The oddly cut tree on Boston Common

By adamg on Mon, 08/14/2017 - 10:19pm

Erin Larson asks:

Any insight into the odd tree in the Boston Common? I don't recall seeing it last week...

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Comments

An answer via Twitter

By adamg
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 10:21pm

Here is a brief explanation. https://t.co/NLv2luYnHF

— The Growing Tree (@Normsoilscience) August 14, 2017

ICYMI #FriendsatWork Tree w/ terminal Dutch Elm disease girdled to attract elm bark beetles away from healthy trees. #BostonCommon Park St. pic.twitter.com/UoJNqpDi5Z

— FriendsPublicGarden (@FOPG) August 13, 2017

Damn shame

By lbb
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 9:00am

It's a damn shame to lose that tree, but hopefully it will help others.

Ironic

By anon
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 9:12am

Could save others, but not himself.

The Giving Tree?

By ElizaLeila
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 2:32pm

you know, the book ...

What the hell was that done to the tree for?

By mplo
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 10:12am

That'll kill the tree. Maybe it's in bloom, with leaves now, but it probably won't bloom next year.

Read the explanation

By Bob Leponge
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 11:20am

Yes, the Friends of the Public Garden and their horticulturalists actually know what they're doing.

Once a tree is too far gone with Dutch Elm disease to save, it can be used as a sacrificial lure to draw the beetles that spread the disease away from other, healthier tries.

I was

By ElizaLeila
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 11:25am

~~going to say the same, but then I checked the timing on the comments. mplo's was before Adam's (10:12 vs 10:21), even though it was presented as the opposite.~~

Nevermind - I should read the date, too.

You are correct. :)

Cut off the bark and the tree could die

By SomerVillain
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 10:34am

I learned that from TV!
[youtube]bkTvr8zNyWU[/youtube]

Well....

By mplo
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 12:02pm

This:

"Cut off the bar and the tree could die."

is exactly what I was pointing out here.

And ...

By ElizaLeila
Tue, 08/15/2017 - 2:34pm

Now that you know it's got terminal Dutch Elm disease, how do you feel about it being sacrificial to save other trees?

I'll confess to having been wrong

By Bob Leponge
Wed, 08/16/2017 - 11:29am

I was eagerly awaiting the doubling-down, but it doesn't seem to have transpired.

I can find nothing online

By anon
Wed, 08/16/2017 - 1:59pm

I can find nothing online that says this will work. In fact, the USDA says:

" In urban settings, rapid removal of Dutch
elm disease-infected American elms followed by destruction of the host
material is the key to successfully managing these two species.

All this is doing is to create happy homes for the pests causing the problem, so that they can reproduce and spread. Just a guess: they don't want to spray for fear of the nutters, so they're doing 'something.'