How to identify weak ash to cull?

[maowwg]

I would offer a different perspective having dealt with an infestation on our family home. (150 ash from 6 to 30 inches in diameter) I would approach it from the view point of WHEN you will cut them not IF. My focus was cutting the most hazardous trees while they still had some life so things like plunge cuts, hinges and wedges worked in a predictable way. The longer you wait the dryer and more prone to “ash snap” everything becomes, making it a more difficult and dangerous the problem. I don’t know how many trees you have and how many weekends but it was a marathon for me.
Death by EAB removes all the moisture from ash trees making them break at the base, and limb junctions etc. They also “shatter” when then hit the ground
If you don’t engage the issues your wood lot will be a tangled mess of deadfalls and widow makers in roughly 5 years. Bottom line is cutting in years 1-3 of the infestation is much safer than 4 and 5.

 

[JimR]

I manage 5+ acres of hardwood on my Maine property. About 17% is white ash. Emerald Ash Borer has recently been spotted in Maine and although the closest reported infestation is about 80 miles away, I expect in the coming years we'll see it here.

Following guidance from Maine Forest Service, I've started identifying and felling some of the weaker individual trees. The ones where bark is falling off the trunk or peppered with woodpecker holes are a no-brainer. But what are other surefire signs that an ash tree is either dead, ailing, or near the end of its life? It's winter now so I can't go by foliage.

And what else should I be doing to prepare? I'm resigned to losing some trees but would like not to have the stand decimated.

In the Spring if you see new clumps of growth growing at the base of larger dying branches cut it down. My Ash trees in Mass. have Ash blight due to too wet and too dry of seasons over the past few years. Most of my trees have it and are dying off. I do not have EAB as of yet and have had a professional arborist look at them for me. I'm culling the bad trees and leaving the rest.

 

[JimR]

I stand corrected. I used to work in the northeast. The major stump sprout species were poplar and beech. I guess I never noticed ash do it.

My Maples and Oaks are sprouters but my Ash are not.

 

[SweetMK]

Long before the ash borer, (~1982) was ever discussed in Virginia, I bought a home in Virginia.
The previous owner had a mantle cut at a sawmill , 3"X14" X 16 feet long,, out of ash.
I bought the home, the "mantle" was setting in the basement, elevated, and held by blocks as weight, to dry.
Well,, about a month after we bought the home, the mantle twisted so bad, it was useless as a mantle.
I cut two pieces of the board, and made a mailbox post out of it,,
thinking that the width and thickness of the wood could make it usable for several years.

I coated it with some treatment the hardware store said would protect it.
The mailbox post was installed on Mothers Day,, EXACTLY one year later, that post fell over.
The ash wood had rotted completely through, in 365 days.

I think I could have used ANY other wood, and had longer life as a mailbox post,, compared to ash!!

So, I believe there is more than the ash borer that makes the trees fall quickly,,

OH, and for a mantle, a local, very old bakery had been torn down, I bought 3" X 16" X 24 foot beams from a recycler.
The beams look hand hewn,, out of pine,, VERY old.
I brought 7 of them home on my 1969 Ford F350 with a flatbed, and heavy duty cab protector.
The recycler loaded the beams with a forklift, I chained them down,, the F350 front end was barely able to stay on the ground.
The beams were up on the cab protector, and almost dragging the ground,, but, I got them home.

Using a chainsaw, I cut one of the beams to 14" wide and 16 feet long, it has been our mantle for 40 years.

 

[GrizG]

In my experience the term “weak ash” is redundant when it comes to ash in an area where EAB are found. As others have written, plan on taking them down or cleaning them up when they fall. I’ve also found that saw logs must be harvested and milled shortly after death if not before as they degrade quickly… still good for firewood but not so much for woodworking.

 

[MMG]

In my experience the term “weak ash” is redundant when it comes to ash in an area where EAB are found. As others have written, plan on taking them down or cleaning them up when they fall. I’ve also found that saw logs must be harvested and milled shortly after death if not before as they degrade quickly… still good for firewood but not so much for woodworking.

I just noticed signs last spring of my Ash in trouble. Now most look like the one in this pic. How long before they get too dangerous to fell?

 

[SweetMK]

I just noticed signs last spring of my Ash in trouble. Now most look like the one in this pic. How long before they get too dangerous to fell?

Hook a "safe length" of chain to the tree and "jerk" it,, see how many branches fall.

"Safe Length" is a length of chain that is longer than the tree is tall,,
(Borrow from your neighbors if you do not have enough chain,, they will be borrowing your chain for a jerk test,, soon)

If I were gonna cut it, I would repeat the jerking, until no branches fall.
It is your life,, if you don't feel comfortable that a branch is NOT gonna fall, stay away from the tree,,
Let nature take it down (nature WILL bring it down,, soon) or pay someone who has the proper insurance, and training to cut it,

Back in the mid 1970's a neighbor that was a millionaire (When a Million dollars was something) was cutting a tree for his daughter.
A big branch fell, and ended his life,,
That was a dead tree, with a branch that was ready to fall, and he did not know about the branch.
The money did him no further good,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[MMG]

Hook a "safe length" of chain to the tree and "jerk" it,, see how many branches fall.

"Safe Length" is a length of chain that is longer than the tree is tall,,
(Borrow from your neighbors if you do not have enough chain,, they will be borrowing your chain for a jerk test,, soon)

If I were gonna cut it, I would repeat the jerking, until no branches fall.
It is your life,, if you don't feel comfortable that a branch is NOT gonna fall, stay away from the tree,,
Let nature take it down (nature WILL bring it down,, soon) or pay someone who has the proper insurance, and training to cut it,

Back in the mid 1970's a neighbor that was a millionaire (When a Million dollars was something) was cutting a tree for his daughter.
A big branch fell, and ended his life,,
That was a dead tree, with a branch that was ready to fall, and he did not know about the branch.
The money did him no further good,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I like the idea of the jerk test. I should have enough chain, plus the length of the FEL, plus the cab of the tractor….takes care of the widow makers….what about the amount of decay? I am assuming that these trees should be very sound/solid seeing that they had leaves last year. We are just now really starting to bud out and I haven’t yet checked to see if any of these trees are still trying to live.
“Jerk Test” that could be my new name on this site….LOL
Thanks again.