nepia

Depends on whether the suckers develop their own fibrous root system, as in the case of a lateral that's been layered. I suspect they do develop such a system as, if left, they will develop into fully adult plants.

Bet on it?! Blackthorn will sucker like crazy and not even notice brambles etc. Without annual mowing right down the 'hedge' will become something a lot thicker in a surprisingly short time. I'd hate for you to do without blackthorn altogether - it provides valuable food and habitat - but just know that it will need assertive management.

Defo be wary of opening it up if you don't have mechanical skills. I did and was left with the inevitable small spring left over! Oil is good; the more the merrier. Pour it in until it's running out, then some more; you cannot over lubricate them. Jon

Replanting or otherwise increasing root volume in the ground can't be a bad thing on a bank, especially with the excessively wet weather episodes we experience nowadays.

It's still here Ian, girding its loins for the next assault on my back. Here you go Steve. Pic 1 shows fresh cut and old cut logs. Pic 2 is (obviously) a branch/stem union. Pics 3&4 are a section of ~20" stem sliced in half: one's a one man lift (followed by recuperation), the other's a two man lift; ask Ian! I take it you're aware of polished Catalpa's iridiscent property? https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mteyh8d6ke1cycf/ytx4CzhWMz Jon

Steve; re the three bowls in Faberge egg mode... you could do a Slackbladder and inlay the gaps to make a triple thickness superbowl I reckon. The asymmetric pattern would look superb across the changing background. Art for art's sake...

I'll do some measuring tomorrow Alec and take some pics, then e-mail you. It's gunnii btw. Jon

Not so bad eh? The garden here's looking a bit bare though. I'll soon be able to offer you a 40' euc!

Brilliant!

Yep, I got one of those and then put it through the washing machine. Doh.

I had a 57 plate Trek and have an 11 plate Aventura, i.e the basic models. 100 mile trip? I drive the 670 miles from Caterham to Caithness in April, breaking the ride in Newcastle. It is without doubt the most comfortable vehicle I've ever driven a distance and I take into account the £50k Merc I was driving yesterday (bloody gadget-ridden armchair on wheels!) I've never had major problems but then I don't push it. The 4WD on the Trek played up a bit (locked in 4WD High) but as the vehicle was leased that was sorted under warranty. The issue was one very well known to Nissan, namely a small switch in the top of the gearbox. Also there used to be problems with three transmission switches under the vehicle that weren't seated in fully watertight mountings (I kid you not - has been discussed on here a long time ago) but they were ~£180 a set a few years ago. Usually you just had to let them dry out for them to work again! All in all I'm very happy with my Nav: funny how no-one shouts up for them like they do other pickups but perhaps that's down to the type of people who drive them ('my other car's a Volvo' - not!) It wouldn't surprise me if Big J pops up in a bit; he's had a somewhat unfortunate experience with his Nav but he's been very unlucky with it, so much so that I think a free replacement a long time ago was in order. I feel for you Jonathan and quite see your point of view; you won't be buying another Nav! Jon

Thanks chaps; optimistic replies. I'll prime the ageing grey matter to update here if anything comes of it. Jon

As this is a thread awash with milling expertise can I ask if anyone knows if big Swamp Cypress - Taxodium distychum - is of commercial use, presumably in a milled state? This is a very early enquiry on behalf of someone who hasn't even seen the tree yet but has been told it's 4' thick: let's call it 3'! Access I'm told is poor so even if it was worthwhile I guess a Lucas Mill would be needed unless the tree's smaller than claimed. Thanks, Jon

Ask Ebayer kaaz24: Karen is half of Wills & Grabham in Somerset. They're Husky agents who have always come up with bits for me, e.g. front handle retaining bolts for my 262 a couple of weeks ago. Jon

Ha ha. I think I remember your mentioning it at the time: a bonfire left to die out but it didn't...?

The mycelium of Honey Fungus I would suggest.

Nowhere near then! Shame - you'd have been more than welcome to see one working here.

Where-ish are you jimbowuk?

Love my M300 but have little to add to the above: read the Wee Chipper thread. A big issue for me is the low weight; it's ~45kg lighter than the Greenmech CS100; 45kg that would kill the CS100 for my way of working. I'm not knocking the Greenmech - a machine that I guess outsells the Jo Beau and performs at least as well (esp. the 18hp one) - it's just that the weight would be an issue for me. The JB's a fine machine.

As said a complete sod to split when starting to dry. Your best chance then is to knock bits off the edge; don't even try to split it radially, especially the stem as the stems often spiral.

Noted Al - thanks for that. Are you aware of any such property of privet? I'm due to reduce a large hedge next month and a condition of the job is that I leave all chip for the chooks to play with. Jon

And turners would like the major branch unions I think.

I am not for one moment a tree surveyor but I recently had a large Black Pine subjected to survey in which I had recognised P.schweinitzii. My research of the fungus found a description of its action as 'typically 5-6' above ground level, but can be found anywhere within the tree's main structure; it's a heart rotter'. Sure enough the survey (Picus) led to the tree being condemned with the surveyor informally estimating a 30% chance of major failure (main stem) within the following 4-5 months. (That opinion was requested as the tree's owner didn't want to lose it until the spring). There were brackets last autumn 6' from the ground but historic ones tucked into the major stem union 5' from the ground, the tree being multi (3) stemmed. From memory no other fungus was identified as present though knowing the garden as I do I'll be amazed if HF isn't there when the thing comes down; quoting is under way! Every tree and every situation is different but perhaps this can offer some little help. Jon

The best answer to that is probably here http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/arb-trucks/68355-can-you-match-cs100-truck.html?highlight=match

Would just re-evaporate into the pile with the rising sun I'd have thought, giving the logs a stagnant, warm, humid atmosphere in which to 'dry'. Airflow's the key: just keep the air moving, regardless of how damp or dry it is.