TIP in Juglans nigra

[opposablethumb]

I've got a black walnut crown to clean out - a handful of hangers some baseball bat diameter deadwood - large enough to hurt those underneath should it fall. A lot of these trees in the area with full, healthy crowns and no other sign of distress/disease seem to be fairly littered with decent sized broken branches hanging in the crown or stubs where branches tore off in the past. It seems to be almost typical of the species, like they shed branches more frequently than your average oak or maple.

Does anyone know if this is the case, and if so why? Is SLD (or something else?) a "normal" occurrence with this species?

And anything specific to the species that I should be aware of when choosing a TIP, on top of the standard protocol?

Thanks...

 

[robinia]

I like working Black Walnut - big, strong, speady, usually several good TIPs. The only time I see limb drop is when they are heavilly cankered.
Deadwood can be hard to recognize after leafdrop but that is more a concern of missing some rather than a safety concern.

 

[willbranch]

I see the limb damage most when the trees are loaded heavy with fruit durring storm season.

 

[Starlet]

speaking of cankers they did spot the thousand cankers disease in tennesee. i believe it was the first spotting of it in the east. mostly west on this disease.

 

[FlashD]

Yeah. I heard just this week that they found thousand cankers and eab in the same week in Tennessee.

 

[Toparboring]

Walnuts have strong limbs, just watch yourself with the sap when cutting. Shouldn't be to bad with the fruit and leaf drop the sap has a burning sensation and turns your skin brown where the saw dust is. Eye protection is wisely advised.

 

[BostonBull]

One of my favorite trees to climb,and work with. I have one on my property, love it!

I am allergic to the Juglone, and get a rash worse than poison ivy, and open oozing blisters. Not fun!

 

[Toparboring]

I have 8 full mature Walnuts on my property, I think Bull the rash and blisters are do to the sap run. I found that mid July when they start to put fruit on and till about just before fruit drop the sap is more intense to reactions on the skin. Did a storm clean up(buck up for logs) for a neighbor about August 2, 95 degrees humid and wore a long sleeve shirt but at wrists and collar area where saw dust got was rash city and blisters fallowed. I know some fellow loggers and even they get rashes from the trees, so I am thinking it is the sap.
Had a couple stop in and ask if I could harvest the nuts all I did was put out some tarps and climb a little just the shaking of the branches and was bombs away. They come by once and awhile to pick whats left off the ground. I asked they are planting them, I shook my head and told them just throw them around then step lightly put a cage around the area and about mid June they should be coming up. Look like Kentucky coffee trees young, and do put on good growth. This is the time when you can't have to much around them they do kill off other trees and plants. I have flowers around some of the mature one mostly Hostas, Tulips,and Highisans they do good.

 

[KevinS]

You often get broken limbs from heavy fruit crops and then they hit other limbs also inspect for squirrel damage on limbs they are weak spots just waiting to bust out