Anatomy of Future Tree Failure

Warning signs of tree failure in your own yard

As a International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist in Richmond, VA, I am constantly looking at trees.  Although my specialty is preventing future problems at planting time, it is impossible to predict what a tree will do 20, 30 or more years down the road.  

Trees provide countless benefits to the world around us.  Especially in the urban and suburban landscape, where we tend to remove more trees than we replace.  Keeping good care of the mature trees that we retain in these challenging environments becomes very important.  However, there are times when we must look at a situation objectively and weigh the risks against the benefits. 

During hurricane Isabel, I was working for a tree service in Fredericksburg, VA.  In the days after the storm, I witnessed what large trees are capable of doing to houses and other property.  No matter what the construction methods, a house is not much of an obstacle to a tree trying to touch the ground.

As a matter of fact, I have had a tree hit my own house, so I know what it is like to try to remediate the damage.  Once a tree puts holes in the roof, the rain is free to come in, leading to extensive headaches in the future.  

So how can we know what a tree will do?  Is it possible to predict tree failure?  

Let me start off by saying that all trees pose some type of risk.  There is always an element of risk that comes along with such a large block of wood towering overhead.  

Tree failures during normal weather can be predicted to some extent.  We can analyze the conditions of a tree and the ramifications of failure and provide a recommendation to either attempt to repair the tree or replace it.  However, during a storm event where winds can exceed 60 MPH, there is no way to predict failure.  All trees are fair game at this point, especially if the ground has been saturated by rain preceding the event (Isabel).

So what do you look for?  How do you know if a tree is going to fail soon?  

this tree has it all and then some….

This is an oak tree that I happened by in the Byrd Park area of Richmond the other day.  The first thing you will notice is the huge tear on the trunk from about 5-10' above the ground.  This was (probably) caused by a co-dominant stem breaking off.  A co-dominant stem is a branch of a tree that is close to the same size as the main trunk.  When a stem of this size rips off, a huge wound is left, leading to (most likely) inevitable infection by various pathogens, insect damage, and further decay.  Lower branches of a tree also serve to distribute wind forces on a tree.  With only branches at the top, the twisting forces are multiplied further down the trunk.

Here is a closer shot of the damage down low.  As you can see, the damaged has progressed from a simple branch break to decay and rot down low.  A nasty wound like this that cuts into the tree trunk itself is almost always going to develop decay.

If you look higher up in the tree there is another co-dominant situation.  This is not a major warning sign, however, as there is a branch-bark ridge at the junction of the branches.  A branch bark ridge indicated proper attachment.  If you see a high angle junction like this with bark that appears to be included in the junction, look out.  That is almost one of the worst things you can see.  This isn't the case here, but this situation is not ideal.   High-angle attachments like this are just not very strong.  As the angle approaches 90 degrees (straight out) from the trunk, the strength increases.

mmm, dead wood

This is the margin of the damaged area near the ground.  The fungus that you see is a fungus that attacks dead tissue, but can also expand into living tissue as well.  When you see this fungus, there is a good chance there is dead wood present, with active decay eating away strong wood.

uh oh…

This is a fungus (most likely ganoderma or armillaria) that attacks the root tissue and bases of trees.  These fungi are two  of the "Big Three" as defined by the ISA ( I am not a fungi expert, but I am sure it is one of the two.  The exact diagnosis is in my view irrelevant).  While this is alone is not a cause for immediate removal, the presence at the base of a heavily damaged tree is a major warning sign of future failure.

mmm, more dead wood…a veritable buffet

Here is an even closer shot of the damaged area at the base.  Not the greatest picture, but if you look close you can see small holes, and evidence of insect boring.  Insects will burrow inside of the damaged parts of trees, and wreak all sorts of havoc.  Whether they are bringing a fungus with them, or laying eggs that will hatch and tunnel around in the inner parts of the tree, the result is the same.  Decay is introduced directly into the innards of the tree.

enough already!

As if all this was not enough, if you look up, you can see that there have been at least two major limbs already removed from this tree by the city.  Why that happened I don't know, but I would suspect that they broke further out from the trunk.  The city tree department does not just cut limbs off for no reason.  This would be another warning sign that this tree is prone to limb breakage.

This tree is a smorgasbord of warning signs.  Most of these by themselves would not warrant major action, but simply awareness and future monitoring.  However, all of them put together, and in a public setting such as this, constitutes a major hazard in my opinion.

So the next time you are out in your yard, simply look at your trees.  If you see any of these warning signs, consult a certified arborist.  Maybe nothing needs to be done except future monitoring.  But take it from me, a large tree on top of your house is nothing you want to happen.  Replacing a hazard tree with a new tree is not the worst thing that can ever happen.

Jay

www.rvascapes.com

Rain Barrel Installation

Stormwater runoff is a major hot button issue these days.  Excess runoff can lead to pollution in the waterways, erosion, and a few other issues that we would rather not have to deal with.

Municipalities are beginning to charge a stormwater tax on homeowners.  Typically this tax can be reduced by installing features designed to capture and slow runoff.

Rain gardens are one method.  A rain garden is basically a depression in the ground that captures the water from downspouts or a swale.  The rain garden is planted with plants that can handle inundation followed by periods of dry.  We will cover the rain garden in a future post.

Rain barrels are probably the easiest method of dealing with excess runoff.  They also have the huge benefit of actually storing the water to be used during dry spells, further saving money and resources.

So, here is how to do it:

Step One:  Acquire a barrel.  There are many people selling barrels now.  They are fairly easy to find.  I am going to cover the installation of a pre-made rain barrel.  You may elect to make your own out of a pickle barrel or some other type, but for ease of operation I used a pre-made barrel that I purchased from h2oCollect.  The same barrel is also available at the shop at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.  If you are not in the Richmond area, you are on your own but I know you can do it!

Ivy barrel, pretty easy to come by 

These barrels cost $95 apiece.  Seems like a lot, but by the time you buy a barrel, buy all the parts you need, and actually assemble it, you may be thinking that the $95 wasn't so bad.  (I already know this. I have ran clinics on how to build your own.  Leaks and other faulty construction woes can easily happen.)  I don't want to talk you out of it, because I still do build my own sometimes, but this will certainly save you time, which is money after all as they say….

 make sure drainage is addressed first!

This particular site had a major drainage issue.  The water would come out of these downspouts and run back towards the house, causing a major puddle and would eventually leak into the basement.  While a barrel can certainly help with this, you really should fix the problem first.  Here I hooked up the downspouts to PVC pipe, and ran it away from the house.  PVC is a far better choice for downspouts than the black corrugated pipe you always see.  The water will move faster through this pipe, carrying any debris with it that could get stuck in the corrugations of the black pipe, leading to a clog.  Also, the small bit of water that remains in the corrugations is enough for tiger mosquitos to breed in.  

diverter

Unless your ground is drainage issue free, and slopes away from the house, and you have never had a moisture issue, I would recommend installing a diverter to get the water in the barrel. You can simply cut the downspout high, and install a flexible downspout that pours right into the top of the barrel, but I don't really like that, unless all the above statements are true.  Here is definitely needed a diverter.  The diverter will take some of the water that comes down the spout and put it through the tube on the right.  In the case of a deluge, a lot of water will still go continue past the diverter, which is why you need to address the drainage issues beforehand.  To install this type, simply cut out a 6" section of downspout.  The diverter needs to be at least 12" above the top of the barrel, so take into account the height of the barrel and the base.

you can barely see the diverter.  Unlike the finger in the picture….

Also, notice the incredible window box! hint hint…

Once the diverter is installed, you can barely see it.  Now is the time to mount the barrel.

thing of beauty

Here is the final product.  Notice how the barrel sits on a base.  This is to make it easier to access the water, and be able to drain all of it out.  The base is also there to provide a rock steady area for the barrel to sit on.  Never forget that this thing will weight about 400 pounds when full.  This base I made is just four cinder blocks carefully leveled with a flagstone paver on top.  If you noticed that the diverter pipe looks too long it is because it is.  I was not sure that this would be the final placement for the barrel, so I did not want to alter the pipe in case this client wanted the barrel further back in the bushes.  I will cut the pipe so that it goes straight down soon.  Not pictured are the overflow pipes, which will carry any overflow away from the house.  Another benefit of getting the pre-made system.

I hope this was some sort of help to you, and please contact me with any questions you may have.

Jay

www.rvascapes.com

jay@get-rvascapes.com

Gardening Above Ground #1 Window Box Made Easy

Do you live in the city with no yard, but a patio or balcony?  Do you live in an apartment where you cannot attach anything to your balcony?  This is for you.

Window Box Made Easy

I know there are plenty of options out there for pre-made window boxes.  Have you ever wanted to make your own?  Or maybe you have a odd size space that only a custom made box will fit in?

I have designed a window box that is easily built, and easy to adjust the size to your own needs.  You do not have to be a master carpenter to build this either.  Trust me, if I can make it, you can to.

All you need is access to a saw of some sort, a drill, and a way to nail small nails into something (I used a small air compressor and nailer.  If you don't have access to this, a hammer will work just as well)

I used cedar boards from the big box store.  I bought two different widths.  2" and 8" wide.  Both come in 8 foot lengths.  Cedar is really the only choice for this project, as it is naturally rot resistant and will last a long time.

this is enough for several

First thing to do is figure out how long you want your window/balcony box to be.  You will then cut three of the 8" boards to this length.  I put the bottom on the bench, then attached the front/back to that.  I did this so the seam would not be visible. Not that this matters, as there is trim applied later, but it did make it easier.  I used a nail gun to attach the front/back, but you could use a hammer and a nail, or even small screws.  Wood glue will give added grip.  A helper is definitely helpful.  Especially one that has all the tools you need…..

beginning to take shape

After the three pieces are attached, now is the time to slide the sides in place.  The way I assembled the box the sides were 7 1/4" wide.  Simply slide the sides into place, and attach.  Pay attention to the grain of the wood.  I cut the boards to the wrong grain orientation twice in a row.  Not that it really matters as I painted it anyway, and that could be considered a little OCD, but that's me.

So there is your basic window/balcony box.  It will do the job, but we can make it a little more visually appealing than this.

simplicity itself

This is where the 2" wide boards come into play, and some fancy measuring.  At least as fancy as it gets for this job.The idea is to wrap the top and bottom of the front and side edges with trim.  I extended the front trim past the edges so the sides would be flush, and no seams were visible from the front view.    After that, all that is left is to attach the verticals.

fancy indeed

For the vertical trim, I simply put the front piece flush with the horizontal trim as shown above.  Here is where the fancy part comes in.  I wanted to give the look of equal size trim on each face on the corner.  So I measured the difference on a trim piece, and cut a thin section.  When attached to the side, this gives the appearance of equal widths.  The vertical pieces are 4 1/4" here.  I would measure each one though, as the distance of the horizontals may change as you go (unless you attached them perfectly, which I am sure you will….)

finishing touches

After the box is assembled, you need to fill in all the gaps.  Unless you want a natural look.  I wanted to paint mine to match the house.  Use a wood filler, and fill in all the nail holes and gaps there are.  After the filler dries, use a sanding pad to sand it smooth.

third to last step!

Now it is time to paint.  I used spray paint for ease of operation, but a brush will probably be cheaper and better coating.

Second to last step:  DO NOT FORGET TO DRILL DRAIN HOLES!  Otherwise your plants will drown.

Last step:  Mount the box.  This will vary depending on your house/window material.  My house is brick, so I attached small pieces of a 2x4 to the brick, and then screwed the box to those.

Apartment folks:  Find some type of brackets, and simply hang them (probably on the inside) of your balcony railing.  No muss no fuss, just pick it up and take it with you at moving time!

Thanks and good luck. (not that you need it though…)

Jay

www.rvascapes.com