sloth

Finally sent home without having anything stabbed into my chest cavity, thank goodness. Seems it was/is a very small one, and they hope it'll sort itself out, I don't fancy the other scenario much! Panic over....

Yeah I'm resisting the urge to use Google! I'm otherwise fit and healthy and no injuries, apparently tall slim people just spontaneously have it sometimes. It's fairly small at the moment, but feck it hurts!

Indeed, should these all be felled because they aren't 'perfect'? https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Britain%27s+ancient+trees&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&oq=Britain%27s+ancient+trees&gs_l=mobile-heirloom-serp.3..0i24.32079.35787.0.36744.9.9.0.0.0.0.262.1536.1j4j4.9.0....0...1c.1.34.mobile-heirloom-serp..6.3.484.Az_Pp4siuPo

Anyone had this before? Sounds bad and I'm waiting in A&E for treatment now...

Why not retain it and plant a new one? Maybe take a seedling from this one, or a flower bed etc which would otherwise end up on the compost heap, and plant it next to this one? Then you can live with this (majestic) 'rotten stump', and your grandkids can too, as well as the new one. And then they may see the bats, woodpeckers, stag beetles, etc that depend on decaying wood. Or see bees nesting high in it, feast on the fungi fruiting from it and build a tree house and hide in the hollow - your great, great, great, great, great, grandchildren won't get a chance to experience all that from a tree you plant to replace it now! So to answer the original question, yes it can (almost certainly) be saved, and yes (I think) it should be.

This is why the employment forum is closed to replies!

This too is a possibility, certainly the cheapest!

Difficult to say for certain based on the one grainy pic, but I reckon the right side is at higher risk of failure and looks to be more over the track (no idea how often it's used though), so probably just a little bit less there than your line. The rest of the tree, on the 'other side' of the main failure, looks less critical (from a likelihood of failure and potential target point of view) and I think I'd take height as priority, and spread next time round. I hope the op keeps us updated...

I'd say that you're pretty much on the right track there agg221, with the one proviso that I think your initial pruning is too much; That tree has lost maybe upto a quarter of its leaf bearing twigs already. And yes, gnarly old veteran trees like this one are in my mind a beautiful thing, essential for all manner of wildlife, and sadly a rare thing due to either risk aversion or looking 'untidy' so being felled - shame! Drinksloe, a tree with a bat roost isn't itself protected, anymore than a tree with a birds nest in is. Would you discourage birds from your garden though? I don't mean to be arsey, sorry if I come across that way! This tree has been hollow a while, with what looks like brown rot (beefsteak or chicken of the woods fungi quite likely), so there's a chance it was being used by bats anyway. I'd suggest reducing bit by bit over many years will only ever be removing outer, probably not large diameter, and probably not hollow parts of branches - so not likely to disturb bats and hence no need for closer inspection than a standard pre cut check by the climber. I also appreciate that cost can be an issue, but I expect that 3 or 4 small reductions (not more than a half day for two guys and a chipper each time) over the next 15-20 years might be comparable to a one off 1.5-2 days work clearing it all and maybe replacing it. Plus then you'd lose what in my view is an asset of a tree, which has taken hundreds of years to reach its current size and interest, (and you might then be destroying a bat roost! *tongue firmly in cheek*) If you were nearby I'd drop in and have a chat gratis. I've felled too many like this over the years unnecessarily based on misguided info or firewood hungry bosses, it's nice to be in a position now to try and tip the balance back a little. Good luck whatever you choose to do with it...

After your good advice before I'm a little surprised at this. I wouldn't worry about bats and future work, all tree workers should be carrying out a scoping survey immediately before working on any tree (no extra costs there), and yes, if a tree poses a danger that overrides the bats legal protection. Where in the country is this tree?

Hard to say for sure without seeing the tree in person. However, if the tree owner wishes to retain it, I reckon it should be possible. Some good advice from drinksloe above. Can the track below it be diverted a little, what is there it could hit if it fell? A few neters reduction of height and width can reduce stresses low down by a surprisingly significant amount, so all hope is far from gone!

Surprisingly small root plate on that one, due to its sheltered location maybe?

No pic attached...

Cor, that was a close one! came across this while driving. Most of it clear when I passed, and luckily no one on the busy road when it landed around midday... Edit. Hard to see in the pics, lime tree approx 50/60 ft tall, limbs around 20-30cm diameter across the lane nearest the tree...

Does my mechanical ignorance show then?! Maybe try some wd40 and a hammer instead...

Thanks for the update. A good outcome for the victim. I wonder if others on the bus will now step forward? Or how many LAs/tree owner managers will inspect more frequently?

Sounds just like my car a couple of weeks ago. Was the idle control valve, just a quick clean with carb cleaner fixed it. Don't know if you have one on your motor?

Depends on what experience and qualifications you have largely, where in the country you are, and what sort of surveys you intend to do...

Lucky the cars not more damaged!

Thanks for the heads up Jon. Let's hope it stays contained...

Sure is, punishments just don't fit crimes anymore. A man (mental health care worker of some sort) in my home town was in the paper very recently, got 2 years and a few months. His crime? Attempting to kidnap an 11year old girl near a park. Punched her in the chest and stomach to wind her, sent the lad she was with away and dragged her off, a chance call from her dad scuppered his attempt. Where the hell is the justice in that!

Those circles running up and down just left of the centre are peculiar. Is that a decay pattern, or frass filled bore holes running along the length of the branch? Great find in any case...

Of course pics speak volumes, but if the trees have been repollarded, then what is there to shape? Do they want the bole carved?!

here you go, regarding use of the current standard...

You don't technically need any specific qualifications, I think the standard says something like a 'competent and experienced /qualified arboriculturist'. Come any appeals etc though, you really need to be able to robustly justify everything you have said. I think Treelife run a one or two day course on 5837 which might be more appropriate if you're wanting to do planning reports, maybe give them a ring - they are very helpful. Good luck with it all...