Need diagnostic help on large oak....

[baumeister]

This oak lost a large limb this year and 2 the previous years... there is some staining at the bottom of this last failure... No conks were found on site... I am a bit stumped.. Any ideas?

 

[rfwoodvt]

Been looking at a Quercus rubra that did the same thing here in VT. Postmortem indicates that excessive length, insufficient taper, heavy acorn crop and poorly compartmentalized branchlet sockets contributed.

We had no staining on one, staining on the other as well. Both failures seemed to begin at or near an old branchlet location both on the top side of the limb that failed.

 

[guymayor]

not sure staining is related--would have to see the branch too...

branchlet socket--you mean a wound that did not heal after a little branch tore off or died? or???? "socket" reminded me of the spurious spikes--read your october Arbnews yet?