Adam M

I recognise him too. I vaguely remember the thread that had this included. 3 years ago?

Should have shoved a flag in the top of it.

Hi, I'm looking for a site to lose around 30-40m3 of conifer chip towards the end of March. Ideally somewhere close to Fleet Pond. Can anyone help out please? Many thanks, Adam

Thank you! I shall email you at some point tomorrow

Hi, I current carry out tree safety surveys (and vet tree surveys too) for a district council. We are not quite starting from scratch, we have piles of paper data/maps etc but are looking to massively improve on this. I'm looking at getting into the tablet game. I would like to be able to map, record data and process job requests for contractors in one go, at the point of survey. Problem is that I have been told we cannot use Ezytreev; it must be something that can be used on an Android device at a push, or more likely something that is compatible with Microsoft (i.e. to use with the MS Surface tablet). We use ArcMap so would need to map to this. What I would like from you guys is to perhaps go out with someone who uses a similar setup so I can get a feel for how it works out and about. I really want to get away from the paper maps/paper everything way and not have to duplicate everything I do. Would anyone be willing to take me out for a day? I can travel Dorset/Hants/W London/Berks/W.Sussex (I'm based out of Fleet). If anyone surveys veteran trees in any detail then that would be massively helpful. Thank you in advance, Adam

Definitely a job for the wife.

When you say they have no interest in maintaining their trees, what do you imagine this would involve? There isn't much I would want to be done to a 50 year old oak that looked otherwise healthy. Was the defect obvious while the tree was still standing? For a claim to be successful, there would have to be an element of negligence on the behalf of the tree owner. This could be through not inspecting, not noticing an obvious defect, not taking appropriate and timely action to make safe the defect.

Had this phone almost a year now. I used one of those screen protector stickers and a leather flip case. So far it's unblemished and I've dropped it and sat on it numerous times. The only issue I've had with it is that the camera can be total guff on occasions, as though there is a greeny yellow filter in it, intermittently. In full sunny daylight though the camera is absolutely brilliant.

Hi, I presume RCX means root crown excavation? Yup the Armillaria is a concern and I'm hoping the mulch will slow it's effect. I would agree though that we should be having a dig around the roots. I think the customer would be up for it, indeed even if they weren't, it would make sense to spend an hour or 2 having a scrape around!

Long-term retention. They really appreciate the tree.

Hi, I looked at a pollard hornbeam earlier. It's in a private garden by an old millhouse (apparently hornbeams were often found by millhouses as the wood was used for making bits for wheels, cogs and all that). I think it's coming onto qualifying for veteran status with a stem diameter of 102cm (girth 302cm). Approximate height of 16m. Furthest crown-spread of 30m. The person who I looked at it with said that when he visited it in the autumn that it was riddled with honey fungus fruiting bodies and indeed there is much decay to the sapwood. The crown is fairly chipper to be honest although there was minor localised deadwood presumably relating to the dysfunctional sapwood on the stem. While it is a dense crown there aren't many hugely significant poor unions that were jumping out at me. The rooting area is partly surfaced as an access track which I obviously doesn't do it any favours. Approximately 70% of the rooting area is lawned. There is a permanent target of the millhouse on one side and the rest would be intermittent access and sporadic dwelltimes. My thoughts are to work on improving the rooting area as a priority. As shown in the "to mulch or not to mulch" thread, I'm think that a layer of cardboard across as wide an area as the customer will tolerate, mulched with hardwood chip (preferable hornbeam, more likely beech/oak chip) and collect and bung a few handfuls of earthworms on. Branch removal will be minor, focusing on those that bend downwards or which are exposed/proud from the main crown outline. While it has certainly lapsed as a pollard, it really doesn't look as though there are any stems that are about to fail. The chance of failure will certainly increase in the future so should we deal with this now? There isn't a lower crown to speak of and there doesn't appear to be many suitable points to prune back to on the long stems. Would taking off a metre all over perhaps stimulate dormant buds lower down in the crown to grow, allowing a secondary crown to develop so that 5 years down the line a second reduction could be carried out? I'm very conscious that removing any of the photosynthetic area will affect how the tree deals with the honey fungus. The buds are starting to swell right now so I think we've missed the boat to carry out works for the while, but with the relatively small amount of foliage that we're thinking of removing, late summer feels like the right time to do any cutting. Here are some really vague photos, does anyone have any thoughts?

doesn't it all drop out?

could be sessile oak (without stalk) or a hybrid of robur and petrea.

yeah definitely Nothofagus. ps good seminar yesterday! didn't realise there were quite so many London tree officers!

Ben at Sapling Arboriculture has one I believe.

Yesterday afternoon went into pub in Winchester and it was dry and no wind whatsoever. Came out half hour later and it was totally horrific with sideways rain and gales. Was quite surreal.

there's the Alresford tandoori equal distance in the other direction too, which is pucka. how about clay shooting near wareham followed by fish and chips and semi rural pubs in Swanage, wareham or Corfe Castle? square and compass in worth Matravers if you have a driver for the day.

Is Diagnosis of Ill Health in Trees just reissue of the previous edition? As that's what it appears to be?

I'm going to make a guess at damaged root collar due to the landscaping, leading to honey fungus having a tickle, killing sapwood and leading to dieback in the crown. As David says, the orange crust is secondary.

Jesus Christ. I don't think anything he did was right, apart from wearing warm clothes in the snow.

They're more fissured than platy innit?

Something about it doesn't ring true for sycamore.

Polite, professional, assertive. Be able to listen.

How do you use the data after you have taken it? it would be massively beneficial to have a central place to upload it to and for there be a way to use the data to assign importance to each tree, another way of valuing trees. say a landowner has 30 trees that may or may not qualify as veteran (or indeed ancient), how could the surveyor say tree a.b c and d are the best and most worthy of the allocation of limited budgets to protect them? also it could do with an additional field, who does this tree currently benefit? perhaps a way of zoning vets like zoning hazard trees could be used? ps. I am aware that some trees should be highly invested in despite being visible to noone, but how.do.you justify that?

I can pay deposit. I'll hassle some people to do the same.