Linma
ArboristSite Lurker
Hello,
I have a flowering gum tree, about 50 years old. Neighbor uphill moved in 15 years ago (the tree was already 30+ft high) and has topped the tree to 1/3 its height, and then few years later sheared off all the new growth.
in other words, he has attempted to kill the tree twice in the past. he has even requested the city planning commision to order me to remove the tree. (the city attorney and the director said no. he has no right to demand such things, and the tree is city-protected size, so even the homeowner's options are limited when it comes to trimming it)
recently he (allegedly) started to spray the tree with some sort of herbicide. the trunk was sprayed. the chemical has a distinct oily smell.. similar to oil paint smell, with hint of sweet smell to it. I hired a consulting arborist and he confirmed that the tree has been sprayed by some soft of phytotoxin. about 1/3 of the canopy is currently doing well (it even flowered!), but the other 2/3 is brown and dessicated. My arborist has recommended a wait and see approach to see how much of the tree will recover.
rolling forward, the neighbor has since dug a trench 2ft from the base of the tree about 15ft long, 3-4ft wide, 4-5ft deep, exposed a large root and has drilled 6-7 holes in it (and claimed to the police he may have hit it with a pickaxe. if so, he has tremendous aim and control since there's no gouge marks). I periodically smell the same oily smell in my yard, so i suspect he's pouring the same herbicide on the roots.
both incidences the police was called. they labeled it as felony vandalism, but without an eyewitness to the actual spraying or pouring, they won't press any charges.
rolling forward another couple of months, I recognized the same oily smell and investigated. a sapling that I had planted 5 months earlier was drenched in oily liquid, almost dripping. Security camera only shows the neighbor doing SOMETHING in the area, but couldn't catch him red-handed. Police wants to know what the poison is, but is unwilling to do the work (funding limit, and no person was maimed or killed). Again, can only take report, but no arrest.
So, I inquired the local herbicide testing firm, and it's very pricy if you don't know what it might be. quote I'm getting is $400 PER CHEMICAL tested. so if I know what it might be, it's $400. but if I don't and they start shot-gun approach, $400 multiplies. So I was hoping someone on this forum knows or has an idea what the chemical might be, so I can narrow down the field:
1. oily smell. similar to oil paint. It's not quite rancid-smell, but smells like an "old oil" with some sweetness to the scent. I smelled the bottle of concentrated RoundUp and Brush-be-gone, and it doesn't smell like that. (then again, they are not oil-based solution, I don't think)
2. the liquid that dripped off the leaf is clear, and not viscous--when I touched the leaf with a vinyl glove, it was clear. water-like consistency perhaps a bit more viscous like the lamp oil.
3. liquid does not evaporate after 6+ hours on the tree and its semi-glossy leaves
4. when I washed it off with water hose, the water turned a bit milky and frothed at the base of the tree before it soaked into the soil.
5. chemical is strong enough to severely damage/kill a mature flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), with 8-12in diameter trunks (it's a multi-trunk tree). and when the toxin's effect manifsted, it only took days for the canopy to turn brown and die off.
6. chemical also hit a nearby cotoneaster shrubs, and the leaves that were hit turned brown and died quickly. som branches died back, but most survived if it was partial spray onto foliage and twigs. one that got a full brunt of the spray died. small california bay laurel sapling also got sprayed, and that one died (amazing. I didn't think any herbicide could kill that weed tree!). It also hit california coast live oak sprout. leaves turned brown where the spray hit, btu otherwise the sprout seems to survive.
7. arborist took great interest in the leaf group that got hit by the blast. it had some striation pattern parallel along the veins. He said that was significant.
any help, pointer is appreciated...
I have a flowering gum tree, about 50 years old. Neighbor uphill moved in 15 years ago (the tree was already 30+ft high) and has topped the tree to 1/3 its height, and then few years later sheared off all the new growth.
in other words, he has attempted to kill the tree twice in the past. he has even requested the city planning commision to order me to remove the tree. (the city attorney and the director said no. he has no right to demand such things, and the tree is city-protected size, so even the homeowner's options are limited when it comes to trimming it)
recently he (allegedly) started to spray the tree with some sort of herbicide. the trunk was sprayed. the chemical has a distinct oily smell.. similar to oil paint smell, with hint of sweet smell to it. I hired a consulting arborist and he confirmed that the tree has been sprayed by some soft of phytotoxin. about 1/3 of the canopy is currently doing well (it even flowered!), but the other 2/3 is brown and dessicated. My arborist has recommended a wait and see approach to see how much of the tree will recover.
rolling forward, the neighbor has since dug a trench 2ft from the base of the tree about 15ft long, 3-4ft wide, 4-5ft deep, exposed a large root and has drilled 6-7 holes in it (and claimed to the police he may have hit it with a pickaxe. if so, he has tremendous aim and control since there's no gouge marks). I periodically smell the same oily smell in my yard, so i suspect he's pouring the same herbicide on the roots.
both incidences the police was called. they labeled it as felony vandalism, but without an eyewitness to the actual spraying or pouring, they won't press any charges.
rolling forward another couple of months, I recognized the same oily smell and investigated. a sapling that I had planted 5 months earlier was drenched in oily liquid, almost dripping. Security camera only shows the neighbor doing SOMETHING in the area, but couldn't catch him red-handed. Police wants to know what the poison is, but is unwilling to do the work (funding limit, and no person was maimed or killed). Again, can only take report, but no arrest.
So, I inquired the local herbicide testing firm, and it's very pricy if you don't know what it might be. quote I'm getting is $400 PER CHEMICAL tested. so if I know what it might be, it's $400. but if I don't and they start shot-gun approach, $400 multiplies. So I was hoping someone on this forum knows or has an idea what the chemical might be, so I can narrow down the field:
1. oily smell. similar to oil paint. It's not quite rancid-smell, but smells like an "old oil" with some sweetness to the scent. I smelled the bottle of concentrated RoundUp and Brush-be-gone, and it doesn't smell like that. (then again, they are not oil-based solution, I don't think)
2. the liquid that dripped off the leaf is clear, and not viscous--when I touched the leaf with a vinyl glove, it was clear. water-like consistency perhaps a bit more viscous like the lamp oil.
3. liquid does not evaporate after 6+ hours on the tree and its semi-glossy leaves
4. when I washed it off with water hose, the water turned a bit milky and frothed at the base of the tree before it soaked into the soil.
5. chemical is strong enough to severely damage/kill a mature flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), with 8-12in diameter trunks (it's a multi-trunk tree). and when the toxin's effect manifsted, it only took days for the canopy to turn brown and die off.
6. chemical also hit a nearby cotoneaster shrubs, and the leaves that were hit turned brown and died quickly. som branches died back, but most survived if it was partial spray onto foliage and twigs. one that got a full brunt of the spray died. small california bay laurel sapling also got sprayed, and that one died (amazing. I didn't think any herbicide could kill that weed tree!). It also hit california coast live oak sprout. leaves turned brown where the spray hit, btu otherwise the sprout seems to survive.
7. arborist took great interest in the leaf group that got hit by the blast. it had some striation pattern parallel along the veins. He said that was significant.
any help, pointer is appreciated...