arb culture

Nothing wrong with them, good harness!

Phew, thanks. I liked the one I tried.

As i said b4 buy cheap buy twice

Are you saying that a Treehog is cheap and no good?

My humour is lost on these barren lands. :-(

Nah, you made me laugh

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it.

 

The driveway was replacing an existing one so I hope that didn't do too much damage, admittedly the laurels are new.

 

I have since moved the bins and am going to do the mulching / cardboard advice above that is just what I needed. There is some good growth right at the bottom of the trunk so I'm hoping that is a good sign.

 

I'll try and post on here in the future with a positive update!

Hi,

What you suggest is good, but looking at you pictures you seem to have some very serious soil compaction, so I really would also consider some soil aeration.

Do you know what sort of soil you have? eg sandy or clay.

As I understand it, airspading is not that useful on clay, but from my own experience I have found that simply drilling 1inch diameter holes at 0.5m spacing to a depth of 0.5m seems to work wonders in compacted clay soils.

Good luck,

James

Seriously though, thanks for the help everyone.

I went with Gustharts in the end, and, after having a go on one, I changed my mind and decided to get a Treehog rather than the cheapest harness I could find.

Don't forget spikes.....those need to fit really well.

Yeah, especially for climbed inspections of veteran trees - spikes are really important

Surely that should of been your starting point

Ha ha that made me laugh.

I asked around, but most of the climbers I know do it full time, and they therefore invest in better quality gear, so they couldn't really help - other than to recommend the suppliers that they normally use.

Buy cheap buy twice-just sayin maybe a more expensive kit would last longer and be better

Very valid point, but in this case; it'll be rarely used, and when it is used it will only be for very short and easy climbs. Cheap is definitely best for this one

Awesome, thanks Joe :-)

David,

Thank you for sharing - I studied this forest when I was at Uni, I've been fascinated ever since.

It's so lovely to see good quality photos of this magical place taken by an experienced arb.

Cheers,

James

That's cool, would you be willing to share where you've found it?

Very cool

Thanks luckyeleven, I was thinking of doing that, but it seems a bit of a hassle. I think I'll just ask my friends where they get their gear from.

Cheers.

I can't really tell how stable it is from the photos, but if the tree really has got broken roots, then perhaps a crown reduction and maybe even some form of propping would help.

I'd suggest getting someone who knows what they are doing to have a look.

What part of the country are you located?

I think thats a question you should ask the dealers. E.g. Gustharts , Honey Brothers and so on.

Oh well, thought it was worth an ask.

I'll ask my mates instead.

Cheers,

James

Hi all,

I'm looking for advice on the cheapest climbing kit available at the mo.

I'm looking for two complete sets of the most minimum and basic gear. I'm using it for climbed inspections, I don't expect it to be used often, and I won't be using it for long periods at a time. Hence the emphasis on low cost.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Cheers,

James

Hi,

 

I have a book from the library - The body language of trees by Claus Mattheck.

 

I just tried to buy my own copy and it is £130 used on Amazon - no longer available new.

 

Is there another way to get a copy cheaper? Or is there a newer book by him which covers the same things? He has written lots!

 

Thank you

You can borrow mine if you like, but I would want it back when you've done with it

Wow! I look forward to seeing number 3 and 4

 

May be prudent to keep an open mind as to there being more than one culprit associated with this decline, it could be a complex involving multiple agents.

 

.

My mind is totally open on this one, but I suspect you are correct that it is complex.

My primary suspicion is that it's a combination of biotic and abiotic factors.

The main thing I ask is that people keep their eyes open for dodgy looking sycamores and let us all know on here. It would be great to see how widespread this condition is.

Cheers

I think Alice Holt is the next step - I wanted to see if anyone on her could shed any light on it first though.

I also wanted to see if other parts of the country has noticed anything similar.

I should also mention that this condition is getting very common all over my part of the world (West Yorkshire). I'm guessing that about one in ten sycamores I see have at least some signs of this condition, and I've been noticing it for about 7 years now.

I'm not the only one getting worried.

Any clues would be brilliant.

Cheers

Perhaps look at Verticillium Wilt, this too affects Acer and is noted on the species as well as SBD by Forest Research

 

It can show as wilting of parts of canopies and dieback

 

The affected parts will have dark streaks running around the growth ring.

 

It's a soil-borne fungi Verticillium dahliae

 

If it weakens the trees I guess they may be susceptible to Armillaria also

 

.

Hi David,

I checked it out and there are no dark streaks.

I've also been asking tree officers in my area what their thoughts are.

Many have noticed the condition, but thoughts on the cause are unclear. one tree officer has, tentatively, suggested a link with the condition and Kretz.

I have attached some photos, but I apologise for their quality.

Leaves from affected tree and unaffected tree

Recent death

Group of affected trees - some showing major die-back but with reiterative growth.

Early stages affected tree on right and unaffected on left (for comparison)

There does seem to be a lot of confusion about the core issue ie who owns the tree. I refer back to my earlier post which basically says the deeds to the property are the key to unlocking this problem. This situation is reviewed by a LPA here under 'Determine Ownership' and in slightly more detail in APN 11 here under 'Who's Tree is it?'

 

You simply cant get away from the fact that trees, or any growing plant in fact, are the legal property of someone, and as such are subject to the ordinary laws of property. In this case, trees are considered 'land property' ie if you own the land around the roots of the tree - you own that part of the tree. If parts of the tree are removed e.g. chop off a branch - it is still owned by someone as you know, but now this is considered as private property, akin to a mobile phone or similar.

 

Comments about if I fell my 75% and it kills your 25% are obviously theoretical (as most of this thread has been!), however, if this were the case then it would give the aggrieved the right to pursue arbitration (again as mentioned in an earlier post). This issue would be to determine whether or not actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea (otherwise referred to as mens rea) was a factor in your choice to fell your 75% - did you kill his 25% intentionally?

 

Other observations about where the acorn falls are distracting as I believe their use to be a somewhat incorrect but often perpetuated interpretation of the law. It is long held that plants belong to the owner of the soil as stated previously (see Roman Law at d.41.1.7.13) and it is both common to both English and Scots Law (see A History of English Law by Holdsworth and Scottish Land Law by Gordon - Sorry, I have access to these books, but couldn't find E-book versions to post here).

 

I'm going on a bit now, so I will stop here for a rest while I prepare for some flak!

 

One final point to recognise though - we are all armchair experts with our individual interpretations of a complex subject matter. Ultimately though, it doesn't matter how we read all this information, the final opinion that counts is that of the arbitrator who makes a final judgement on any arising dispute!

What a great post - thanks 10 bears.

I think I am now finally comfortable on the matter of boundary trees and the reasons why there is such confusion and misinformation about the matter.

I'm grateful to you for bothering to post in such detail, with references, and with clarity.

Cheers

That's brilliant!

Just to be really really clear about this, if a tree is planted or an acorn allowed to grow even an inch inside one man's boundary, the whole tree is his property and his responsibility regardless of whether it comes later to straddle the boundary. The joint onwership (and I use that term in a loose sense for now, see below) only applies when a tree is ON the boundary (and it is assumed deliberately so and with the full knowledge, if not agreement, of both owners). There should never be a situation where ownership cedes to the encroached party in any proportion.

 

Your citations of Lemmon v Webb, Ricjardson v Jay and Heatherington v Gault support this.

Do they?

That's cool - but where? I can't find the bits that support your assertion.