Kveldssanger

Thanks for the diagnosis on the fungus. I've decided, given their lean and location (very near to numerous properties), removing them may be the best course of action.

I have created many imgur albums given the number of photos taken for each. Album 1 - fungus on Fraxinus excelsior - Fungus on Fraxinus excelsior - Imgur Is the fungus just feeding on deadwood from basal wounds or is it more hazardous? Album 2 - unknown tree - Unknown tree - Imgur Looks poplar-y - some of the small new leaves are almost like tiny aspen leaves Album 3 - unknown tree - Winter flowering cherry, perhaps? - Imgur Winter flowering cherry of some sort?

Big fan of the lime though, much like poplar, they don't work well in packed-in areas. It's both unfortunate and frustrating to see them in the wrong urban locations. Planting up a line of Tilia platyphyllos in an urban park area this winter as it's a little less packed-in. Will be interesting to see how they fare over the next 50+ years.

Indeed, the Paulownia tomentosa is lovely. Unfortunately I had to take one of the only ones we have in the Borough out as it was leaning at a good 30-35 degrees right over an end terrace. Shame!

What are everyone's thoughts on good / bad species to plant on streets, what would you like to see more of on our streets and what would you like to see less of? Personal favourites: Sorbus (mainly Bastard Service and Rowan) and Fastigiate Hornbeam / Oak Personal hates: Silverleaf Maple and Planes (completely tear up the ground in densely-populated areas - less dense areas they are not so bad) and Japanese Cherry (in certain instances).

I work for a Local Authority and we cut to 5.2m, or higher where appropriate. Footpaths vary depending on numerous factors (vegetation type, traffic, etc), though I will always clear above 7ft.

I get that request too from many residents who wish to contest my decisions following an inspection. "I do not think a 1.5m reduction is enough. The tree outside is at least 100m tall and why can't you just take the top out and cut all the growth back on one side? Trees shouldn't even be within 50 yards of a property you know."

It could well be. If an application for this tree comes in further down the line I'll certainly look to suggest something more preferable for the tree.

As in, crown reduced. Slang term I use, I suppose!

I most definitely could access them, yes. A tree officer (who now doesn't work for the council any more) would have approved the works a few years ago when it was crowned (before my time) - in my view I would have looked to have suggested a far less 'aggressive' reduction. With regards to your point about that potential mentality - that might well be the case. However, the owner genuinely seemed concerned so I'm going to suggest it was ignorance on behalf of the owner. It is just a shame that such a lovely oak suddenly found itself in the middle of a housing estate and is now being punished in the way of heavy reductions. Don't get me started on the "oh I love trees but just not when they are by my house". I am however shocked at the sheer number of Acer saccharinum and Tilia x europaea planted as street trees in very densely populated areas. It's absurd. At the same time there is a poor representation of Sorbus on the streets.

To be honest I was just curious more than anything. As a tree officer for a local authority I like to keep a tabs on what goes on with TPO'd trees, and in case I ever get called to something similar (or even the same tree) I have a greater understanding.

Hey all. I'm a tree officer working for a local authority with a university background in environmental conservation. I'm rather new to arboriculture (under a year - left university last summer) though am thoroughly enjoying being within the industry.

I believe the owner has been there for 5 years. The oak was reduced three summers ago, so two years after the now owner of the property moved in. Unfortunately the owner did state to me at the time he was interested in reducing it again in a year or two in order to keep it in the state it is in now. The reduction was indeed sanctioned, and in my own view it was an incredibly harsh reduction on the oak. The reduction was linear, and was mainly because the crown was encroaching on other buildings within the immediate area. My own view is that only one main limb was within such distance to a property that it arguably warranted a reduction, though I think the owner chose to crown the entire oak instead to appease other neighbours who may have concerns also. The oak was not dying back in any way, so I understand. Your final comment definitely resonates well with me, and I am very inclined to agree entirely. Thanks.

I recently inspected an oak (covered by a TPO) within a garden. The owner of the tree has stated that over the last two summers there has been a large amount of leaf / twig litter coming from the tree during the height of summer. The summer before the owner noticed the change in debris volume coming from the oak, it had received a very heavy crown reduction - I would estimate anywhere in the shape of 30-40% of the crown had been removed. As a result, the oak is now 'bushing out' in the crown. The oak is within a very enclosed space - it was a retained tree from what I imagine was an old field hedgerow when the estate in which the owner lives was built. As a result, there is likely to be a degree of soil compaction and other additional stressors impacting upon the oak that it previously never experienced. In addition to the heavy crown reduction of recent, am I right in suspecting the increase in debris volume is as a result of general stress? The only other thing I could consider was squirrels were using the oak to sharpen their gnashers. During my inspection I noted no visible signs of fungal decay. Whilst one side of the oak was considerably more buttressed than the other side, there were no visible signs of deterioration. Any help here would be hugely appreciated.

It is indeed a goat willow - I tend to identify these trees by the buds; they're very much pressed to the stem even in summer. Compiled with the leaves being rather wide (with a small hook to the side at the tip) and the diamond-shaped incisions on the bark, it can be quite a simple tree to identify once you know its traits.