lightning strike Hickory

[chazmonro]

I have a shag bark hickory that recently got hit by lightning. The only damage on the tree seems to be a line from the very top to the very bottom where the loose bark seemes to have blown off the tree. (pics to come) Do you think the tree will be fine, and what should I do to help the tree if anything?

Thanks,
Chuck

[WoodButcher]

  HI Chuck, I milled a 24" yellow pine ( I know thats a lot softer thou) but it cooked the log all the way to the pith. I used it any way and so far have had no problems. It's probably fine.  You could see a black line all the way to the pith almost like a stain. I think I have some pix of it in my gallery.
The WoodButcher

[Riles]

If you're talking about the lumber, yes you're fine. If you're talking about survival, no it won't be fine. The tree may not die, but it certainly took a whuppin'.

Straight lines seem to do better than corkscrews, but that's an observation, not science. There's two points here, girdling and stress. If the cambium layer is compromised all the way around the tree, it dies. If it survives that, it may still fall victim to other problems, especially insects, due to it's reduced ability to feed itself and produce defensive chemicals. Time will tell; the tree may already be dead and just not know it.

The general advice for all tree problems is "maintain tree vigor." Lots of water, maybe a light fertilizer, aerate compacted soil, mulch, spray for insects, etc... Makes a lot more sense for a yard tree than a forest tree.

By the way, I think I'd heard that lightning is the single largest source of mortality in the forest (other than old age and harvesting), even greater wildfire.

[Riles]

Here's a Shumard oak that took a hit and had five lines barberstriping it to the ground. Happened in the winter and they didn't even wait to see if it came back, had the tree down and the stump ground out in less than a week.

[chazmonro]

Well here are the pics I promised. So I guess I better get ready to bring this poor tree down eh? Thats a shame, its one of the nicest trees on  the property. I sure would hate to lose it. I thought maybe it just blew some of the bark off in the storm, but the line from the top of the tree to the bottom really looks like lightning to me. I'll give it till next spring, do you think thats a good idea or not? If the leaves start to turn brown before summer is out I guess I'll know there is no point in waiting.

Thanks guys,
Chuck

[scsmith42]

Chuck, it seems like every treen on my farm that gets hit by lightning dies within a few months.  Having said that, with a nice yard tree I'd wait to make sure before I cut it down.

Scott

[Phorester]

I've seen a lot of lightning struck trees in my career.  I've seen strikes that barely took off the bark kill a tree in short order.  I've seen other trees survive with a spiral strike that took off bark from the top to the bottom and dug a hole in the ground at the base of the tree.   My experience is that if the tree hasn't died within 3 - 4 weeks after being struck, it stands a good chance of living for a long time. 

Obviously it has been injured, and this injury will shorten it's life.  Shagbark hickory can live for 150 - 300 years in a forest environment.  That would be shortened if it is a yard tree because of all the stresses of a tree living in a lawn situation.  But if it was on my property I wouldn't cut it down until I was sure it was gonna die.   

[chazmonro]

The ground immediatly around the tree has no grass on it, when I moved in there were a lot of shrubs and weed trees growing around it, so I took all that stuff down. There is a bunch of mulch down there (I shredded the trees that were there) but for the most part just bare earth. If the leaves don't turn color in the next few weeks, what can I do to prep it for winter? What kind of fertilizer can I put down? If there is anything I can do to save the tree, I'd like to do what I can.

Thanks again guys,
Chuck

[Riles]

The correct answer for fertilization is always "do a soil test."  That notwithstanding, 13-13-13 would work, just be aware that forest trees are usually NOT nutrient limited. Yard trees are a different story. Don't wait til fall to put it down. What part of the country are you in? Are you getting enough rain? Keep the lawn mowers (and string trimmers!) away from the trunks of your yard trees - that's another thing mulch is good at.

[chazmonro]

Im in northern Illinois, I think we've gotten enough water this year, my catalpa tree has grown almost 3 feet this year already.

I'll do a soil test... how do I go about doing that exactly, and what is it going to tell me?

I was going to ask you guys about that, all my oak trees and hickory trees have grass right up to the base of them. I've hit a couple with the mower deck, not any serious damage (i hope) but I do need to do something to keep my mower away from them. I shouldn't string trim around them either eh? Good to know.

A few of my trees look like they could use some soil around them, but I don't want to smother them, whats a good way to know how much mulch/topsoil to use?

Thanks for all the advice guys,
Chuck

[getoverit]

I have a Hickory tree that has been struck by lightening several times and healed over with no real damage done to the tree. I'm not sure what kind of hickory tree this is, but I am assuming it is a pignut hickory. In the first pic, you can see the stripe where the bark was blown off and healed over.



The second pic is a pic of the nut. Maybe someone could positively identify it for me?



I cut down this tree's sister last year and milled it up for lumber. It had numerous scars from lightening also, but the wood had no aparent defects when I milled it.

[Riles]

Leaves are real helpful when trying to identify hickories, but based on the nut, I'd tend to agree with pignut, Carya glabra.

[Phorester]

Yep, you got a pignut there.

[getoverit]

Thanks  for the positive ID

[Woodwalker]

I was driving through a subdivision the other morning, happened to spot this



Figure only about 40% of the bark was left on this red oak. From the top to bottom bark was blown off. Found pieces blown 130' - 150' from the tree.

[thecfarm]

Lighting has hit many of my big white pine.My father and me left one big pine by the woods road.My father always said we may need a quick tree for a load so we'll leave it.Lighting hit it and killed it.Just never know.We had lighting hit a white maple tree,started a small fire at the base of it,like 4 feet around.The fire started to burn the old slash from a white pine,than the shower came and put the fire out.We was some lucky.I knew at one time where 3 of my white pines got hit by lighting.

[Phorester]

Years ago I was driving down a county road and started seeing chunks of wood on the pavement.  I slowed down and looked around.  To the left of the road and about 100 yards into a pasture there had been a big yellow poplar standing by itself out in the open.  Trunk probably 2 feet diameter, probably 80 feet tall.

All that was left was a splintered stump about 6 feet high with debris scattered several hundred feet around. There was no piece of wood  bigger than a couple feet in length.  Lightning had hit it the night before.  It shattered this tree from the very top to the bottom.  It looked like somebody had put a stick of dynamite in it.

[Kevin]

Was that near Nobles house? 

[Phorester]

Virginia used to be that big, but we don't claim that much anymore. 

[PineNut]

Had a thunderstorm through here last week.  Yesterday i found a 22 inch pine (SYP) with split bark from ground to near the top. Expect it to start turning brown in a few weeks. That is the way most of them do here. Have seen some where the lightning had followed the roots out to about the drip line. No I don't want to be under one when the lightning hits it. I will try to get this one out and cut when I can fit it in with the beetle trees.