sloth

That's about 12 posts a day Mr Plogs, I wonder if anyone has averaged more than that?

Agreed it is Meripilus giganteus, and traditional thinking is that on beech a fell is the only sensible option; however with more current thinking, if you are keen to retain the tree then there is more to it than "beech + merip = fell". So don't call it a gonna too soon...

Good news, and worth another bump. all the more reason for people to use arbsafe...

Gbuggle, if you're still interested I have found this book. PM your address and ill get it posted...

Good sensible option here. Especially if you're a little short on space for a large tree long term, this will keep it safe almost indefinitely, small(er), easily managed, and probably increase its ecological value too...

Are they for real?!

Yellowing leaves with green veins sounds like magnesium deficiency. But, very common with camellia is manganese and iron deficiency caused by the soil pH being to alkaline. If feasible over winter replace soil around it with ericacous compost, or use some acidic fertilizer. Of course, it would be worth testing the soil pH first. They can also suffer with a cosmetic virus which I can't remember the name of, but I wouldn't worry about that...

Not far from the truth. I did almost a year on the railway before I couldn't take it anymore, its hard work trying not to work and didn't suit me. Being keen to get on makes everyone else look bad, so then you're made out to be the bad guy. Night shut downs were better, limited time to do the job so all hands on deck, and double time pay too. Never again though!

There is no 'ticket' which allows you to do them, it boils down to relevant experience and training. Tree life I think do a short course which covers it specifically, but you will also need experience to be able to write a decent impact assessment/method statement etc. There is more to it than meets the eye...

Give up and go to the fishmongers...

Very nice, and unusual. And I like the crack, it doesn't look out of place at all...

Kveldsanger, on the taste of Fistulina it is a bit of an acquired taste. I've found the best thing to do is slice it soak it overnight in the fridge in milk. Then for brekkie drain it, dip it seasoned flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs and fry with garlic and olive oil. I've also heard of people who boil it and discard the water before adding to a meal, or soaking it in wine overnight before use - I can't say I've tried that though. One other nice option if it's young and firm enough is to slice thinly and add to salads, or pickle it...

True, and on walnut I'd say it is completely normal to have a red/purple tinge to young leaves regardless of temperature. Nit picking a little here, but it is not defoliation - that would be losing existing leaves. It does have some small dead twigs in the crown periphery, probably caused by a less than perfect rhizosphere - compaction from vehicles, the tank under the crown possibilty of spillage/leakage etc. Again though, not really dieback in my opinion, that would be progressive dead twigs working their way further into the crown/larger diameter branches over time. This is just typical dead twigs, from typical less than ideal soil conditions, caused typical human activity close to trees - happens anywhere trees and people co-exist...

I might be interested in an Essex course, depending on location and dates. Best register interest as above I guess...

That's funny coming from an American!

Arctostaphylos, are you out there?

Cheers Jules I have it in my mind he tested various changes to salicylic acid on his mother (or some other relation) to try and stop the negative side effects of stomach upset. Would that be correct, or just a fabrication of my own hazy memories?!

The aspirin is actually salicylic acid, and found mainly in the bark. It's where aspirin originally came from, but the acid had a tendency to upset stomachs. Some clever guy whose name I can't remember discovered something I've forgotten to change the chemical structure to produce aspirin. I imagine it is all synthesized in a lab now though, I've never seen a medical Salix farm!

Hard to judge from a pic, but I'd say that's a minor infestation of Cryptococcus fagisuga (woolly scale insects). Any BBD would be secondary to severe C. fagisuga colonization, if it is even present at all - the black exudate could be from early BBD or it could be from Armillaria. You'd need to look a little closer, at the location on tree, and wider context to give a more educated guess...

Second pic is just lichen, that first pic however looks like bad news for a horse chestnut - Kretzschmaria deusta...

I used to get this, figured out it was my leather belt rubbing. I just took it off when climbing, my harness held my trousers up...

But is it genuinely dangerously structurally? Would the 'hazardous' branch(es) land away from the road or bench, would it be caught up in branches below, it is likely to fail slowly while remaing attached, or fall suddenly and unhindered to the floor? Is felling the only option, what about pollarding? Sure you'd have costs in cyclical pruning - good access though so what 3-5hrs work to re-pollard it every 5-10 years. Or fell, grind and replant with a good size replacement (significant cost right there) and hope it survives without the need for any work to be a tree large enough to enjoy a pint in the shade of in 20 years time. Why are people so quick to fell and (hopefully) replant larger trees? It takes so long for a tree to start to provide all the benefits of pollution filtration, carbon sequestration, visual impact, shade, ecology (especially deadwood) value etc. Is it not better to have a regularly pruned larger tree than one or two small ones which may or may not ever get the chance to grow large? 100 5 year old trees are not equal to 1 500 year old tree!

It worked fine when I tried Any news from the tree officer yet?

Wow they are some monstrous roots, any signs of hollowing? And is it a Ficus species?

He's now a delivery driver, I sometimes wonder how he loads the parcels!