denise
New Member
My first posting and I need help! We live in the Pacific Northwest,
Portland, OR. We have a Port Orford Cedar, nearly 60ft+ tall. Some areas
of it are dying, discoloring to the point of being orange in color. A younger
Port Orford, which appears to be an offspring of the mother-tree is completely dead. We love this tree, it is so beautiful and definately a climbing tree with wonderful and graceful limbs. The base of the trunk is quite large, almost 48" total. I have had three arborists come and look at it, with three different diagnosises and remedies.
-One arbortist identified the disease as "Phytophthora Root Rot" and said
it could live from 3-5 years more. Some fertilization may help it in the
short term. Very expensive estimate to eventually take it down. This arborist took a small slice off of a twig and noted the striations in color,
also looked at the roots.
-The second arborist said the tree would be completely dead by the end
of the summer. Did not do any testing of the tree. Nearly half the cost of the first estimate.
-The third arborist said that the tree does not have the Phytophthora Root Rot. He said the dead areas are due to winter damage, even though he did not walk around the entire tree to notice that the discoloration is in areas
which are not normally affected by winter damage. He said the tree needs
crown cleaning and feed/fungiside treatment. Did not notice the offspring
tree but when I pointed it out he said it was not the same kind of Port
Orford, rather its existence is a result of "bird droppings" but DOES have Phytophthora. The arborist said that the large tree was a "hybrid Port Orford".
My question is: is there such a thing as a hybrid Port Orford? Should I take
the gamble and pay for all of the treatments and the tree still dies? Should
I just let the tree take its own course, and in the meantime plant some others nearby to get a head start in covering up the large gap (and lack
of home privacy)? If this tree does have the dreaded incurable disease,
what are some trees I could plant that will not be killed by it?
Many thank-yous! Sorry for the long post.....
Portland, OR. We have a Port Orford Cedar, nearly 60ft+ tall. Some areas
of it are dying, discoloring to the point of being orange in color. A younger
Port Orford, which appears to be an offspring of the mother-tree is completely dead. We love this tree, it is so beautiful and definately a climbing tree with wonderful and graceful limbs. The base of the trunk is quite large, almost 48" total. I have had three arborists come and look at it, with three different diagnosises and remedies.
-One arbortist identified the disease as "Phytophthora Root Rot" and said
it could live from 3-5 years more. Some fertilization may help it in the
short term. Very expensive estimate to eventually take it down. This arborist took a small slice off of a twig and noted the striations in color,
also looked at the roots.
-The second arborist said the tree would be completely dead by the end
of the summer. Did not do any testing of the tree. Nearly half the cost of the first estimate.
-The third arborist said that the tree does not have the Phytophthora Root Rot. He said the dead areas are due to winter damage, even though he did not walk around the entire tree to notice that the discoloration is in areas
which are not normally affected by winter damage. He said the tree needs
crown cleaning and feed/fungiside treatment. Did not notice the offspring
tree but when I pointed it out he said it was not the same kind of Port
Orford, rather its existence is a result of "bird droppings" but DOES have Phytophthora. The arborist said that the large tree was a "hybrid Port Orford".
My question is: is there such a thing as a hybrid Port Orford? Should I take
the gamble and pay for all of the treatments and the tree still dies? Should
I just let the tree take its own course, and in the meantime plant some others nearby to get a head start in covering up the large gap (and lack
of home privacy)? If this tree does have the dreaded incurable disease,
what are some trees I could plant that will not be killed by it?
Many thank-yous! Sorry for the long post.....