treeseer

"...Couldn't detect any decay with the probe and the bark seemed intact down in the compost pool but what do you reckon about the adaptive growth (pic 2)" Looks pretty strong. "Staining" might just be water with tannins etc., and not a sign of microbial activity. " and flattening of the branch people (last pic)?" Tissue is apparently being added where it's needed. "Are those bark healings signs of cracks underneath? No evidence seen to support that theory. "any advice welcome. Somebody reduce that sprawling branch before it breaks! Cabling would conserve benefits, as less pruning would be needed. Was a nearby tree recently removed? Looks like it grew away from something.

Yes looks like a bird did it; what's worth noting is that those holes are noninvasive, i.e. no living cells were harmed during the excavation. So no harm done.

What language will the workshops in Sweden be in?

Moisture and other factors weigh in, so cannot say that all will fall unless dirt is removed. Gotta dig down and look really. Attached beech had 19" of red clay on it for 17 years and... Detective Dendro - The Case of the Wonderous Washboard.pdf

That would have been a sad loss. The reiterated crown is amazingly symmetrical! What 'replacement tree' would be as symmetrical, or functional, or valuable as that?

I knew that red maple leaves at a certain point in their growth is bad for some horses, but never heard that acorns are. If so, the pig solution seems quite reasonable.

Perhaps just chill a moment and give it some tree time and that tree may grow on you! Any cost/benefit study has to factor in the value of the lost benefits if felled (which is a strange term to use here, as it clearly has already fallen). How many years til a replacement contributes the same? Do the math. Adjust your aesthetic. Give trees a chance. Please.

Climber is in the tree in the second shot of post 262" Yes about 3m+ away from the cuts! Pole clip used? "Top section (central leader) was left at that point of initial pruning to maintain as much photosynthetic material as possible (whilst reducing the leaning weight) with a return reduction planned 3/5 years later." I knew it "Trouble with woodland trees here, they get pushed further down our priority list as trees with issues in higher target zones become the focus. Some of the original management plans for these types of trees that should get second/third return works, slip." That's too bad; sounds like you need a cadre' of citizen climbers to volunteer. One of your guys in each tree with 3 maybe, a training day with CEUs maybe? red tape nightmare i suppose.

Nice pruning; done with a MEWP? I've been trying to sort out how to get tied in and get the right pole tool to make those cuts; fairly daunting from here. It doesn't look like the central leader was touched. If toppling is the concern, perhaps the same kind of 1-3m reduction pruning treatment might later be done on it as well?

Ash are so straight-grained--ours are also prone to splitting. So the last pic is of the 50% topping? I wonder how much habitat objectives drove that high a spec, but haven't worked with that species. How do you reckon the closure and sprouting will be?

ok get me the addy and i'll swim over with the trowel tween my teeth! How's it stood all this time?

Cost of a survey? I don't understand. The cost of picking up a shovel and getting dirt off the stem is negligible. The local TO should understand this, and do it before calling for the chop. Prescription before inspection is malpractice.

The focus on defect and targets aside for a moment, have you considered a competent inspection before prescribing works? There's a lot of data just minutes away Recommend felling to cover bums; that's a common myth here too. Truth is, that's no cover at all. In fact it's an admission that one knows not what one is doing. Kinda like the driver of that brown trailer.

Why not find out a little more before prescribing such a chop? Get the dirt off the stem and find the root collar, and you'll likely find signs of codit, and also get a better idea of the extent of decay. The strength loss from decay cannot be assessed without considering response growth. That woundwood looks rock-solid and vigorous. 10-15% off the ends seems a more likely spec for this condition, but first inspect, or you're shooting blanks.

Thanks Taupo; I remember that Q velutina with the horrible form. The specs for Jack's tree are similar to other old oaks. It'd be interesting to see how your work comes out. "Surprising that a seemingly well regarded 'Heritage' tree is potentially being given up on without throwing a heap load of management at it." A heap load of assessment is instead thrown, always a budget for that! Their post-failure mgt was to whack 2 huge limbs near the house. A primitive sacrifice to the mysterious gods of nature, like tossing virgins into a volcano. "Do you think it's the cost implication of ongoing management here Guy or pure risk aversion to the thought of failure?" A little of the latter unfortunately; new managers tend to worry like that. Cost implications are exaggerated when the work is not understood, and most assessors here are far removed from pruning operations. So it's more the uncertainty than the cost. That's why I come to arbtalk, so I can refer to examples of the fine work done in the UK.

There have been many popular articles so no i did not link them all. Jules what did you find so illuminating? David, occupancy rate during storms is extremely low. Cabling the one leader will tend to protect the house, which is the only target, aside from the rare pedestrian. From this view it's sheer neglect and malpractice, allowing unchecked sprawl while (apparently) removing interior foliage. The commonalities with the Anne Frank tree here are scary. I doubt anyone will build a cage around this one; I hope they agree to allow pruning and reassessment in 2 years. We work with trees, so we should work in tree time. Taupo, i trust that cooler heads will prevail in NZ. Got a pic?

This tree shed a big limb a year ago, and has been assessed to death since. Not a dime spent on pruning, evidently. Now it's being condemned. Why is that? Comments welcome on the alternatives. http://www.historictreecare.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/jacks-oak-painted.jpg That the author's name is the same as your capital's is just a coinkydink. :001_tongue:

Same with ISA International

Those trees are alive? Persistent!

Treatment for Armillaria atack, Is it an attack, or is it colonization? I would look first to any negative impacts on the tree, as it is these and not the Mellea thats the enemy, Yup.

So what treatment would you suggest? My nose must be broken--can't whiff any Arm. I have seen those black bumps in other oaks, and found those lesions will tend to close if cleaned. Less idea what is going on inside... Totally agree that 2nd oak was a soil failure. I tend to blame failures on a lack of reduction pruning of overextended branches. My bias maybe.

Yes, an horrendously huge cut at that. Another mitigating kind of observation--the fork at the left of the pic has a similar color. If rain was recent, we might be stressing out about water here.

It can also be caused by sap leaking from underoccluded sites of severance. aka nothing special. Yes indeedy worth a return check. And perhaps scrub and rinse, to get a baseline for observations.

Here's a synopsis used as a handout, fwiw. Critiques welcome. RETRENCHING HOLLOW TREES FOR LIFE 131119.pdf

I just got a copy from them too; 11 pounds to ship; tolerable. Pretty good stuff on pruning, as far as it goes. Which is still a whooooole lot farther than any US books, sad to say. Great stuff overall; almost as good as the action shots with narration at arbtalk!