Diseased oak tree

15 years ago

I have a pretty large oak - 70 feet tall, that is diseased. I had a certified arborist take a look at it and he told me it had some kind of fungus hollowing out the trunk. The barks are falling off and I can see black fibers growing where the bark was. I have two questions. First is if this indeed is fungus and the tree can't be saved. Second is when I cut the tree down, should I take the stump out completely as well. I have other oak trees on my property. If I keep the stump, is there something I can do with it? Something nice, creative, fun for kids? Oh also, I have gotten quotes for the actual tree cutting job, and the price ranges from $970 to $2000 other than the stump grinding. Does that sound right? Thanks!

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Comments (2)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
in suburbia.. i would have paid for stump removal ... just due to lack of space ...

on 5 acres now.. a rotting stump is one more attraction in the garden...

so.. how much property do you have.. and do you need the space???? only you can answer this ...

for wood to rot .. it needs water .. and nitrogen ... to speed rotting.. drill holes into the stump ... and insert 49-0-0 .. or any extra fert with high nitro ... and put a sprinkler on it.. and keep it dampish ...

or.. ignore it.. since you dont need the space ...

if cut flat enough.. you can cover it with pots.. and grow things in the pots.. and the run off from the pots will aid in rotting...

with my kids.. little dirt monkeys.. i do not bother adding the fert ... no need for them to play in those caustic white lumps of fertilizer ...

cheap tree cutters are not necessarily the best... make sure whoever you hire.. has full insurance for you and himself... like work comp ....

WHATEVER you do ... depending on whether the disease can spread.. consider retaining the wood chips and the firewood.. unless some tree expert tells you this could threaten your other trees ....

though some will tell you that the other trees are threatened by the disease ... honest tree peeps should also say that otherwise healthy trees should not necessarily be prone to the disease ... so whether you keep the wood chips is a hard decision .... i am no disease expert ... and will defer entirely ....

in other words... the disease may not have killed the tree ... the disease may have come along to 'finish off' and otherwise dying tree ....

good luck

ken
jean001
15 years ago
You said "The barks are falling off and I can see black fibers growing where the bark was."

Search for images of Armillaria root rot. The black fibers may be rhizomorphs; they're the reaosn it's sometimes called the shoestring fungus. It's a common affliction of oaks. Also,
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Diseased oak tree

Comments (2)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

jean001

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