Top of the face-cut to ya!
First of all, Eastern hemlock is my favorite tree, so to me they are all beautiful. This one however has character in its slight lean and its distorted lower trunk. Unfortunately the very things making it unique were also signs of extreme stress.
I was asked to assess this particular beautiful Eastern hemlock in Waterbury Vermont recently. From the ground I could see poorly done pruning cuts surrounded in missing bark and peppered with woodpecker holes. The irregular shaped trunk indicating some sort of interior seam with response growth around it, and significant die-back in the canopy.
I look ed at the owner, her in her face mask, and I in mine, and I asked if she minded if I climb it for a better look.
I used an alternating lanyard technique to ascend the tree. My helmet barely fit between the tightly knit limbs in places, and there was excellent vigor in the lower third of the tree. I was hoping against hope I would see something up there to indicate the tree had a fighting chance, that there was something I could do to justify saving it. When I got to the top third of the tree, I found the stem was completely girdled by carpenter ant galleries, and subsequent woodpecker damage. Below this point, the tree had already begun re-trenchment, i.e. reassigning lower limbs to grow vertically and assume the role of the tree's new leader.
I was also concerned about the yellowing needles, pictured above. I didn't notice it until I was aloft, but from up in the tree it was plain as day. It would be hard to say with surety why the foliage was yellow. It can be a micronutrient deficiency causing a lack of ingredients to build chlorophyl, the leaf pigment that makes plants green, but which micronutrient was lacking? I'd guess, iron, but then is that because it's deficient in the soil, or is the tree not able to uptake iron even though it is there, possibly because the soil pH is not correct? If that's the case, why? Runoff from the roof? The nearby fence made of treated wood? Were roots damaged when the fence was built? Or is the yellowing the result of the pests living in the tree?
I looked closely at many of the twigs looking for the tell tale fluffy egg sacks of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, but I didn't find any. These insects suck the juices from the foliage, I could imagine that would turn them yellow. The truth is, this tree had a lot of strikes against it. It emerged from the earth mere feet from the house, and it is nearly 25% dead.
With a heavy heart I recommended removal as one of the options for dealing with this tree. But what if it could be saved? I hope the home owner will take the chance on trying to save it By removing the dead and dying pieces and allow it to retrench. There isn't much to lose with this tree, and possibly everything to gain.
Realistically this tree poses a low risk. It will probably drop some limbs or limb pieces over the next year, but the consequences of that will be minor. The owner has elected to wait on the project for now. So my fingers are crossed that I'll get a call back in the near future with a chance to work on this beauty.
Thanks for reading!
Adam McCullough
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