ayemonkey

Yes the owners have had several fires to clear the garden so this seems to be the cause of the cracking. Thank you for your valuable advice, they have decided to remove it instead of pollarding.

Ah never thought of fire as a cause, does that account for the cracking of th e lower limbs? Root damage is certainly one probable cause as they had a digger in to clear the garden and there are no cracks in the other side. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll ask if they had a fire and take it from there.

Any other suggestions??

I went to view this tree for a reduction and noticed this damage to the trunk, The owners have only been in a year and said it started to happen in the summer, At first I thought it was physical damage done by a digger they had in but on closer inspection there are cracks appearing all up the main trunk and I could see some on the lower branches too. Where the damaged bark meets the good bark, there appears to be a callus formed where it has tried to heal itself under the bark itself sealing the edges. There is no evidence of any fruiting bodies around the base or on the tree itself and the owner hasn't noticed any. There are one or two insect trails, but nothing that would point to EAB. Some blackened staining which is damp. I was thinking phytophtora and would advise to remove it as it's quite close to neighbours house.

I need a climber to drop some overhanging oak limbs into a field as new fence is being erected. A days work next week, start of next. Please contact me for further details and day rate. No chipping just climbing.

Looking for a day's work either Monday or Tuesday in Berkshire/Wiltshire or Hampshire areas. Have tickets 30, 31, 38 and 39, 18 months experience, own vehicle and relevant towing licence categories.