David Humphries

So that's e/w on...........all of them Have a good one .

These two pears have had (and still have) Armillaria (honey fungus) in attendance. Both are still functioning albeit one of them in a different orientation. .

Hi Alec, I'd still be inclined to retain the lower growths as the assimilates produced by their photosynthesis will go straight to the roots without being diluted by the travelling down process due to the shorter distance. Surely the roots are the most critical part of the tree to encourage before the canopy ? Is your suggestion not more about maintaining a flowering unit for production & asthetics rather than the basic premis of developing a healthy root mass to keep the tree functioning ? .

I think its a slime flux (bacterial wetwood) oozing from a bark wound/fissure did you notice a vinegary odour? .

Even if the mulch just adds a visual nod to the root plate that may help keep the cars away from it then that would be a benefit in itself. I don't think that I would particularly worry about honey fungus as it may well be in attendance already. I've witnessed honey fungus be implicit in the failing of pears that have gone over, which have been left in situe and then kept growing. I'd hazard a guess at your pear being around 60 years old. .

Blimey, that's gonna take some kind of miracle to overcome it's ailments. I'd imagine that most people would be of the opinion to fell & replace. But personally I like the idea of holding on to urban orchard remnants especially if there are others in the local area. There may well be a specific eco-system being shared amongst them. Some species of invertebrates are very often living on a fragile knife edge and rely on these types of isolated (but connected) habitat islands. Fairly surprising that its still standing with that degree of decay associated. Probably a good job it was topped to reduce the sail of the canopy. I think that the mulch is a good idea, though I suspect the grass & weeds will continue to grow through it. It looks like its maintaining a vascular (water/nutrient) flow from what's left of the root sections up through into the canopy, so perhaps still has some sort of life expectancy. Does it flower & fruit? Although they often look unsightly I would look to keep & maintain any lower epicormic shoots & continue to remove the die back up in the crown. .

No sadly not, back home in N'market for the weekend but got plans. Will try to get to the July course a couple of times this year hopefully. Any tip for the Guineas? I think Kingman is looking good for his first Group 1 .

a good size indeed Marco did you check to see if it was already on the Ancient tree hunt database? .

& really good battery life too .

they're independent of a mobile as they have a mic/earpiece but you can pair it with a phone/mp3 player etc..... .

Completely agree with this Al, fine recommendation indeed. (cheers Peter ) Positioning toward the back of the lid was no real problem. I only got a pair, but will certainly be investing in another couple. really came into their own yesterday on a crane job. .

Wet day Mini crane removal on heavily leaning oak AgentArb in the saddle .

Thanks Andy, did you hear them before seeing them? .

Check out this old thread.... http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/picture-forum/7184-tutti-fruity-chestnut.html .

no way to id from the app I'm afraid, perhaps send to a local forestry pathology lab? Not sure how many species of Armillaria you have stateside, but here we have I think 7 species here witgh one of them A tabescens wholly saproxylic as far as i understand How do you possibly carry out your consultancy without the app at hand .

purchased ours in '09 I think, from the BTS group (not entirlely sure they still stock it) http://www.thearbshop.com/ Alternatively you could try here...... The Applications of Air-Spade - Tutex .

very intersting Paul Not overly confident that it is G pfeifferi, but I can see why you've gone that way. Personally not seen G pfeifferi fruiting on Pear and the Fungal Record Data Base has it almost exclusively on Beech across its 288 records with 7 on Oak, 1 on Willow & 1 on Lime. How accurate these records are is open to debate I guess. British Fungi - record details Can you take a wedge slice showing the flesh & tubes ? whats going on with the bark plates to the side & above the bracket? Older attachement point of a bigger bracket perhaps? .

Saproxylic species of Armilaria perhaps? Maybe a tad rash to condem the tree to uneccessary work due to the unknown? Worth getting an ID on the rhizomorphs first? .

Thanks for the update, shall watch with interest Had a play with Craig at Kew with the Arborjet system a few years ago, a little suprised its not taken off this side of the pond more than it has. .

Shame that sickly sweet lump of candy floss is obscuring the beauty of the decline specimen in the background .

Would be interested, thanks .

Anyone planning to attend tomorrow's volunteer intro meet at the Camden Town Hall? .

Fine shot Andy Was the nest open to the elements from above or accessed from a side orientated cavity opening? .

I don't imagine that any tree would really suffer with the amount of solvent over a relatively small surface area. I think if due care is taken in the removal process then no significant damage should occur to the outer bark, cork cambium or phloem. I've seen attempts to camoflage graffiti with a blanket spray where it looks kinda worse than the original graffiti. Probably difficult to find an exact match in colour. .

so four years on and its barely visible .