Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, But I'm curious whether or not anyone thinks this tree is going to live much longer. It's a large pin oak in my backyard. I added the 5 gal bucket in the 2nd picture to give some perspective to the size.
Tree health
- Thread starter fields_mj
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Sure doesn't look good - and surprising for a Pin Oak. Is this the first year this has appeared?
Anything unusual done to the surrounding ground in the past couple years?
Anything unusual done to the surrounding ground in the past couple years?
That is a recent picture? If so, no, it is not going to last much longer. I'd recommend scheduling removal sooner than later for a couple of reasons:
1) The more dead it is (or longer it has been dead), the more brittle the wood becomes which makes it more hazardous for the crew removing it.
2) The sooner you remove it, the sooner you can plant something to replace it. Planting is best done in fall or spring.
The only reason I'd wait is to make it fit into the budget at the right time...but start saving/planning for that.
1) The more dead it is (or longer it has been dead), the more brittle the wood becomes which makes it more hazardous for the crew removing it.
2) The sooner you remove it, the sooner you can plant something to replace it. Planting is best done in fall or spring.
The only reason I'd wait is to make it fit into the budget at the right time...but start saving/planning for that.
The picture was just taken yesterday just before I made the post. I'm not sure if the dead leaves are left over from last year, or if those limbs have died this spring after the leaves came on. I've removed the ends of some lower limbs over the years as they were dying. Last year I noticed more dead limbs up higher than normal, but nothing like this. The neighbors had the chain link fence put in this spring, but I doubt that would have had much impact. The only other odd thing this year is the Gen X Cicadas which are SUPER thick in this area. We had a couple of extremely late hard frosts also, but I wouldn't have thought that would have much impact on a tree of this size/age. There's another pin oak (slightly smaller but still big) behind it in the woods (about 40 yds away) that's looking similar but dead sections are all limited to one main vertical branch coming off trunk. It had a ton of grape vines in it. I cut most of the grape vines off last fall (actually on the neighbors property) when I dropped a large hollow cherry tree on my side of the property line. I think that oak has been hit by lighting. Mine may have suffered a lightning strike as well. I'm seeing a lot of large dead limbs in the top of it. Either way, it sounds like I need to plan on it coming down this winter. I hate the thought of removing a tree that's this old.
Anyone know how long of a bar a Stihl 064 will run? I don't think my 36" bar is going to be enough for this one...
Anyone know how long of a bar a Stihl 064 will run? I don't think my 36" bar is going to be enough for this one...
Does it have any spots like this along the trunk or branches? When the leaves fell did they brown out on the edges first? If so it could be oak wilt.
Your 36" bar will be fine. An 064 will not pull something larger than that, at least with any effectiveness.
Your 36" bar will be fine. An 064 will not pull something larger than that, at least with any effectiveness.
I don't see any spots like that but I HAVE noticed a lot of old/big oak trees in the area dying off over the past 5 to 10 years. I've assumed that it was carpenter ants because I've taken 4 other large trees down in the past 10 years (5' pin oak, 5' ash, 4' maple, and +2' cherry) and that was what killed all of them.
I'm always somewhat suspicious when I see the neighbors side of the tree dead.
One, whoever put that crooked ass fence in should be shot.... two, it looks like they trenched a line to bury the bottom... if they cut all the feeder roots on that side it might explain what is happening to the tree.
Actually the fence is straight as an arrow. Impressive actually, despite the fact that it's only 1-1/2" off the property line and the neighbor never mentioned that they were putting it in. To make it worse, the front half is a nice 6' tall wooden privacy fence installed backwards with the smooth side facing their house. Our small town has no ordinace so there's not a lot we could do about it. The contractor used a post hole digger, do I don't think that caused the problem. I noticed that it was starting to die last year, but this is a HUGE change since then. I wasn't expecting it to go this fast.
Just curious, what is the blurry light brown thing left of trunk?
I didn't notice it until you ask. Now I have to go check and see....
As suspected, it's a group of dead leaves on the end of a branch, blowing in the wind.
Wasn't carpenter ants that killed them. The carpenter ants nest in decayed or rotten wood, but they won't kill the tree. Carpenter ants feed primarily on insect honeydew, plant and fruit juices, insects and other arthropods. Inside, they will also feed on sweets, eggs, meats, cakes and grease.
Carpenter ants are a sign of decay in the tree, or there could also be rotten wood ie buried logs, old fence posts in the ground.
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