lightning damaged oak?

[Adkpk]

I am thinking lightning damage from a long time ago, maybe btw 15 or 20 yrs. But why does the canopy seem to lack. The trunk seems healthy although it is hollow in sections.

A sucker seeming to be 15 to 20 yrs which indicated to me when the lighting may have struck.

This tree is growing in someone's woods with no real targets. It seems to have survived this long but would some dead wood pruning be helpful to the longevity or should it be left alone? Does the lack of canopy indicate any other symptoms of health?

 

[guymayor]

Great pic of a very cool looking reiterating sprout.
Your lightning hypothesis holds water.
Yes, pruning dead and dying wood may be a good idea, if only to get close enough to learn more from the tree.

Thanks!

 

[Daniel]

does not look like lightning to me... lots of other causes for decay and damage to the bark.. nor does deadwooding make much sense IMO.. If you think there are structural issues with the tree, taking some weight of the branch tips is about the best you can do to reduce the forces without compromising the overall health of the tree.. Live and let live ...

 

[SolesTree]

[ QUOTE ]
does not look like lightning to me... lots of other causes for decay and damage to the bark.. nor does deadwooding make much sense IMO.. If you think there are structural issues with the tree, taking some weight of the branch tips is about the best you can do to reduce the forces without compromising the overall health of the tree.. Live and let live ...

[/ QUOTE ] So your recomending removing live foliage, but deadwooding does not make sense???

 

[guymayor]

[ QUOTE ]
So your recomending removing live foliage, but deadwooding does not make sense???

[/ QUOTE ]

Good question! If there are structural questions about the tree, the thing to do is try to answer them. While removing dead wood, tissue can be examined, and clues found. let's not prune tips just because...

 

[knottyprofessor]

I can't see why pruning the dead out of ANY tree would be a bad idea, honestly. And reducing some weight may be a good option depending on the health of the canopy, in proportion to the trunk and estimated age of the tree.

 

[mrtree]

Mass Dampening
Wildlife (Fauna)
Flora
Cryptograms (particularly corticolous lichens)

 

[allmark]

I would remove the deadwood. I would use support systems to support the tree if needed before cutting the tips back. The crown looks like it already doesn't have enough green to properly support the tree. Why cut off more unnecessarily.

 

[Adkpk]

There was a similarly aged red oak about thirty feet from this one several years back. It came down in a micro burst at the root crown or at the base of the trunk and the top of the roots. The roots remained intact and are still there. I'd never seen anything like before and has been a curiosity since. The wood in the trunk was punky.

The roots on this tree seem to be healthy as far as I can tell. But I do wonder as to the health of the tree in regards to the canopy. As it looks a little slight to me.

 

[CreTree]

Do you have any close ups of the branch tips? I was going to post up here about a little that is really F'ing up the Oaks around here. Crypt Gall Wasp. I have seen more Oaks completely fall apart in the last two o three yrs than I can count. Look for bulbous tips. The buds are there, but the leaves never come. This parasite actually changes the DNA of the tree to make it start producing wood instead of foliage. A real killer here.

 

[GoodYautja]

CreTree, where is 'here'?