Tree rot noticed after pruning

9 years ago

There's a maple tree in my neighbor's front yard that had one large branch overhanging my driveway. The branch had limbs that were hanging low enough to graze the top of our SUV, as well as making people duck when walking along our sidewalk. The entire branch was also obscuring our view of the neighborhood. So 5 days ago, when my dad and I were pruning the low branches on our 24 trees, we also pruned down this branch, since it was in our yard. We did it by the book, with relief cuts, cutting close to the trunk but leaving the rounded portion at the base of the branch. It was a clean cut with no trunk damage.

Yesterday we had very heavy rains here. Today morning, I was shocked to see 2 large shelf mushrooms growing directly on the main trunk of the tree. They are nowhere near the pruned branch. The tree otherwise looks healthy. The cut portion where the branch has turned brown, but is otherwise showing no signs of rot.

My questions are:

1. I've read that large shelf mushrooms on the main trunk indicate that the tree is irreversibly dying. Is this true?

2. Does this have anything to do with the pruning? If it does, 5 days seems awfully short for such a pronounced infestation. Is this normal?

3. I don't even know if my neighbor has noticed the mushrooms. They are extremely reticent in general and often don't answer the door even when we ring and they are home. Should I approach them about this?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

9 years ago

The one incident is not related to the other :-) Your pruning had nothing to do with the appearance of the shelf fungi - just some unusual coincidental timing. The rot that has produced the mushrooms was present long before you did your pruning. And yes, the appearance of shelf or bracket fungi is typically an indication of irreversible heartwood rot. However, trees can live for decades with this condition, as the exterior woody tissue remains present and healthy enough to keep the tree supplied with water and nutrients delivered by the root system. But if the tree is located such that it could cause damage by falling, I'd consider talking to your neighbor about the practicality of having it removed.

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Comments (15)

brandon7 TN_zone7
9 years ago
Sounds likely that the tree is on it's way out.....eventually (maybe by next year, maybe in a decade or more).

The pruning could not possibly have caused the problem. A tree doesn't go from healthy to rotting in 5 days! The problem is likely to be many years in the making.

You have no obligation to report the problem to your neighbor. You may wish to do so if you think there is a danger to your property (or anything else, for that matter) if the tree fails. It wouldn't hurt to take dated pictures, detailing your observations, just in case the matter arises in the future.
riggedveda thanked brandon7 TN_zone7
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
I'd like to see a picture of the fungus.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
the key is 'tree time' ...

and in tree time.. what you did 5 days ago had not impact ...

and in tree time.. it could live another 50 years ..

who knows .... especially without out any pix

ken
riggedveda
Original Author
9 years ago
gardengal48, brandon7: Thank you both for the quick responses. It's a huge relief since I was looking up the legal valuation of old trees and those are big numbers. The tree doesn't appear to be a danger to my house, though my cars would probably be in the impact path. I'll point it out to my neighbors the next time I run into one of them.

rhizo_1, ken: I've attached pictures I took this morning. I never noticed the bark rot before the mushrooms popped up because it's just not visible from our house given the location of the rot.
Sara Malone (Zone 9b)
9 years ago
The fungus grows on rotting wood. Take a look at that trunk! You did nothing to precipitate this. There are so many things wrong here, but trees don't respond overnight, as Ken likes to say, they respond in 'tree time'. It's on its way out, but it still might last longer than we do...
riggedveda thanked Sara Malone (Zone 9b)
brandon7 TN_zone7
9 years ago
...then again, that sucker might come down in the next good storm, especially with that bad crotch.
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
9 years ago
..and that bad crotch is the cause of it all. Look at that occluded bark running all the way down to the ground.

tj
krnuttle
9 years ago
Has the tree been hit by lightning may 3 to 7 years ago?

It looks like the lightning blew the bark of in the area of rot.

At least that is what two trees in my yard looked like.
Logan L Johnson
9 years ago
Internal rot. Also, it's an oak. Probably a red oak. It's going to fall.
bengz6westmd
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
That kind of root girdling at the base looks maple-like, perhaps Norway maple. A close-up of the leaves would tell, of course, but in any case it doesn't look salvageable in the long run.
riggedveda thanked bengz6westmd
riggedveda
Original Author
9 years ago
Here's pictures of the leaves and the entire tree. I will bring this up with the neighbors when I get the chance.
Logan L Johnson
9 years ago
It is a maple. Acer platanoides.
riggedveda thanked Logan L Johnson
ssewalk1
9 years ago
Check gas cap vent for blockage !
Logan L Johnson
9 years ago
"Check gas cap vent for blockage !"

Irrelevant. Gas would kill the tree, not rot it out.