Existence of Huney Fungus disease

[DerekG]

My local council are currently felling nine mature cypress trees at the rear of my property because they say they have located Honey Fungus and the trees are in danger of falling. I have researched this fungus and I can find none of the tell tale signs for this disease ie mushrooms. black bootlaces, white fungus beneath the bark etc. I have challenged the council who have informed me that they have based their diagnosis solely on the sighting of the honey fungus mushroom growing around the base of the trees. I have never seen these and refute their existence. The trees are mature, some 20 to 30ft in height and look very healthy. They have already removed one down to the stump which can be viewed and is perfercly healthy looking ie no signs of black growth etc. Does anyone know of any organisations that I can appeal to or any tests that can be carried out to verify the existence of this disease?

[ArborQuest (CS)]

A few ideas Derek

Are all the trees infected? I would be surprised if they are.
If only 1 or 2 are infected, can these be removed without leaving the remaining trees exposed to new wind currents or looking like an unsightly mess?
Are they worth keeping anyway? Are they, for example, aged Monterey Cypress with canker in their crowns?
Who owns them?
Are they protected or in a conservation area?
Are they visually important to the area?
Are they going to be replaced?

Why not drum up support from your neighbours and demand more information, proper inspection. Councils dont like to be in the news, contact the local press!

Its a difficult situation and you need to chat to the owner of the trees or tree officer.

[DerekG]

Thanks for the reply, another two trees gone to their grave now. In responbse to your posting I am told all 9 trees in a row are infected and are to be removed. The trees are (were) very worth keeping they were mature healthy looking specimens. I believe the council own the trees, the land is certainly theirs alyhough it borders our own/neighbours rear access lane and provides shelter and privacy. They are not in an immediate conservation area although the local village is which is some few hundred metres away. The trees in my opinion are visually important to the area. The council have said they will plant new trees which will be immune to the disease in next years planting season. Unfortunately they will not mature sufficiently to replace those removed (in my lifetime anyway!). I have tried numerous times to demand a more rigorous inspection but the council refuse. They say the trees have been diagnosed by their officer and that is all they require to be able to remove them. There are absolutley no tell tale signs of Honey Fungus. I am getting no response by chatting to the officer concerned. His approach is always that he is qualified to make the diagnosis and "that is that".
I can try the press but was hoping someone knew of some indepandant organisation that could assist. I can't believe in this day and age that there is no recourse to appeal  or challenge a councils' decision to destroy 9 apparently healthy mature trees in a green belt area.
Heeeeeelllp??

[ArborQuest (CS)]

I guess you must 'trust' the officers diagnosis. Honey Fungus, Meripulus, and similar decay fungi can cause tree failure with little warning, especially in a storm.

Bear in mind, IF the trees are dangerous and IF the officer did not act and IF the trees did fall and cause injury, damage or fatilty, the officers (and the councils) neck is on the chopping block!   Negligence.

He is just doing his job and has the publics interests at heart. Whether his diagnosis is correct or not is another matter. Im sure it is.

Chris

 

[pjd1001]

Honey fungus can spread easily from root to root, so it is possible that all the trees have the disease. You will not find the mushrooms yet. They appear in late summer/early autumn, and will emerge on-masse around a felled stump. The bootlaces can be found within the top 3 inches of soil, so if you are careful you should be able to find them.

There could also be a browning of the foliage, usually towards the base of the tree.

And yes, white strands of mycellium should be present under the bark.

The trees belong to the council and they have the power to fell and replace their own trees. Consultation or at least notification of works is usual. The council is not responsible for providing shelter to houses through tree planting, and it seems that the tree officer has decided to replace a line of cypress with perhaps a more suitable broadleaf species.

It would not be professional, however, to blame a disease that isn't present, for his actions.

[treefella]

At the end of the day though we are talking about a row of Cypress trees - what sort are they? If they are Lleylandii it isn't really any great loss, in my opinion. And, I'm pretty sure that no planning authority, in its right mind, would place a TPO on such trees. If they are 2030 feet in height I wouldn't really call them mature either, or very old!
Why is it taking a number of visits to remove them, if they were a health and safety issue 9 of these horrible littlle beasts could easily be removed in a day.

To be clever, ask the tree officer where the chippings are being disposed too (as they are contaminated) and if he is going to dig out the stumps, which is recommended when H oney fungus is diagnosed even if replanting with a resistant species?

[Paul C]

'If they are 2030 feet in height I wouldn't really call them mature either'


Hi

At that height, I would be more inclined to call them the tallest trees on the planet!

Cheers

[treefella]

for those pedantic ones out there, there should have been a hyphen '-' between the 20 and 30.