This tree isn't healthy. Is it savable?

11 years ago

We bought this house a couple of years ago. Out front there are two trees. One is a cherry that is 99% dead and will have to go. The other is this one (unknown, looks like an apple or pear but never bears fruit; has a handful of white flowers in the Spring). It has a web of little branches with maybe one cluster if leaves at the very end, making it have a lot of wood but very few leaves.

A large branch was removed who-knows-how-long ago and a chunk of the trunk has rotted away.

It has a recurring problem that the local extension service says is mildew.

My best guess is to go in and start pruning out the web of branches, but will that help? Is this a tree worth trying to rehabilitate or will it just be a danger when the next storm comes along? If it is worth saving, how do I decide which branches to prune and which to keep? I've googled around and never seen anything that looks quite as overgrown as mine.

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Comments (11)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
We can't answer any of your questions without some good images of the trees in question. Crystal balls won't even be of any help. I do have a Magic 8 Ball we can ask.

Seriously, pictures are necessary for those kinds of questions.
too_ambitious
Original Author
11 years ago
I posted a link to a gallery with a few pictures of the tree and one of the leaves.

I can add them to the thread if you need me to.
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flora_uk
11 years ago
rhizo_1 - if you click on the blue word Gallery. There are 5 pictures.

On balance I think it is a crab apple but the id doesn't really matter much since it is so diseased and decrepit. I think it is well past any rejuvenation by you. There are two possible actions. If you are a neat and tidy gardener looking for healthy, perfect specimens you should cut this down and start again. If you like a slightly mossy Lord of the Rings look to your surroundings and are interested in supporting your local wild life leave it and let it decline naturally. Dying trees support a lot of invertebrates which in turn support birds. They also provide nesting holes and bark crevices for many creatures. It's your choice.
too_ambitious
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you, flora_UK. There are a lot of other trees around, and this one is situated near electrical lines and could be a real hazard if it falls during a storm. I will go ahead and remove it.
famartin
11 years ago
"Thank you, flora_UK. There are a lot of other trees around, and this one is situated near electrical lines and could be a real hazard if it falls during a storm. I will go ahead and remove it."

Where? I didn't see any wires which were in any danger in your photos.
too_ambitious
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry, my pictures aren't very clear. You can kind of see them in the third photo. The network of small branches goes around the power lines. It won't take the power out if it falls, just make it much more dangerous to remove. The power company has said they will be coming through in the next couple of months to clear branches and I am guessing they will take a chunk out of the tree at that time.
famartin
11 years ago
Ok... I guess I wouldn't worry much about it from that standpoint. Besides, those look more like phone cables, not power lines... though its not completely clear either way. Usually they put the phone lines lower than the power lines on the poles, for obvious reasons.
too_ambitious
Original Author
11 years ago
I just looked again and I think you may be right. Good to know.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
get rid of it ...

its great grandpa.. its really old.. its in decline.. it has gaping holes ...it isnt worth the work.. effort or cost to TRY TO SAVE IT ... and its in the easement under utility lines ...

and unlike g-pa.. we can get rid of it ...

plant something new [not near the utlilities, its nto really your ground to plant trees in] ... and make sure.. you look for things that are PMildew resistant ... [and PM has nothing to do with its decline, nor health.. its a cosmetic issue]

and if you are considering another crab.. look for fire blight resistant ... [there is another name for it.. that is escaping me this morn] ...

ken
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Do you have a fireplace? Very few woods burn with a sweeter smell than apple, as well as really pretty multi-colored flames. Season it well before burning, of course.
too_ambitious
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, ken_adrian. That's what I suspected, but it's nice to have someone who knows more give an outside opinion.

I didn't know that, rhizo_1. I do have a fireplace. I will definitely make sure the wood gets chopped and split and then maybe next winter we can enjoy it. Is cherry wood similar?

This tree isn't healthy. Is it savable?

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This tree isn't healthy. Is it savable?

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