Oak tree consult

stehansen

Climbing Up
Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Messages
9,185
Location
Ceres, CA
I went and looked at a valley oak tree a couple of days ago. It is in it's last death throes. Maybe 5% of the limbs had any leaves. About 30" dbh and about 45 feet high with a spread of 40 feet or so. It had a huge limb that ripped off (estimated 12" dia.) up about 20 feet high some time ago and several of the lower limbs cut off and about 10% closure of the wound. It sets about 10 feet in elevation higher, and about 200 feet from the Merced River. So it has the typical east side of the valley type riparian soil which is river rocks, sand, and it is down in the flat land so it has a little loam in there. It has a good root flare and one small wound on that probably from a mower. About 15 years ago they planted turf around the base of the tree and irrigated it almost year round for about 10 years. Then five years ago they decided it was taking too much water/electricity and quit watering the turf. This is when the tree started going downhill. I'm thinking that either the watering aggrevated some Oak Root Fungus and the root system was so compromised when they quit watering that it couldn't support the tree. As I said there it is probably only 10 feet or a little deeper to tap into the river water. What say yous guys. Is this enough info to go on? No pictures, sorry.
 
They watered it to death... Spot on.

Edit.. Good explanation on the root. Dig it up and it will be as rotten as all get out.

Edit #2.. Hope you can get your bucket to it or be able to drop it.
 
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  • #4
It was just a consult at least at this point Stephen. The HO lives in LA and the one renter said that he would make firewood out of it. Personally I think he would have a hard time putting his beer down long enough to get any work done.
 
Just expressing how I felt it might be sketchy for a climb my friend.. Sad how some have a can (or bottle) attached eh? You see it all the time up here. They even bring it to work and drink before they start to "take the edge off".
 
yup, a company I used to work for had a climber that would go in the bathroom during lunch and down 2 or 3 beers then come on back to work...I was working on the ground and the only one who wore a hard hat....yikes!
 
I knew a guy who drank Coors for breakfast.

He'd say "Corn flakes in a can!"
 
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  • #9
I had a groundie once buy one of those real tall beers when I was getting diesel in the truck. When I went in to get a cup of coffee the gal at the register tipped me off.
 
I walked in the "drop zone" of a tree while this menominee indian guy was climbing it. Heard a thud on the ground behind me; turned around to see a pint flask of rotgut rye whiskey.

The really amazing thing was, he asked me to send it back up!

O yeah, the tree...I don't know the species well, but 5% live canopy sounds a little weak.

re roots, a long rod pushed in tells you a lot if it's mushy where a root should be.

No shrooms?
 
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