ash and red elm dying

[farmermike]

I'm from MN and have noticed an aweful lot of of ash and red elm dying. Is there some king of virus going around? About twenty years ago most of the elm died. Tons and tons of elm to cut up. Been seeing alot of ash dying. In a small area of woods. About 200 feet by 100 feet there must be 15 dying mature ash trees. Good for me, but wonder how many will be left in a few years.

 

[stumpguy]

could be the emerald ash borer. big problem around here.do a google search for emerald ash borer to learn more and decide if that's the problem.

 

[Woodsrover]

I've noticed that all my ash under 10" had died in the past five years. All the big ones appear to be doing well so I'm not sure what's going on. I don't think the ash borer is here in Connecticut but there's something going on. Anyone else on the east coast seeing a simillar problem?

Jim

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Over the Summer there were newspaper articles here in Pennsylvania warning of this borer, basically telling people not to allow wood to be brought into the State from other areas. But I haven't seen anything about it since. I get a lot of Ash that falls down because the roots must just give way, and they just topple over. Perhaps the roots don't entrench themselves deeply into the ground?

 

[ericjeeper]

around Central Indiana

The ash bore is making its way south. But so far it has not been quarantined in my county. But my dad has been cutting dead ash trees for the past ten-12 years.. We sold practically every ash tree on the farm recently.. figured might as well get em sold before they lock em onto the farm. Dutch Elm disease wiped a lot of elm out years ago. Now some are back and doing well.Dead Elm burns great. it is a heavy dense wood.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Ash are a lowland species of tree. They prefer wet soils and when things get dry they die back, sometimes they just die. We've had three or four good years of drought, and the Ash are feeling it.
Now if these ash are in wet soils, and you are noticing suckers growing on the lower trunk, you might want to take some pictures and post them here, we can help you decide if it could be EAB.
Elms are a different story. Dutch Elm Disease has been around for years and tends to run in cycles. An area will get wiped out, then new trees establish until they are a good size, and then DED runs through again.
Because you have many trees of different species dying in an area, it makes me suspicious that there may be something else going on.
Pictures are worth a thousand words.

 

[goof008]

I've cut about 6 cords of Ash this year, all standing dead. Look in the bark for little holes, about 1/8 inch or so around. If you see them, it is most likely the ash borer. I can't count the number of dead ash where I hunt, but I could cut 8 hours a day and not get it all by spring.

 

[Bowtie]

We have borers here in Kansas, also dutch elm disease. If anyone has good pics of red elm, I would love to see them. Red Elm is supposedly hard to find around here anymore. I cut some elm last weekend, and a few people I showed it to thinks its red elm.

 

[jimsfirewood]

Dutch elm disease flared up again in MN in 2005 and 2006, killing many white (American) elm and red elm.
There is no emerald ash borer in MN at this time. A few ash die from what the foresters call ash decline but it is not a very common phenomenon. Local environmental conditions can occasionally kill trees, eg prolonged flooding. Green ash take quite a bit of water but there is a limit.
An easy and reliable way to separate red elm (excellent firewood) from white elm (put it with the aspen and box elder) is to look at the bark in cross-section. Red elm bark is 100% uniformly red throughout; white elm bark is striped red and white, like a strip of bacon. You can examine the end of your cut stem or break a piece of bark off a standing tree.

 

[kevinj]

I guess that old cliche is coming true then,
" Good ash is hard to find" :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[jimsfirewood]

Dumb and all round fat are still out there in good abundance.

 

[grandpatractor]

Dumb and all round fat are still out there in good abundance.

I really had to think about that one,bit I figured it out :monkey:
You funny