Emerald Ash Borer

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by montcalm

Yeah, I was going to mention that. I've seen this done for private residence where just the crown is removed. My neighbor has a black walnut where he did that, and it's coming back to life, it seems. It's been growing new shoots every year and keeps growing.

Pollarding is also a common practice in some areas with yard trees to keep the trees from getting too big.

[BillyGr]

Originally Posted by DSettahr

It's also possible that if it were someone's private tree, the tree care company they contracted gave them two options: "We can either cut the entire tree down and you can pay more money, or we can mitigate most of the risk by cutting most of the crown but leaving the trunk and you can pay less money" and the property owner went for the less money option.

I guess that would depend where the tree in question is. If it is not close to a building or the wires, then taking it down completely should be cheaper - just cut across the bottom, let it fall over then cut it up.

Easier/quicker than getting someone up to the top to take parts off and leave the bottom?

Obviously not as easy where the wires are involved (unless you could cut it to direct it to fall away from them), this would be more for someone's own property where space is more open.

[montcalm]

Here in suburbia they almost always take them down in pieces. Too many obstacles to hit and most tree services have cherry pickers.

It’s expensive. It’s kind of a shame because a lot people don’t want to replace the trees because they are concerned about the expense and/or don’t want to clean up after them.

Personally I can’t stand all the open golf fields devoid of leaf litter and doused with fertilizer and pest/herb-icides. It’s terrible for our watershed.


I've noticed the state (or perhaps counties) plants a lot of Honey Locust along the large highways. Not sure exactly why, but I was guessing it was a relatively fast growing tree that has few issues, and probably is robust to salt pollution. They aren't quite native here, but they grow well. I have one in my yard - I have zero complaints. It's a great shade tree and it's easy to clean up after. The leaves are so small you can easily mulch them right back into the ground with a mower. It doesn't leaf in as quick as our natives and holds its leaves a little longer, but it does its job, and will probably be quite successful in our warmer climate to be.

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by BillyGr

I guess that would depend where the tree in question is. If it is not close to a building or the wires, then taking it down completely should be cheaper - just cut across the bottom, let it fall over then cut it up.

Easier/quicker than getting someone up to the top to take parts off and leave the bottom?

Obviously not as easy where the wires are involved (unless you could cut it to direct it to fall away from them), this would be more for someone's own property where space is more open.

Sometimes, this is done. Even when there's powerlines involved, if there are no other potential targets and the crews think they can safely notch and pull the tree away from the wires with a rope, they might do this. This is generally only done with smaller trees, though.

But EAB also causes the ash trees to quickly dry out, which in turn makes the dead wood extremely brittle. (This is also why you don't see any efforts to salvage the trees for commercial value after they've been killed by EAB- the wood is essentially worthless.)

Accordingly, ash trees killed by EAB can be very unpredictable- and dangerous. They can fall in unpredictable directions even when properly notched, they can break apart as they are being felled, and when they impact the ground they can (and often do) shatter into pieces of all sorts of different sizes, some large enough that as they bounce away they then present a possible additional hazard. Even a single dead ash can be too unpredictable to safely notch and fell, regardless of any other potential targets in the vicinity. In instances where you've got multiple dead ash trees all in close proximity, trying to fell a single tree can result in multiple trees all coming down in unison, uncontrolled.

OSHA regulations dictate that when taking a tree down, you must also consider (and potentially address) all other hazard trees within 2 tree heights of the tree you're dealing with. That may seem excessive, but its with good reason- OSHA regulations are written in blood.

[geogymn]

DS, Good info!

[greatexpectations]

agreed, thanks for the great read.

[montcalm]

DS - I checked those trees I asked about. You're 100% correct. They are all trimmed right below the utility lines, just enough so they can't damage anything.

I probably should have noticed that, it seems pretty obvious to me now... Guess I was hoping for a better outcome.

[montcalm]

I found something today that could offer perhaps a glimmer of hope against the EAB.

I had an ash tree removed at my house over 10 years ago. This was pre-EAB infestation here, but the tree had storm damage. The stump was ground and I eventually planted new trees in that location.

I happened to be building a garden there, and disturbed some roots, which I thought were from another nearby tree. I didn't think much of it until the other day when I saw some odd looking "weeds" sprouting in there. I noticed today that they were attached to an old root. It's tough to ID them so small, but I compared to another Ash stump sprout sapling and based on proximity to other trees, I'd guess it must be an ash.

So long story short, those roots are still "alive" and ready to regrow. Could ash recover itself after EAB has eaten itself to extirpation? I wouldn't rule it out based on that...

[chairrock]

Originally Posted by montcalm

I've noticed the state (or perhaps counties) plants a lot of Honey Locust along the large highways. Not sure exactly why, but I was guessing it was a relatively fast growing tree that has few issues, and probably is robust to salt pollution. They aren't quite native here, but they grow well. I have one in my yard - I have zero complaints. It's a great shade tree and it's easy to clean up after. The leaves are so small you can easily mulch them right back into the ground with a mower. It doesn't leaf in as quick as our natives and holds its leaves a little longer, but it does its job, and will probably be quite successful in our warmer climate to be.

.
"Thickets of this tree ,the honey locust, can also provide excellent wildlife cover since the thorns will help keep predators out. The flowers are a good source of nectar for bees and other pollinators. The honey locust is a host plant for several moth and butterfly caterpillars." I like the black locust for honey bees, make a great clear floral honey easily distinguishable on the honey frames. Also make great fence post.

[St.Regis]

X2 on the honey....Black locust is great for firewood too. It burns like coal. BL also grows and regenerates fast. If you had a few acres of it on your property you'd be set with a near endless supply of fuel. Pretty impressive for a tree related to a bean

[rickhart]

Without constant control, someone likely WILL have acres of it on their property. I have some of them. They seed prolifically, and also send up suckers all over. For a gardener this is a problem. i can live with them, but if they died I wouldn't reintroduce them. But I agree with the other comments. It's beautiful, fragrant, and burns well.