Arboricultural Systems Integration

The Bur Oak, or Burr Oak (Quecus macrocarpa), produces a huge acorn. These are the size of golf balls, or larger. I picked up about 20 pounds of them (two shopping bags full) this evening. We'll be rowing them under composted mulch so they will sprout in the spring. Then they will be collected and planted around our place, and much later our clients' properties.

This is a solid, low maintenance, tree for larger yards. The large acorns will jam up gutters, and even dent cars, so keep them located properly.

We are in the process of creating the most powerful collection of tools to provide our clients with the most effective tree preservation service in this part of the world! And Robert Randall knows how to operate it all!

Recently it came to our attention that a local media personality proposed a rather startling tree care technique. He advises rubbing ‘compost’ into tree wounds. We must state that this flies in the face of a huge body of peer reviewed research, as well as a long history of well-informed, well-educated, long experienced arborists, plant pathologists, and botanists.

Composted material may cook w**d seeds and kill them, but many deleterious fungal, bacterial, and viral organisms survive the composting process. Some that may be found, will affect humans, also: tetanus, aspergillus, Legionnaire’s disease, histoplasmosis, and paronychia provide quite real threats to farmers and gardeners. This is why masks must be worn, and dry gloves donned, when digging in compost or using compost. Some of these can produce life threatening diseases, while others can incapacitate one for days, weeks or months.

Now, it should also be obvious, considering the very long list of microorganisms that affect people, that there is an equal, or even larger array, of those that can cause your trees serious problems. Shredded or chipped wood from Hypoxylon infected trees might be relatively safe when incorporated into compost, however the spores are known to survive well in the soil. It is for this reason that we strongly advise tree owners to avoid damage to the basal flare or surface roots of trees. Such wounds are easily infected by rain splashing the spore laden soil into the wound.

Research by Texas A&M and other agricultural researchers indicates that Hypoxylon may lie dormant for many decades beneath the bark of a tree, hindered in expansion by the high moisture content of the underlying sapwood. But if the tree is stressed or drought affected, the Hypoxylon may explode in growth and kill the tree within a year or two.

Therefore, we strongly advise against rubbing compost into tree wounds. It doesn’t matter if the tree’s wounds arise from the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, boring insects, or impact trauma, we want to keep those wounds clean. UV light will often kill many disease organisms, so we do not recommend use of asphalt pruning sprays. In the splash zone of the trunk, basal flare and surface roots, we may wish to consider sealing the wound with orange shellac.

Concurrent with this less than savory application of compost to tree wounds, is the suggestion that one can use fire place ashes in the mix of compost. Please be aware that some trees, particularly our smaller growing understory trees such as Dogwoods (Cornus florida), Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) that perform best in acid soils may not perform well when one adds fire place ashes to their root zones. Alkalizing their root zones may result in systemic shock, serious chlorosis, and opportunistic insects moving targeting such stressed trees.

What is most important about tree wounds is insuring that they are shaped properly in order to promote the most rapid sealing by new callus tissue. For that, one is best served by consulting a qualified arborist or arboriculturist. Beware of those that recommend home remedies that have not withstood review by those that adhere to the Scientific Method!