# copper beech



## davidt

i have an old copper beech that is suffering from a fungus which is causing the bark to flake off. our tree surgeon is saying that trunk is virtually dead and that nothing can be done to save it. is there any treatment for this or do i have not choice but to take that part of the tree down?


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Does the "tree surgeon" know the name of the fatal fungus?
Post a picture or pictures of the tree. Include any relevant information like: any history of soil disturbance in the area, tree removals in the area, lawn installations, any trenching, septic work, well installation, fertilizing or weed killing, gardening, what kinds of trees are in the area, and anything else you might think of.
Chances are a picture will let us know what's going on.


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## davidt

thanks for responding. i will post pix of the tree over the week-end but i can tell you that nothing significant has changed in the area in terms of soil or lawn etc. the only thing i can say is that the neighboring yard has been cleared of many trees exposing the beech to more light on that side but i would doubt that would be significant.


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## davidt

thank you for your note and the link to the pictures of various beech disease. i did check the sun scald pictures-- as well as the rest of the pics-- and i'm not sure that looks like what my tree is suffering from. in addition, the "flaking" is on all sides of the tree trunk so i'm not sure that that is the problem. i sure would hate to take that part of the tree down unless i absolutely have to.


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## Urban Forester

Try this link:

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/beechbark/fidl-beech.htm


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## NYCHA FORESTER

*Bleeding Cankers on Beech trees, particularly mature trees, in Westchester County is a big problem*

Bleeding Cankers on European Beech -- An Update
Last year, Dr. George Hudler -- plant pathologist at Cornell University -- tested a variety of proprietary compounds for management of bleeding cankers on European beech caused by Phytophthora spp. Work began in the spring of 2004 with applications of Agri-Fos, one of several formulations of phosphorous acid that have recently shown up on the market. He followed a protocol recommended by company representatives and scientists at the University of California calling for a bark drench (to a height of six to eight feet) with a mixture of 31.2 fl. oz. Agri-Fos plus 31.2 fl. oz. water plus 1.6 fl. oz. of Pentra-Bark". The latter is an adjuvant that is supposed to promote movement of the Agri-Fos through the outer bark and into the living phloem and cambium. Most of the trees we treated were in the 30-40 inch stem diameter class, and they used about 1/2 gallon of mixture per tree. 

When he examined the trees five months later (October 2004), the cankers were still oozing and there was no evidence that the treatments had been effective. However, a second exam about four weeks ago (August 2005) was more encouraging. Cankers less than about one square foot in area were no longer oozing fluid and, in comparison to pictures taken just before treatment, appeared to be the same size that they were at the beginning of the observation period. 

Unfortunately, the experimental design was far from optimal inasmuch as there were no untreated trees on the same properties as the treated trees and on all but one of 12 properties he worked on there were only one or two diseased trees. Thus, he cannot be sure that the apparent improvement is a result of the treatment or some other factor such as the persistent drought in 2005. He looks forward to 2006 with plans for better experimental design with guarded optimism that he is on the track of a viable treatment for this disease. 

In the meantime, Agri-Fos for Phytophthora-caused beech cankers, applied either as a bark drench or injected directly into the trunks of trees has been approved by the EPA and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Other phosphorous acid formulations also approved for Phytophthora on beech include Arborfor, Whippet, and Alude. So far as Dr. Hudler is aware, data to indicate that any of these materials is effective for control of bleeding cankers has yet to be published in a scientific forum but their use in New York State for this purpose is now legal, nonetheless.

The bottom line is that if you are caring for European beech trees with bleeding cankers, Dr. Hudler's very tentative observation is that one of the phosphorous acid products may be a viable option for slowing canker growth. The earlier that cankers are found, the more likely you will be to contain them, and treatment is likely to be most effective when trees are actively growing. He has not seen any evidence of phytotoxicity on beech, but if the bark drench mix of Agri-Fos gets on herbaceous plants or moss, it will burn or kill the plants. If there are valuable groundcovers around trees you are treating with this material, be sure to cover them with a tarp during application.


Submitted by Paul Trader, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland County
From Branching Out, Cornell University, October 2005


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## davidt

thank eveyone for the feedback. as indicated earlier, i will take some pix to post to see if the disease process is more obvious to someone else. what i've seen from what has been sent me, there is no match although it must be one of the listed diseases that attack copper beech. on the bright side, it looks like that diseased part of the tree still has branches that will have leaves this spring. i would hate to lose a large chunk of a tree estimated to be over 150 years old if there is something i can do to save it.


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## davidt

i'm having problems posting my picture of the diseased beech. if anyone knows how to attach to a post, please let me know.


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## Kneejerk Bombas

After you press reply to a post, go down and press manage attachments. This should bring up a second window with the browse button. Once you select the location and picture from your computer, press upload and then close the window and it should be attached to your post.
If it takes a long time to upload, it may be too big. Then you need to resize it in Paint, which is on your computer in the program list.
Let me know if you're having other problems or if you get stuck you could email them to me and I'll post them for you. [email protected]


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## Trignog

Pics!


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Here are the pictures davidt sent me:


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## treeseer

doesn't match any pictures in my disease book.

scratch beneath the dead bark; if the cambium is still green there's hope; if it's brown all around cut it down.:greenchainsaw:


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## treeseer

Yes Dan I agree, that looks like a callus ridge (which has a lot in common with a collar), and root issues may be at the root of the evil of dead bark.

Mike if you're uncertain you can never go wrong by having major deadwood cut out and see if you can live with what's left.


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Can you send a picture of the base of the tree and maybe a second one of the crown?


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## Ranacker

*Copper Beech Problems*

I have been working with declining Copper Beeches in Maryland with Bleeding cankers. I also learned about them through George Hudler from Cornell. The primary causative agent seems to be a Phytophthora fungus (root rot and cankers), so early detection is important. Once the tree begins to decline it is very difficult to turn around. Early signs of the disease include bleeding cankers, and crown thinning. Eventually leaders dieback, and the bark sloughs off. If early detection is made it may be possible to treat by applying Agir-Fos fungicide + Pentrabark (This will help to control the Phytophthora pathogen). I have also heard of other arborists integrating this technique with other techniques to improve the root system (e.g. verticle mulching to improve compaction, the addition of pinebark compost and/or mycorhizzae, and fertilization). Hudler has a good write up about this European beech decline in the latest edition of Diseases of Trees and Shrubs (2nd edition). I highly recommend this book for the diagnosis of plant diseases and disorders. 

Regards,
Rich Anacker, Plant Diseases Specialist, Maryland Department of Agriculture 
:greenchainsaw:


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Rich, Are you thinking that this is what's going on here?
Are you certain enough to recommend a chemical treatment or is the problem common enough that the chemicals are preventative?
I don't see bleeding cankers, and the bark is peeling off, but it looks like the outer layer, almost as if its still green underneath.
If all we're seeing is dead bark peeling off, then what's causing it could be anything.
I do confess, the tree is outside my geographic location and we don't have a lot of Beech here. They mostly grow in those climax forests, and 300 years ago my area was a prairie.
David lives in a very urban area, which I'm sure is playing into other stress factors here.


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## davidt

we've lived in the house for the last 25 years and the tree is estimated to be 150 years old, planted when the area was one large estate. why would the root system fail now and is there nothing to do in terms of treatment. this is one large trunk line. a second trunk line still seems healthy.


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## davidt

i'm glad there is interest in this problem. this week-end i will take some photos of the trunk area and the crown and try to post them. i do note that some wood filler had been put into some cavity of the tree many years ago, could that be impacting the roots?


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## treeseer

davidt said:


> some wood filler had been put into some cavity of the tree many years ago, could that be impacting the roots?


Doubtful, but it does mean that there have been some long-standing decay issues.
Rich i agree david's pics do resemble hudler's pics on p. 357 of the disease book, complete with callus ridge. That is a nice writeup; glad I bought the new edition.
Mike, since beech has only one layer of outer bark, once it's shed, tree is in trouble.
I have not had great success with Agri-Fos. Two trees that I applied it on came down with new and massive borer infestations shortly after. Yeah I know maybe coincidence but...


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## Ax-man

When I first saw this, the first thing that came to my mind was the Beech was in the first stages of Hypoxylon canker. Hypoxylon is a disease primarily of Oak, but it looks like it can carry over because Beech is in the same tree family as Oak. I got this pic from " Diseases of Trees and Shrubs " by Sinclair , Lyon , and Johnson they also list Beech as a host for this canker disease. There are many similarities here.

Larry


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Here are more pictures:


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## treeseer

The "beech7" pic shows a cavity; I would poke around in there to get an idea of strength loss. remove loose rotted stuff and shove a yardstick in and compute total cavity dimensions.

Then on the outside of the tree pull loose bark and decayed wood off and measure total circumference dead.

Then like Mike said post some pics of the crown. Looks like you have a growing risk that may need mitigation.


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## davidt

our tree surgeon is removing the leader involved. all branches coming off of the leader seem dead. the root system off of that leader seems to be in trouble. for now, the rest of the tree seems ok but if there is a root problem, i fear it will spread. thoughts?


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## davidt

*david t*

i had been communicating with some of you about the copper beech we have that is slowly dying on our backyard. an arborist recently determined that the tree suffers from *ustulina deusta* and is a butt rot disease that is fatal and untreatable. does anyone have any ideas on this subejct?


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## treeseer

From Sinclair/Lyon Disease book p. 206--'progress is relatively slow". p 207 has pics of Fagus sylvatica with sporulation. I do not know of a cure, but I do know that paclobutrazol has fungistatic properties and that phosphite (Agri-Fos) is known to work on other persistent pathogens.

The diagnosis should not be a death sentence; check the root system for decay and look at cabling options if this tree has high value to you. I've managed a lot of trees with Ustulina cankers and it does move slowly and I think it can be stopped in some trees.


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## alanarbor

Ax-man said:


> When I first saw this, the first thing that came to my mind was the Beech was in the first stages of Hypoxylon canker.
> Larry



That was what my first thought was too.

The other thing that I have been seeing is pathogens introduced by ambrosia beetle into beech, causing a lot of bleeding cankers. I belive one of the primary psthogens is fusarium species that the beetles feed on.


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## Alberi

*Agrifos & Pentrabark for Beech Decline*

Mix Agrifos 1:1 with water add 2floz pentrark per gallon agitate saturate spray lower bole of beech tree - repeat 3-4 times per year. www.bioscape.com


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