Kaizack

Thanks everyone! ? I had started sawing and snipping off all the suckers. Will leave it alone now then.

Thanks Treeation, I have bought a slingshot and am yet to use it! Could you explain the branches that have fallen/are falling off? Or is this just a result of the bark stripping? Regarding the stripped bark: the whole tree is like that, on every branch. Does this mean that the tree will die in years to come? Do I need to do any more pruning to maintain its livelihood? Edit: Very good to hear about the Birch and Oak being safe, thanks a lot

Thanks Mick, glad to know that the spots aren't anything serious- I was worried for a while!

Hello all arborists, A Sycamore tree that is two-and-a-bit feet in width (I dont know how old this tree is), it seems to be dying. The leaves are spotted black, so am I right in thinking this is Anthracnose? There are many trunks stemming from the main one, typical of Sycamores. All trunks shooting off have bark that seems to have parted (there is not continuous bark going round the trunks). Many branches have fallen off, leaving an unclean cut, these bits of dead wood have holes in them- are these some sort of wood-borers that have gotten into the dead wood? I have cut off all of the new 'suckers', as well as some established ones. The spotted leaves were also touching a birch tree, I have now cut those branches down to stop spread of infection, and they are no longer touching one another. I have also cleared the ground by the bottom trunk of both trees: of dead leaves, twigs and moss etc. I want to save this tree. Is there any way that I can? I am in a woodland by the way in the South East. These spotted leaved Sycamores are spreading, only a few trees remain without these spots. Other trees, such as Birch and Oak are fine. But will they end up getting infected? I am in no way a tree surgeon, just a gardener who likes trees and knows a little bit about them. Thanks.