Mature Eastern Cottonwood Decline

[Brando CalPankian]

A local park I've been doing work for has several large Eastern Cottonwoods. There are a few in severe decline. I've opted to remove the most hazardous ones (close to lines, walkways, etc). I'm implementing a composted mulch zone around the rest of them (as large as they'll let me go), deadwood pruning, and potentially fertilizing.

It's winter now, so the pruning is happening in dormancy. That makes it more difficult to evaluate pests. I'm trying to figure out if there's any primary pests/diseases that afflict mature cottonwoods. They're located in a riparian zone along a river with seasonal flooding. They're also along a roadway, so salt contamination is likely over the years.

While climbing, is there any unique things I should be looking for? I've not seen fruiting bodies, evidence of boring/defoliating insects, or mechanical damage around the trees. I'm working on getting more construction history for the site to verify mechanical damage issues.

All this said, is there any treating and improving the health of mature cottonwoods? Grow fast, die young. They're 50" dbh trees every bit of 100' tall. They would really like to save them.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Matias]

I don't know much about the cottonwoods elsewhere, but here they never get that thick and old with much in the way of real branches still intact. All our old cottonwoods are hulking trunks with a bunch of little bushes sticking out, at least anything that thick, so nobody bothers to prune them.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

I don't know much about the cottonwoods elsewhere, but here they never get that thick and old with much in the way of real branches still intact. All our old cottonwoods are hulking trunks with a bunch of little bushes sticking out, at least anything that thick, so nobody bothers to prune them.

These ones are beautiful. Massive scaffolds. Thick leaders.

 

[Matias]

These ones are beautiful. Massive scaffolds. Thick leaders.

I would love to see them

 

[Brando CalPankian]

I would love to see them

I'll get pics when I go back out.

 

[TCtreeswinger]

Anaerobic spring floods and droughty summers are letting canker take hold is what I've settled on. Medium/big cottonwoods declining everywhere in the cities.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Anaerobic spring floods and droughty summers are letting canker take hold is what I've settled on. Medium/big cottonwoods declining everywhere in the cities.

Any specific type of canker??? Not much can be done about the flooding.

 

[TCtreeswinger]

Populus deltoides Bartr

See damaging agents 2/3 of the way down. I haven't lab tested for any specific canker just knew they existed as issues in poplars in our area. Ive never known or heard of borers causing damage/decline in established cottonwood but anything is possible with nature.

 

[data farm 26]

This stuff really rips the cwoods we've got here-
https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/cytospora-canker although this article's all about spruce trees so maybe it's not a problem where you're at...

 

[Brando CalPankian]

This stuff really rips the cwoods we've got here-
https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/cytospora-canker although this article's all about spruce trees so maybe it's not a problem where you're at...

This is why I was asking what type of canker. I knew cytospora is an issue, particularly in mature trees. I'll be sure to make a close evaluation and take some pictures and samples for the extension to evaluate. It'd be good to know what's happening, something to look out for.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

 

[Brando CalPankian]

The statue is 30' tall made out of one whole section of redwood. The fence around it is 6'. After looking again they are probably closer to 80', still big for this area.

 

[Matias]

Oh damn. Those are spectacular.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

I should (hopefully) get to that site for work after the New Year. I'll get more evaluation when I can climb them.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Oh damn. Those are spectacular.

Yeah they're huge. Nothing like the cottonwoods in northeast Idaho but pretty big for this area.

 

[Matias]

Yea, they look to have been taken care of for a long time.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

Yea, they look to have been taken care of for a long time.

Oddly, they have not. Very little has been done to them for the last few decades (per the new parks director). The old parks director had no interest in caring for green spaces. Not much evidence of pruning on them, and the park doesn't get much outside of mowing. Honestly that's probably why they're in good shape. The tree folk who are around would have butchered them like the rest of the city trees have been

 

[Matias]

Oddly, they have not. Very little has been done to them for the last few decades (per the new parks director). The old parks director had no interest in caring for green spaces. Not much evidence of pruning on them, and the park doesn't get much outside of mowing. Honestly that's probably why they're in good shape. The tree folk who are around would have butchered them like the rest of the city trees have been

The best kind of care in some cases. That's why the architecture looks so good. As nature would do to a stand of them in the open.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

The best kind of care in some cases. That's why the architecture looks so good. As nature would do to a stand of them in the open.

I'm so stoked to climb them. There's like 15 of them with massive deadwood, three to be removed (75% of the crown died back in those three). I really hope to find a solution while I'm up there. It's my favorite park here and I'm so happy to be aiding in the care of it.

 

[Matias]

Yea, that's the kind of work I would most like to be doing