Gnarlyoak

As advised by others, your pictures do appear to show grafting points. But yours do appear to be rather poor examples, particularly the example with the blue elastic band trapped in the callousing. Both appear to be showing symptoms of what is referred to as "overgrowth" (substantial thickening) at, above, or below the graft union and can be a sign of graft failure. Link here to the RHS website which describes the problem your trees appear to be exhibiting:- Graft failure WWW.RHS.ORG.UK Many woody ornamentals and most fruit trees are propagated by grafting. Sometimes the graft union fails, resulting in the main stem breaking off, dieback, poor growth or death of the... Best course of action would be to contact whoever supplied & planted the trees to replace them. They were wrong to accept them in that condition from the grower, and doubly wrong to try and fob them off on an unsuspecting customer! Good luck.

Send her a formal letter on business headed paper, asking her to provide you with her evidence so that you can forward it to your insurance company to enable them to process her claim for accidental damage. If you get the evidence, pass it on to your insurers & let them deal with. If, as I suspect she has no evidence to prove you caused the damage you'll probably hear nothing further. If she fails to provide evidence & continues to kick up a stink, send another letter on company headed paper to the committee her husband is on which sanctioned the works advising them that you will sue them for defamation if she does not cease & decist (spelling?). Might embarrass the husband to have a word. If the husband is on the committee, do you know if he was for or against the tree works. Maybe a call & chat with other committee members or chairperson might lead to a word in an ear that could nip it all in the bud?

I'm all for equality and imancepation and as far as I know there has never in my 2 decades experience of tree work been any deliniation between menswear and ladies wear when it comes to ppe & kit save for the "pinking" in colour of the odd pulley or 'biner here and there. Suffice to say there is NO and never has been, any feminising of boots; trousers (type A or C); saucepans ( only joking) or anything else used kit wise in forestry and arb. If your tiny and skinny it's size small, if your a humongous fat bloater it's size XXXL. So from that point of view we have always been an equal opportunities employer. May I add from a strictly personal chauvinistic point of view, when it comes to clothing, less is always more ladies, less is always more..... ? (Yeah, I know, I know. I'm a Neanderthal, so says 2% of my genes, I don't do PC)

No offence intended to OP, but don't see what the moral dilemma is here. If you don't strongly disagree with the way the application has been made, then do nothing! If you do disagree with the application then either openly or anonymously report the issue to to relevant LA and let them sort it out. Not sure why AT should be the arbiter of your moral compass. No one else here have either seen the trees or know the circumstances of the application and would thus be unable to salve your conscience. Sorry mate, it's your call. Go with your Spidey senses and listen to your gut. Remember "shit happens" because most people prefer to turn a blind eye than stand up & be counted! ?

KH Hire, in Leyland perhaps? Don't know if they do wee chippers but do do tracked and tow behinds. HSS hire could be a good port of call, branches everywhere, inc Bell Lane in Bury, if they don't have one in the local branch they could easily bring one in from another in Gtr.Mcr. area. They do do wee chippers but not sure if they'd do JoBeaus or CS100's

Nice straight flush cut at base of the growth will allow you to remove it without adversely affecting the tree. If you have some hand shears or a pair of scissors then cut the grass down growing around the base of the tree as well while your at it. Even better if you consider removing the turf completely in a 0.5 - 1.0m radius around the tree and added a mulch in its place.

A lift, thin & reduction done properly won't do any long term harm to the tree, limes are fairly tolerant, and will likely respond with vigorous regrowth. It may appease the neighbours for a short while, but you will probably, because of the regrowth response, have to have carry out further similar works every 3-5 years to keep it in check. You will probably have to move the greenhouse to keep the wife happy though. Pruning the lime will have limited benefits for your side of the fence unless you're prepared to fell the cherry tree at the same time. As that looks closer to the greenhouse and likely to be creating more shade than solely the lime but certainly in combination.

Well if the wall can't go, then regrettably you'll have remove the tree I'm afraid. Over time if the tree survives it will push the wall over. Even creating a "well" around the base of tree by just removing the hardcore only will only put off the inevitable if the tree survives. You probably don't want to hear it now, but before the wall & driveway went in, it would have better to have tried to dug up & relocated the tree. But that wouldn't have been an easy task & would not have guaranteed the trees survival in the long run. But right now stuck between the wall & driveway, it's doomed & the clock is already ticking down. Sorry mate.

Sorry but you have created a serious issue burying the stem by 2ft of hard core. Trees have a root flare zone, an area between the top of the root plate and the base of the trunk of the tree. By covering this up with a wall and compacted hard core you have covered this important area vital to the trees health and the tree will decline and eventually die. Creating a bridge over the roots might slow the decline, but burying the trunk by 2ft is a death sentence!

Yep, crab apple cultivar (know not which, there are hundreds) with a wooly aphid infestation.

Interesting little nugget you've highlighted there DtD. Seems that "Nicola" from HMRC's online help desk sold me a complete kipper about who was & was not eligible! Either that or she's been kept out of the loop on the Chancellor's need to know list.

Just a cautionary note to any self employed freelancers considering making a claim under the governments Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant. I spoke earlier today (online) to an advisor at HMRC, to clarify my personal eligibility for this scheme and thought I would post the outcome here to just help clarify who should and shouldn't claim under this scheme, the deadline for which ends tonight for those that have already received notice from HMRC that they are eligible to apply. Now on paper this scheme appears to be offering free money in the form of a grant of 80% of your profit earnings based on the monthly average of your combined previous 3 years tax returns x 3. But there are caveats to this and if you do apply you must be able to demonstrate and show proof that you had a genuine loss of all or most of your expected earnings. Now having worked as a freelance climber for the past 10yrs I know sometimes my monthly turnover/earnings can fluctuate year on year but know that roughly speaking the annual amount turned over/earned balances out in the end. So try not to fall into the trap off thinking that because maybe half your work has dried up these last couple of months, you are perfectly entitled to claim HMRC's grant hand out. You are not. If you do and are caught out you will have to pay it back. Every penny. And probably pretty damn quick too less other penalties be imposed, I'm guessing. You can and should apply for this grant if you have lost all or most of your income since the lockdown was implemented in March, either because you were unable or unwilling to work. Not to be accused of finger pointing but just to put into context what unable/unwilling is meant in this example. Unable = No one was employing you: Unwilling = You're self isolating because you are in, or were looking after someone in the "at high risk" groups. You cannot and should not apply for this grant (and this it turned out was applicable to me personally) if you have still been actively working and making an income during the lockdown period thus far even if your turnover might be down slightly compared to the same period in previous years. Things have been a bit quieter than normal for me, probably down by about a third. But, I have worked and I have earned an income, I am therefore ineligible to apply for this grant. I admit to having a slight bit of a moral dilemma about considering to apply for this grant or not, on the one hand should I help bankrupt the economy whilst also cocking a snook at all those poor blighters in dire straights that have been prevented making a living through no fault of their own, to feathering my own nest to tide me over bad times that might come further down the road when the national & global economies go into melt down to pay for this mess or using the monies to buy some shiney new things to try and help kickstart those struggling economies. In the end I asked HMRC for advice, see above. The upshot is, if you've done nowt and earned nowt since C19 lockdown, claim away and bloody good luck to you and more power to your elbow. If you've managed to keep at it despite the lockdown madness & chaos, don't take the piss and make a dodgy claim or HMRC will be all over you like a nasty rash and you will be made to cough every single penny of your ill gotten gains.

Aye, yer probably right. An over dramatic & uneducated assumption to make the point that to consider removal of this tree after you've started replacing the other structures is a bit of a cart before horse exercise. I can see that the OP perhaps thought that the tree might survive and they were prepared to consider salvaging it, but from the pictures it appears that the "can this tree be saved" question would definitely have been better asked before replacing the fence and starting to rebuild the shed. Because the answer would have been a clear no, and a much better outcome for all. The tree Co. lose the tree before anything else gets put in the way, then the fence and shed get built without having to fanny about around a dead/dying burnt out tree. Never ceases to amaze me how these things end up as after thoughts that make everyone else job a PITA. Like (in the past 3 months) the ash I had to take out a week after the new summer house was built directly underneath it, or the big oak reduction that had to be done, the day after the client got the builders in to start constructing the new extension directly underneath it, having trenched right through the roots, poured the concrete foundations and started to lay the first concrete blocks. Not my jobs; I was just the climber, but each time client had totally failed to mention at the time that "other works" were scheduled just before the tree work was booked to take place making everyone elses job a bigger ball ache than it needed to be.

To be honest I'd be slagging the client off under my breathe for having the fence and structure rebuilt before thinking about whether or not to have a severely fire damaged tree removed first; during or after the rebuild! In the first instance it might have been fellable in a oner or a just a few big hits. Now its got to be climbed and probably rigged off, and the whole time the climber and ground crew having to work in and breathe in the charcoal & its dust. Ending up filthy black and breathing in a potential carcinogenic material for longer than would have been necessary at the get go, would pee me off a lot more than a blunt chain!

From the two options you have provided one would need to ask if you are looking to get into tree work specifically or just general access climbing. If you're looking to get into tree work then the 2nd website details you have provided are not applicable, as the kit is being touted towards IRATA access climbers. Think recovering the millennium dome not climbing Mrs Muggins ash tree to remove a broken limb or save her pussy! If it's tree climbing specifically you wish to purchase kit for then you would be better buying the items you need separately that suit your personal size; weight; climbing style and experience. Generally speaking a ready made "kit" sold by a retailer may not give you everything you may need or include a load of bumpf you'll never use or touch again once you taken it of the packaging it came in. From personal experience, I would be hesitant to recommend Northern ARB Supplies. Not always very responsive to orders/queries/deliveries/complaints/refunds etc. and have given up using them myself a while ago. Found the likes of F R Jones; Honey Bros; Buxton's to be much better to deal with and offer good service and value for money for tree climbing kit.

Have zero experience of "Chicane" but do have to say that I find Blue Tongue works very nice with ZZ

I'd have to agree with the other recommendations here for XTC. As a newbie you cannot go wrong with a Yale XTC rope, absolutely bomb proof and very forgiving especially if you're going to stick with the friction/prussic hitch style until you a get a bit of climbing experience under you're belt. XTC is a great all-rounder, Marlow is a bit marmite, you could love it or hate it and not understand why without having tried something else. As a general rule, 13mm rope best for friction hitch style and sub 12mm for mechanical syle climbing. Whatever you choose have fun and stay safe.

They way I read how the Chancellor's bailout package for SE would work is this: Based on your past 3 years self assessment tax return (SETR) HMRC would work out what your average monthly income is. The government then provide you with 80% of that average monthly figure in lieu of the work (it is assumed) you have had to give up in order to comply with the government request for you to put yourself in lockdown to help the authorities deal with a national crisis. The plan is for HMRC to contact you in June, to inform you how much you are entitled to, and you will then be invited to accept or decline. You cannot apply for it directly, it is strictly by HMRC invitation only. You cannot dictate how much you want or receive, they will tell you how much you can get, period. The sum of 80% of your average monthly income is based on the 3yr/36mth tax returns less 20%. So if over your last 3 SETR you stated you earned £11k; £12; £13k per annum respectively then HMRC should calculate that your average monthly income is £1k p/m (11k+12k+13k=£36k ÷ 36mths = 1k) less 20% = £800 p/m. If the lockdown is in place for 3 months then you will be invited by HMRC to apply for £2400. You will be expected to declare this sum to the HMRC on your SETR that covers the 2020/21 tax year plus any other revenue that you receive during your regular trading in this tax year and you will then be expected to pay tax and NIC's as per normal on the full amount. It's not free money, but it is a taxable compensatory sum to help you survive the national emergency by complying with government instructions to stay at home whilst still providing you with the means of keeping your lights on; a roof over your head and food on the table. At least that's the way how I read the scheme would work. But I'm no expert and I have been snorting my gran's ashes from the urn on the mantlepiece whilst sat with my head next to a 5G transmitter!

Yes. Trim/cut the tops down to the top of the pleacher frame. Let the trees divert their energy to the side growth not top growth. Tie in as the side shoots develop following the outline of the pleach frames. Hornbeam is pretty resilient, you can cut back as and when you need to get the shape you desire, so not necessary to wait until winter when it is dormant. If you've got a sharp pair of secateurs handy and are self isolating at home at the moment, now is a good time ?

Goggles & respirator are a complete waste of time. Proper helmet with a visor is definitely recommended. If you do not know what you are doing, do not try to operate a chainsaw up a tree off a ladder. Search chainsaw fails on You Tube and you will quickly realise that some gear & no idea can quickly lead to a trip to A&E or the morgue! Aerial tree work should only be done by a properly trained operative. Just as importantly check with your local authority that the trees you wish to "prune" are not protected or you reside in a conservation area. They may be your trees on your land and they might block your view or prevent you from getting that all round tan but if the are protected you cannot just chop and slash at them willy nilly if your council judges they have an amenity value to the community at large. Even the removal of one branch could lead to a potential prosecution and a fine!

With such a flagrant attitude towards " 'elf 'n' safety" he is clearly not the messiah. He's a very naughty boy! (R.I.P. Terry Jones)

Nope, Honey Bros; Gustharts & Treekit are UK stockists of this boot. According to the manufacturer's website, they are stocked by Freeworker GMBH near Munich. I guess depending on which part of Germany you are based perhaps maybe Safety Green BV in Arnhem, Netherlands or Worksafety, in Kollin, Czech Rep. maybe closer for you.

Couple of other things to note. If you do the ROLO course this does not include the CITB H and S test. This has to be done seperately at another registered test centre so that's another 1/2 or day off to do that plus the cost of the test. If its been more than 5 years (I think?) since you took your chainsaw tickets, then BALI/LISS will not issue you with a card unless you have recently done a refresher. So if you need to do a refresher then factor in additional costs for more time off to do more courses and re-assessments! A massive rip-off/con/scam tis the CSCS "money-go-round" out of your pocket into someone (and/or several other) elses, just to get on site. Unless you're going to get a lot of construction site work you need to ask yourself if its really worth the cost/hassle/bother.

Hi all, Trying to identify fungi affecting a mature beech which has been in decline for a couple of years. Upper parts of the canopy had been dying back from the tips for past 2-3 yrs. This is the first time any fruiting bodies have been seen at the base of the tree. Not seen the tree for myself recently, and the pictures have sent to me by a third party unfortunately show some fairly desiccated specimens! Anyone any ideas? Many thanks in advance.

Oh god, please please please put heated handles on toppers! I'd give my right bollock for this. So with my offer & Mr.Bolam's, that's a full pair of extra bollocks, what more incentive do you need????