Hello,
I am looking for a little advice on a great oak tree I have in my yard. The tree is hollowed in the trunk and the hollowed out area has rotted wood inside. The tree is very tall and appears to be healthy with full leaves.
Several years ago the tree seemed to be in very poor condition. The leaves were thinning and there were a lot of dead limbs in the top of the tree. It was diagnosed as having construction damage due to compaction and soil being pushed around the base of the tree. After removing the excess soil and several aereations per year, the tree seems to have recovered. The hollowed part of the trunk and the rotten wood has always been there and to the untrained eye, does not seem to be getting worse.
So here is where the situation gets questionable. I had a guy (a cutter but not an arborist) come to look at a tree in the back yard that needed to come down. He called me back and recommended that the tree in the front yard be removed because of the rotted wood in the hollowed part. He then gave me a pretty high price to do the work and I felt he was trying to scare me into hiring him to cut it. Then I had a friend come out who is a horticulturist (not aborists) and he said I should not be concerned about the rotting because the tree appeared healthy otherwise. I am looking for other opinions on the matter. Thanks.
I am looking for a little advice on a great oak tree I have in my yard. The tree is hollowed in the trunk and the hollowed out area has rotted wood inside. The tree is very tall and appears to be healthy with full leaves.
Several years ago the tree seemed to be in very poor condition. The leaves were thinning and there were a lot of dead limbs in the top of the tree. It was diagnosed as having construction damage due to compaction and soil being pushed around the base of the tree. After removing the excess soil and several aereations per year, the tree seems to have recovered. The hollowed part of the trunk and the rotten wood has always been there and to the untrained eye, does not seem to be getting worse.
So here is where the situation gets questionable. I had a guy (a cutter but not an arborist) come to look at a tree in the back yard that needed to come down. He called me back and recommended that the tree in the front yard be removed because of the rotted wood in the hollowed part. He then gave me a pretty high price to do the work and I felt he was trying to scare me into hiring him to cut it. Then I had a friend come out who is a horticulturist (not aborists) and he said I should not be concerned about the rotting because the tree appeared healthy otherwise. I am looking for other opinions on the matter. Thanks.