Ash Dieback - shoots beware!

[norfolk dumpling]

A few months ago I was out early in the lane and it was littered with tops of ash trees - dead bits 10-15ft long - which I spent a few minutes chucking onto the banks before the school run mums started their daily invasion of my (formerly) peaceful part of Norfolk. We had a bit of a blow during the night and it didn't worry me too much until yesterday when I was out walking the dogs and a bit of a storm blew up and some more big boughs came down very close to me causing a bit of a loosening of the bowels.

 

With this horrible desease doing a lot of visible damage in the East we may need to watch for this if we are out in stormy weather. Anyone else got concerns?

[kennett]

Have got a lot of very sad looking Ash trees on my shoot, will be hard to imagine without them in a few years. Will let some light into the bottoms but will change the countryside forever@

[wymberley]

Have got a lot of very sad looking Ash trees on my shoot, will be hard to imagine without them in a few years. Will let some light into the bottoms but will change the countryside forever@

A 21st century Dutch Elm Disease.

[kennett]

I think I am too young to have seen Dutch elm disease, we had some huge stumps on the shoot are home that my grandad said were elms. There was a wood then that was all willow and elderberry etc with nettles and rubbish underneath, that used to be an elm wood before I was born.

[Walker570]

No sign in the Midlands yet. I have a small wood and it is stacked full of young ash. One or two of the older ones shed a branch occasionally but this has been happening as long as I can remember and natural. I have one witch elm tree growing in the wood, it started as a seedling and I have been keeping an eye on it. Now 25ft high with a spread of 50ft and healthy. Elms also host many insects so their loss effected them to. All of the witch elms in my roadside hedge are dead. I'm just hoping the seedling is far enough away not to get the beetle. Sad to hear about the ash along the east coast. Due to imports of young ash trees for planting. Why do we need to import trees ? Ash grow like weeds in my wood.

Edited July 30, 2016 by Walker570

[bornfree]

Most of the small ash trees are affected here in southwest Norfolk.

[norfolk dumpling]

My concern is falling tree tops - it was quite scary how easily and how quick quite large bits hit the deck. Get a line of beaters/guns in mixed woodland on a windy day and you will have to watch your step.

[scotslad]

Don't want to dash ur hopes walker but the dutch elm disease/beetle only seems to attack more mature trees so does not stop young trees growing but will kill them later in life. Think u can still coppice elm without it being affected too

Possibly the beetle will have died out/ decreased as ate/killed it's own food source so possibly ur tree will survive. Fingers crossed.

 

Far too late now but folk/land owners planting trees should only buy from local nurseries even if they are slightly dearer than the european imported trees, not many tree species that don't have serious 'new' diseases.

 

U got ur PR in larch, my local area willl soon be a larch free zone disease everywhere and common in shooting woods, SDS in oaks ur elms and ash been mentioned, beech seem to be only really common tree not affected yet and there not entirely native to the more northern parts of scotland or even england was all oak, ash, and various smaller hardwoods

[Alycidon]

The FC advise that Ash Die back is now out of control in the UK. We are in the East Mids and have several 80 year old plus tress affected but young Ashes dont yet seem be affected. It occurs to me that thsi will become an increasig hazard for beaters on windy days. Certainly it need inclusion in your shoot risk assessment but the only solution would be to fell all affected trees. One major shooting estate I am aware of is felling every Ash on the estate, timber is going to Vietnam for some reason.

 

A

Edited August 1, 2016 by Alycidon

[39TDS]

The FC advise that Ash Die back is now out of control in the UK. We are in the East Mids and have several 80 year old plus tress affected but young Ashes dont yet seem be affected. It occurs to me that thsi will become an increasig hazard for beaters on windy days. Certainly it need inclusion in your shoot risk assessment but the only solution would be to fell all affected trees. One major shooting estate I am aware of is felling every Ash on the estate, timber is going to Vietnam for some reason.

 

A

I think Ash Dieback was out of control before we even heard of it in the UK tbh.

I have an Ash tree on my land that was showing strange symptoms well before dieback hit the news, I now know they are typical symptoms.