oak tree help

veronicadonnelly

Want to cry..

I have a beautiful old oak tree about 10 feet from my home. It leans over half the house. Because of hurricanes and north easters in Virginia Beach my husband hired someone to take out some of the branches (ones directly over the house). They were cheap need I say more..

I am sure this wasn't the best solution. However every time it stormes I have to move to opposite side of the house fearing for my life.

What really concerns me now is what the tree limbs showed. Black holes at the core and brown large coloring. See photos. I absolutely love this tree and want to know if this is a big concerns.

My neighbors in the last nor-easter lost an oak tree smaller but had much large signs of rot at the trunk.




Thanks for any help

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Garry Brockley

Hi the discolouration is normal within oaks they all have it, the hollowed out eaten centre is most likely a borer, but the worst part is the sub standard work carried out on the tree which is going to most likely cause you alot of problems in the future.
simple rules on tradies
1. always get 3 quotes
2. never take the cheapest
3. ask to see evidence of previous work(recommendations too)
4. ask to see the insurance details
5. ask about the qualifacations of the people doing the work not just the owner
6. use your head to decide which company suits you better not just the one who talks the talk
hope this helps

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veronicadonnelly

Thanks so much,

So true about finding a pro. I had no ideal he even hired them until today. Insurance ha they didn't even have hard hats.

Can I find someone who can fix this? What would a professional do at this point and can this be fixed before my tree dies?

thanks
V

Victor Lindsay

Repair takes years, and from a qualified Arborist. You need to let it grow for two years, then start to remove and shorten sprouts from the topping cuts. This takes time, but after several years you should have a new leader, and the topping cut will be healed. I have done this and know it works. Again, get a qualified Arborist that knows how to restore a topped tree.

On smaller branches I have seen it completely heal over and when a new leader takes over, you could not tell were it was pruned. I have see this when I've pruned young trees.

And remember, certified does not mean qualified. This technque is not tought through the certification program.

kiwi_tree_steve

too true mate!

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"You have to feel and touch a tree" Shigo

TreeSpecialist

Crown reduction pruning done by a qualified arborist could help followed by fertilization.

See: Austin Tree Specialists - About Crown Reduction Pruning and Tree Roots

Also, it looks like there might be a girdling root or two at the base of the tree. A root collar exam is in order to see if the base of the tree is safe.

It also appears that the tree is in sand. Sand does very little to hold a tree that is taller than the adjacent trees and/or has a root problem.

"Cheap" now can be very expensive later. Stay away from the cheapest folks. Ask for and get (from their agent - not them) a certificate of insurance naming you as co-insured before proceeding with any tree work. The only legitimate insurance certificate comes via the US postal service from the agent to you. Don't accept a piece of paper handed to you by the "arborist". With the internet, faxes, etc. it's really easy to produce fake documents.

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