Gifford Pinchot

Panagiotis Panagiotou wrote:Has anyone fixed  gummosis in his citrus plants?
Would mulch and watering help reverse it?
What causes gum in citrus ?

I don't have much experience with citrus, though I have seen plenty of gummosis on Prunus species.

Gummosis is is a symptom. It is a response to some type of mechanical injury usually. In Prunus it may be a response to frost damage, a  boring insect, damage from a weed whackers or a lesion from a vascular disease.

The best thing to do for any tree is to make sure it is getting proper irrigation and to improve soil conditions. Mulch and water help with both of those.

How about shagbark hickory? I've never been a huge hickory fan but they are growing on me.

Nut tree has tasty nut for you to eat.

Hard mast (nuts) improve food sources for wildlife.

Wood burns great.

Wood make for excellent tool handles.

I've heard of people making some sort of syrup out of it, the bark i think.

Wood chips are great to add to the BBQ for hickory smoking.


I'd avoid Ash in the Northeast, Emerald ash borer, a fatally damging pest of ash, is either here or on its way depending on exactly where you are.

Check out black gum/black tupelo.

Bryant RedHawk wrote:

Michelle Bisson wrote:Also, trimming back the dying branches, "might" give new vigor to the tree.

Very true Michelle, Dead wood left on a tree actually sucks life from the tree. That's why you always start a pruning by taking out all dead wood.

I forgot in my earlier post to mention that you need to inspect this tree for borer holes, this is one of the prime reasons large healthy looking trees start to die, they have grubs inside that are eating the cambium layers and killing it slowly.

Deadwood on a tree actually has no negative impacts on a trees health, though removing it can help the tree to heal correctly at the branch bark ridge. Trees will actually begin to compartmetalize and seal off vascular tissues around the dead limbs.

Borers do indeed target stressed trees, but the only real preventive measures, besides bifenthrin applied at high rates, are to promote vigor by improving soil and growing conditions.  

Another vote for fagus sylvatica. The white downy stuff your seeing is likely left behind by wooly beech aphid, a common forest pest of beech.

Looks root flare is visible and that one root is not likely a significant cause of stress to the mature tree. Cut either end of the exposed root but do not attempt to remove the portion directly contacting the stem and root flare. We can do more harm than good performing root collar excavations on mature trees. If you want to venture into the soil air tools are your best bet to excavate while reducing impacts on healthy roots. If there are significant girdlibgvroots beneath the surface it is likely to late to remove them.

In periods of hot weather and little rain a thorough soaking once a week can promote health.

Mulch and incorporating organic matter into the soil can help to conserve moisture and improve soil health.