ARGH! Son of a B...

[Grenfell]

Here is the reason for my felled maple. I took a closer look at it again today and saw a funny looking root.

Actually it wasn't a root at all.

A rusted, metal pipe was inside the base of the trunk.

The idiot, useless, lazy, *#@&$^, previous owners (trust me on this one, they were useless) somehow allowed the tree to envelop a metal pipe as it grew. Or they inserted it into the base of the tree. Or...aliens put it there.

I dunno. The pics explain it all. It's obviously the reason the tree finally failed. You can see how the tree tried to grow around it and the funny roots that developed because of its presence.

It was a ticking bomb. A beautiful, mature maple felled due to someone's utter ignorance. Glad it didn't fall on anyone or damage any of the power lines and sheds in the vicinity.

I will now almost certainly cut the surviving tree down. As you can see, the pipe is embedded directly inside the trunk. I don't know how far up it goes, but I don't want the remaining tree to fall sometime when my son is playing under it.

A pity, it was a gorgeous fall tree. Sorry for the rant, but I'm bloody angry.

 

[Elmore]

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New measures to prevent bicycle theft

 

[Stumper]

Sorry about your tree but the problem was prepipe( Thehuge bark inclusions tell the tale)

 

[Ekka]

Sorry about your tree but the problem was prepipe( Thehuge bark inclusions tell the tale)

And this guy aught to know coz he's got bagpipes!

Hey, what's with the lean and big crack?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I agree with others, the pipe has nothing to do with that tree's problems.

 

[treeman45246]

Pipe was likely installed to drain flux and water from the area of included bark. Only natural to split there.

 

[Elmore]

And this guy aught to know coz he's got bagpipes!

Hey, what's with the lean and big crack?

Bagpipes???...Who you accusin' of having baggy pipes?

 

[treeseer]

Pipe was likely installed to drain flux and water from the area of included bark. Only natural to split there.

I agree. Defect was prepipe, but it could have been managed if the pipe had not been inserted and caused further damage.

Now that I see the width of the wound, I agree that removal seems the only option. That is a real bummer. Before you grind the stump and replant, I wonder if the root system will resprout next spring? Sometimes you get a very fast-growing tree by coppicicng.

 

[Grenfell]

I guess I kinda jumped the gun on my conclusion, eh?

I was upset enough that the tree had fallen and when I saw the pipe I snapped!

Thanks for all the helpful advice though! I will cut the tree down tomorrow and I might leave the stump till next spring as treeseer suggested and see if the roots send up some strong shoots, maybe I can get a new tree out of it.

When you are growing a tree by this method - coppicing (sp?), do you simply cut the trunk flush with the ground and then wait and see how many sprouts appear in the Spring? Then you select the best one, cut the others back and let it grow? Will the new tree have a good strong base - i.e. any chance of rot from the decaying stump? Thx!

Elmore - that pic was great, I needed a laugh!