside. 6. Separate and dispose of any infertile soil and debris. Retain the fertile soil, fine roots, mycorrhizae, and decomposed mulch. 7. Repeat until trunk and flare are clear, down to the root collar, where buttress roots divide. Use hand tools, or compressed water or air, to clear the root collar. 8. Consider replanting the tree, if the flare is far below grade and the tree has been in the ground less than 5 years. 9. Consider installing a device to control erosion, or remove soil and fine roots outside of the root collar to make a gradual slope. 10. Apply 2-4” of mulch over the roots and the root collar, where they join to the flare. Avoid mulch contact with the flare. 11. Blend and incorporate the retained fertile material to expand the rootzone where practical. 12. Specify that future management will keep the flare visible." Turf to the trunk does not seem natural ime.

" anaphylactic shocks and coma for humans." Is there any verification; reported cases? I heard the same for OPM but never got confirmation; 1 dog was the total casualty list; maybe a cow or two... I've seen industrial vacuum cleaners used for OPM, but what about a blowtorch?

ID for what? Can't see em.

How hollow = Knackered? That other leader is hollow too. If branch failure is a concern, then cabling might be an option, rather than altering the structure too much.

Good catch on the teleology there Dr. S Yes urine dissipates through the wood; that's the idea. ? It's a sustainable and free resource too--if you run out, drink another pint! I'm also not keen on poisoning the earth--so something else can grow there.

Decay can be accelerated by drilling holes and filling with high-N substances, such as urine.

Right; the question is so broad, and trees so variable, the best we can do is generalise. I hope the del Tredici paper is of use--it sure was to me!

Ted Green talks of this a bit Immortality-PLANT SYMBIOSIS AND PATHOLOGY - Alan Rayner.pdf immortality del tredici 1999.pdf Grove_deadwood_2009.pdf Growing_Downwards_ancient_trees_Jan_05.pdf

I'm not sure this is entirely accurate. "they usually have full healthy crowns but no anchor root system" Like exaggerating, pulling out a 12-year old headline does not inform the discussion very much. If uprooting is a great concern, tie the trees together!

:sneaky2:Could be many things; CO2 poisoning from leaky pipe, hydrology, bad vibes, big crown, big wind... Does insurance pay more if a fungus is implicated? Smells like honey dunnit?

The "avoid pruning when leaves are forming" myth hasn't a scrap of science behind it. Good job getting the large limb retained. Now make the small cuts, anytime. I have a helper like that too. Vexing, but better than going solo, on most days. pruning collar dujesieffken.pdf

arbanner, how extensive is the Kretch on the current tree? Got a pic?

Playgrounds are the places where trees have very high value, and reasons to retain. Streetscapes also. Dam crime if the Parish is unwilling to get a professional assessment, with reasonable mitigation options listed. Their criteria are downright mycophobic. O and limes can stand on sapwood quite well; that's common knowledge.

To get a basal reading, tarmac must be removed. If the 40" dbh trunk had 4" shell wall, would that inform the owner's decision?

Dry the stem, not the soil. In this beech, the horrible structure leading to the stem dying is the problem. Unfixable really; a crossing limb (1st pic) seems to have been semi-inosculated; the graft did not completely take. If in time the 2nd beech could occupy the canopy space then this is one that might be expendable. But seeing the crown(s) would help a lot.

" In my shop, when we speak of columns, we mean columns of discoloration and decay. I knew that was not what you meant!" Your shop must be full of pathologists, disease-centric. "I don't know much about the tracing, I hear folks refer to it." 1 Tracing compacted bark down to phloem, to allow normal expansion. 2 Tracing included bark, to promote grafting and formation of a branch bark ridge, and avoid rams-horning. I'll start a new thread on that.