Sugar Maple with fungal growth...manageable?

DrHicks · 05-14-2012, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoxAlarm

Again...because I don't know anything...
I'm purely curious so don't be offended

The bird chips away the wood, returns to feed on the sap and the bugs attracted to it.

If the birds didn't peck, there'd be no bugs the the tree due to lack of access?

Actually, the bugs are already there. That's why Woodpeckers go after trees (and other wood with bugs in it). They either hear or smell or sense the bugs.

sdsester · 05-14-2012, 08:43 PM

See what the arborist says. I too think because the tree is young you may be alright but my concern is that your neighbor had a severely infected tree nearby that may have made yours sick regardless of its age. This is one reason arborists encouraging planting trees of different species. If a fungus, bug or whatever gets one tree it does not take out an entire urban forest.

I hope yours will be alright and is structurally sound enough it can be treated.

As Chris hinted. Topping off a tree or wacking at them to clear power lines like power companies do is as cruel as declawing a cat! Pruning is an entirely different matter.

Jeeps · 05-14-2012, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisn

That tree is VERY young, maybe 20 years old. The sap sucker will do it no harm. It is actually doing a good thing as it drills the holes which drip sap which the bugs love, which the sap sucker loves to eat. No harm to the tree at all, As to the fungus, the arborist will say to thin it out lightly to let air circulate better. If he mentions topping at all, you have the wrong guy.

I have to respectfully disagree on the little redheaded crapsuckers handy work on that maple tree. The tree is a WHOLE lot more valuable to a homeowner than his little skinny feathered butt ever will be...

Any time the bark is broken where the white of the outer wood of the tree is exposed, that is a opening for possibly fungus and /or disease to get in to the tree... Add to that, who wants a tree that looks like a guy with a portable drill was testing out his bit ?

I have a rule in my yard about critters. There is 75 acres of woods behind me, the critters can live in those woods and peck and dig all they want to....

Squirrels, peckerheads and anything else that comes in my yard and destroys my trees that will cost a fortune to replace to get the same size tree, or dig up my $50.00 a bag seed/fertilized lawn that I work HARD on to maintain, are putting themselves in to my, " pest category" . jmo

sdsester · 05-14-2012, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeeps

Squirrels, peckerheads and anything else that comes in my yard and destroys my trees that will cost a fortune to replace to get the same size tree, or dig up my $50.00 a bag seed/fertilized lawn that I so work HARD on to maintain, are putting themselves in to my, " pest category" . jmo

And they can be recycled and repurposed...

Biologist · 07-10-2012, 03:37 PM

I feel compelled to clarify a few things:

-Those holes are indeed from Yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Consider them harmless. They are much different from other woodpeckers who forage inside dead/dying trees. Also, sapsuckers are migratory.

-Limbs die off, and healthy trees will "self-prune". Your tree looks healthy! Be glad this isn't a silver maple--you'd be picking up sticks and limbs every weekend for the rest of your life.

-Many people have suggested calling up an arborist. I wouldn't. Instead, email a professor at the local university's biology department--they'll tell you more about your tree, its lichen, and they aren't looking to make money. An arborist will surely find "something" wrong with your tree, and no doubt will make an offer to come "fix".

Or better yet, get on wikipedia and read about Acer saccharum for yourself.