Stress and Dents

Is there something....mmmm....ironic about the fact that all the trees I planted in memory of family members are....wait for it....DYING?

I know.

One of the dogwoods, the pink one for Judi, had to be moved because of NeighborGate. Oddly that one came through last winter a little better than the white one for my father...but both look like hell and I fear are not long for this world. THEN the Amur Maple that I planted for my mother began looking funny this summer. My friend Susan kindly cut down the dead limb and took a sample into the U of I plant clinic. Susan got the report the other day and the news was not so good.

Final Report
The Amur maple sample submitted to the University of Illinois Plant Clinic was not found to be infected with any disease causing pathogens. The sample consisted of a large branch section with dark green vascular discoloration originally suspected to be caused by verticillium wilt. Upon arrival the sample was cultured on acid potato dextrose agar to isolate possible vascular pathogens, no pathogens were isolated.  
Bluegray heartwood rot as seen on your sample is not something we see often at the clinic. Usually wood 
decay is a disease of large, old trees. These wood decay fungi are spread aerially and invade through wounds on the tree. On a tree as young as yours it is suspected that it has spread due to high levels of tree stress. In the lab it is impossible for us to know exactly how far the heartwood rot has spread, but based on the advanced decay of the sample it is suspected to be well established. At this point you can attempt to remove any dead or diseased limbs, and do what you can to restore tree vigor and reduce stress.  We 
must also warn that an advanced wood rot can impair tree stability by weakening structure, making it a possible hazard. If you begin removing infected limbs and find that the rot has made its way into the main trunk, then it may be safest to remove the tree. 

for some further information on wood rots see this link  
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74109.html

Sample# 201402088
Field ID
Host Amur Maple
Received Date 9/30/2014
County Champaign
DIAGNOSTIC REPORT State IL

Diagnosis and Recommendations
Host/Habitat Amur Maple (Acer tataricum ginnala)
List of Diagnosis/ID(s)
Inconclusive for Heart Rot (Unidentified Agent)
Inconclusive for Stem Canker (Unidentified Canker)
Not Detected for Verticillium Wilt (Verticillium dahliae)

University of Illinois Plant Clinic
1102 S. Goodwin
S-417 Turner Hall
Urbana IL 61801
Telephone : 217-333-0519
Diagnosed By :
Suzanne Bissonnette Sean Mullahy
Completed Date: 10/15/2014

Susan added:

It seems the bottom line is that-there's a fungus, and as other parts start to die back, remove them.  No course of treatment is recommended, so I'm presuming that it's not treatable and/or feasible. 

 

I can't say that I've ever noticed any sort of fungus growing on that tree.  I don't know what happened to cause it.  Perhaps there was some infection when the tree was young, such as in its' roots, and now it's progressing--the tree isn't very old. 

 

All I can say is that as any other branches start to look as if they're dying off, the thing would be to remove them. 

 

Sorry-I know this isn't what we were hoping to hear.  

 

 

Sigh. I'm kinda sad. And yet, when I forlornly read the diagnosis to my friend Nancy, she started laughing somewhat hysterically and pointed out that even the TREES in my life are stressed.

She's got a point.

In other news....life with refrigeration is delightful and our refrigerator got its first dent.

Here's Ernie sitting in the yard with the Amur maple behind him. He's using the lack of a functional right arm to excuse not shaving....can't really argue with that, now can I?