Dean O

thanks Gimmer. from what ive read if rhody's arent near by then any bleeding cankers are bound to be syringae. would you agree? also syringea is the most likeley cause of cankers in HC's the pictures of the cankers themselves are similar in both syringae and p. ramorum

Maybe someone can clear something up for me..... P ramorum causes Sudden oak death infects beech etc, hosts can be rhodys viburnums etc and is fungal. It causes bleeding cankers and leaf legions where i get confused is ...... i was under the impresion that pseudomonas syringea (bacterial) is now thought to be the likely culprit causing bleeding canker in horse chestnut (rather than p ramorum as originally thought). do both diseases have the same/ similar symptoms or is there a link. does pseudomonas only attack hc, does p ramorum not infect HC?

looks like Ganoderma, possibly Ganoderma applanatum - as it seems to be associated with dysfunction in the stem. cant explain the purple staining though, wouldnt have thought it was nessesarily associated with the disease. pigment assosiated with the flowers perhaps, just as you can see the copper pigment in the stem of copper beech sometimes???? I'm sure somebody more informed will come along with a more scientific explanation:blushing:

congrats yorkshireman. would love to do it but havent really got the spare cash to carry it through. out of interest, how do you then go on to market this as a credential - ie to turn the qualification into work?

thanks. good luck with your search - IMO - do everythng you can to make the transition - im sure you wont regret it.

if the slave gone you normally get a leak - running into the cab, any puddles of clutch fluid under the clutch pedal? starnge that its a funny colour tho.

your right - there should be someone on site with arial rescue - but if your joining a team there should be one already in place. the firm should then be able to and willing to at least teach you the basics before going for the tickets. most people in the know will be willing to help you if you show commitment and willing to learn. IC's idea of a the ISA course is a good one. I have offered a bonus to my groundy if he completes it off his own back as i think the willing to improve yourself without being spoon fed it is worth a lot..

I know times are tough for many tree firms at the mo, but as you already have 30/31 and groundy experience : why dont you get looking for a groundy job and go from there? if you are the right employee then the right employer will support you through further training. tree science can be learned on web based courses (p/t and from home) but theres nothing better than on the job training for the more general aspects imo. tree and disease ID are important: just get out there with a couple of good guides and learn what you can yourself..... most employers will recognise and respect this effort more than doing an intense short course for example. dont get me wrong i would certainly respect somebody coming out of an arb study course part time or full time.

shame. the stem looks shattered. any obvious causes (other than the wind)? had decay entered from the old pruning wound in pic 3?

I agree totally with skyhuck. if your only taking in approx 2grands worth of tree work a year why buy a chipper rather than insurance: i know what i would want first. I know this doesnt answer your initial question but.... as i said in the first post you need your insurances, you should have your compliances for your own sake and the sake of the guys that in this instance it appears you are effectively employing to do the job. (other employment issues will come into play depending on earnings etc) :thumbup1:it is good that they have the correct ppe and tickets (compliances in this area means paper work for regular checks of ppe and saws or loler for climbing gear etc) those of us that are legit spend a lot of time and money ticking all the boxes in order to be legit, and hopefully make money as a result of it: unfortunately your gonna recieve the rants as your the kind of out-fit we all gripe about when we lose work to a gypsie firm. It doesn't do our industry any good to not follow regulations and it effects the lives of the people who work in it. on a business management side of things: if compliance with regulations for your own welfare means you cant make the business financially viable then surely its a non starter (tickets or no tickets)?

do you have a selection criteria for chosing subcontractors: making sure you can trust the subbies standard of work and standard of safety is important as it rests on your head. but is a good way way of getting through a large volume of work when you cant be in two places at once. you all need your usual insurances and compliances.

hi, I'm fairly new to fb id and its dificult to tell with it being so young: have you considered grifola frondosa/ hen of the woods? similar grey-brown upper surface and also found on beech.

dont really fancy the online either. if iwas to take somebody on I dont mind teaching somebody what i know as long as they are committed to teaching themselves by reading around the subject themselves. pointless if its going in one ear and out the other I suppose the trick is finding someone with a love for all thing trees in the first place. plus a good work ethic.

there isa guy i have in mind at the moment, who has some 'experience'. would like to get someone in with a bit of tree science behind them.

nice job though and great access!

ah hah i remember those from last summer,thought bout them the other day:laugh1: guy wanted to elliminate the problem of needle drop without their removal!! gave him a good price (remember thinking - ****- i underpriced that one) for removing the large one on his drive, and some work to the others...... cant remember exactly what tho. ended up leaving it with them to think about, as was called out to discuss with them time and time again... they were trying to get the neighbours to pay for part of the work as they had it in mind that they were going to benefit from the work being done too. if i remeber rightly the large one had quite a big old tear in the stem. are the smaller ones down the side of the property being removed too?

well done

must take huge amounts of core body strength to do that! im off down the culdisac to try it out on a lamp post! would be a pretty good routine for mrs jones's pine tree next week:thumbup:

taking a dead mp down in a week or two's time, any idea what made that an ex monkey puzzle. the one im removing was "pruned" a couple of years ago, covered in gaff injuries by the looks of it tho not sure whever this is what finnished it off. anycommon causes?

sorry slight derail, was that in gowerton andy? looks familiar

thanks Andy, will give him a call. were the schemes run from a local college - pencoed or gelli aur?

:thumbup:thanks for the links monkeyd. We'll be taking someone on soon, i'd love to support somebody on an apprenticeship. are the courses mainly practical (ie cs quals) or do they delve into the theory side of things with regard to tree health - fungi etc. or are these aspects that are covered at different levels of the apprenticeship:confused1:

any one know anything about the arb apprenticeships? anyone ever taken on someone on the scheme?

I'm based near swansea, not all that close but......, inundated with guys looking for jobs, with tickets that have been on the react scheme - gov money for retraining after redundancy, and guys who are phoning looking for work off the cuff so to speak. few one man bands stated up locally too. sorry i know this sounds bad but on the other hand maybe it means the work is there to be had?