daltontrees

Strictly, Taphrina betulina.

Can be anything from light yellow to dark chestnut brown, even on the same twig, can be smooth to downy (but not onteh same twig).

Sure looks like goat willow to me. Complete with Melampsora leaf rust (Willow Rust).

Sorry if I seemed rude, but the guy did ask about pruning and the whole job looks like it would only take about an hour.

Not quite what I was thinking, the Highways Act doesn't apply in Muirhead. We don't even have highways up here, we have 'roads', and the legislation is the Roads Scotland Act 1984 and unlike the english Act it doesn't allow for the recovery of costs. Where a hedge, tree or shrub overhangs a road so as to ... (b) obstruct or interfere with ... (ii) the light from a public lamp ... the roads authority may, by notice served either on the owner of the hedge, tree or shrub, or on the occupier of the land on which it is growing, require him within 28 days from the date of service of the notice to carry out such work on the hedge, tree or shrub as is necessary to remove the cause of danger, obstruction or interference. I just noticed the word 'overhangs', so if the tree blocks a street lamp that is not within the public road, it cannot come within the Act because it does not overhang the road. Strictly speaking ...

As far as I can see, unless the Council cuts a tree back form a lamp due to imminent danger there is no financial penalty for not complying with a notice.

I have worked on a few. Around Glasgow almost every open-grown Gunnii was damaged badly by a cold winter in 2009, and many were finished off by another cold winter in 2010. I couldn't prove it but the ones that fared better had vigorous growth beforehand and a decent crown size. I'd go further and speculate that those that had been topped before and re-grown had relatively thick stems for their crown volume. A few did come back with juvenile foliage but these struggled for a year then gave up. I can't see from the pictures but yours looks like it's been 'done' before. A long cold winter is being forecast by the Met Office, so cutting back hard now won't leave the tree much chance. Personally I wouldn't be suggesting that the pruning required by the client is anywhere near best-practice, but since it has been ordered by the Council there are few alternatives. Leaving the protion of crown that is behind the lamp is a possibility, encouraging the tree to grow inwards into the garden. But maybe they want a more compact tree anyway, so cutting it back is what should be done. If you can leave long stubs on each substem rather than taking it back to one big knuckle it might be OK. What was the old rule of thumb, a length of 3 to 4 times the diameter of the cut substem? Maybe just warn the customer that there is a significant chance of the tree not fully recovering?

I just meant are you looking for advice on pruning or whether to get involved in the job.

Eucalyptus is very sensitive to harsh pruning in winter in the west of Scotland. Is the tree near Muirhead (your location)? By the way, if you're not the Council Roads Dept., spending time pondering the ins and outs of whether you can take your would-be customers' word for it that it's an adopted road and that they have to cut the tree back form the light seems to me a bit of a waste of time.

My guess is Rhus, the only one I know is Rhus typhina, which has some very odd autumn colouring effects. Might be that.

It certainly looks like a hybrid of the type first appearing in late 1700s. A 700 year old oak in good growing conditions wold have a diameter of around 2.9 metres. If it's that big you have got the scientific discovery of the year as it would have to be a natural hybrid.

Where was it, it looks like it wouldn't stand the cold?

Yes, it has te look of Sophora tetraptera about the foliage.

It would have been too easy and a bit negative to say 'if you have to ask, don't do it' but we all have to start somewhere and my first few reports (heavily caveated) were written an a tree contractor without any formal arboricultural training. The customer (not a client, note) was in no doubt that i was only giving helpful advice to the extent of my knowledge and experience and that I wasn't qualified or insured. Come to think of it, I didn't charge for them. Invariably got the jobs or on some occasions saved the odd tree from unnecessary risk-averse felling. Nice to see those trees 10 years on without crushed cars or tombstones beneath them... not so nice to see the other contractors that advised felling of the trees driving around in new trucks looking in love with themselves. Names withheld to protect the guilty.

Hold on! Are we still talking about heaven?

Yes. You'll get your fee paid in heaven.

The job's yours. 6 guys, 4 weeks. So if 2 guys are on traffic management, I suppose you're bang on.

Here's what the bark looks like.

That's the place! The trees are on the edge of the meadows to the east of the pond.

From that Oxford arboretum. Hornbeam on the left, Hop Hornbeam on the right. Also a picture of Hop Hornbeam 'hops'.

Down near Oxford there's an arboretum I went to, can't remmeber the name. Theres a Hornmbeam and Hop Hornbeam right beside one another and just going by thre leaves I tell you it's not easy to distinguish them. If you have one of each leaf side by side you can see the difference but if tested on it 2 minutes later you'd easily get it wrong. I'll see if I can find pictures.

It'd be better if it said there should eventually be nothing to worry about after the verdict.

Yaaaay! Finally a real hornbeam. Where are all the jokers now? I'd say not Ostrya, definitely Carpinus, very likely C. betulus

Picture of that big Beech in the middle that has fallen inwards.

Yeah but insurance won't cover gross negligence, insurers will duck it if the inspector acted outwith his qualifications and experience and/or without the reasonable skills required of a competent inspector. My insurers wanted to see sample reports and instructions before covering me. So don't call it anything other than a contractor's report and don't pretend you know about stuff it you don't.