De-limber dilemma

[DanG]

One of my pecan trees may be beginning to de-limb itself.  It is pretty early to tell if the tree is in peril, but it has lost 2 branches in the last few weeks.  The problem is, the tree is located very near the new house.  I would love to keep this particular tree because of the shade it would provide in my new backyard.  However, I've already lost 2 trees in that area, and they were blown over while still living.  It didn't take an awful lot of wind to claim either of them.  Examination of their root balls indicated they had a problem with some sort of root rot, so I'm suspicious of any trees in that grouping.  The two that fell were quite old trees, but the one in question right now is not so old.  Another thing, I noticed the other two showed some other symptoms, such as leafing out late, a thin, pale crop of leaves, and shedding early for a couple of years.  This tree looks quite healthy, even though we've had a bad drought.

Any input that might help in my decision is welcomed. :P

BTW, one of the branches fell the day we poured the footings, and I can assure you there was not the slightest hint of a breeze that day.  The second one could well have fallen during a thunderstorm, but no other trees on the place lost any branches.

[Tom]

Plant more trees, post haste.  Put them in a favorable spot to shade your house, but in different ground than the sick ones.   If the sick ones don't make it, take them down and you will still have a head start with the new trees.

[Riles]

Are any of the symptoms the same for all three trees (the two you lost and the one you're worried about)?

Were there leaves on the branches that fell off?

Are there obvious signs of rot in the branches that would indicate the tree is also rotten at the point they joined?

What's different? You have a drought, you're building a house nearby, what else? Lawn chemicals? Heavy machinery? Noticeable insects? Bark damage?

If you plant more trees like Tom suggested, consider a different species.

[DanG]

I'm gonna do that for sure, Tom, but it won't be like having a big ol' 50 year old tree right out the back door.  This one won't be shading the house anyway, since it is on the north side, but it would give us  a nice shady area in the back yard.

I'm mainly wondering if losing 2 branches might be a bad sign or just a coincidence.

I've been collecting coffee cans.  This fall, I'm gonna fill some with dirt and set them out under the Camphor tree and see if I can't "auto-pot" a few seedlings to put out there.  Camphors grow about as fast as anything I know of. ;D

Riles, the other two did lose some branches before falling, but they also had that wimpy look I described.  Both the branches that have fallen recently seemed healthy.  It's the first one that really concerns me, as there was no obvious reason for it to fall.  The leaves looked healthy and the wood appeared solid.  It was like it just got tired of being up there and jumped. ???  I didn't know about the second one until the leaves had already turned brown, and we had a couple of thunderstorms with wind since I had been out there.  That branch is still hung up in the tree.

The house foundation is not within the drip line, and we didn't encounter many roots at all, only a couple about big as your finger, in fact.  I have driven the tractor along one side of the tree, but not a whole lot.  No chemicals, no insects that I know of, and no bark damage.

Along with the camphors, I have a Darlington oak that grew from an acorn of a tree my Granpa planted back in the thirtys.  I also have some fig sprouts coming along and probably will put in some more fruit trees.  Oh yeah, I have a couple of lemon trees to put out there, too. ;D

I'll get pics.

[WDH]

DanG,

Pecan limbs just break sometimes from the weight.  That may be what is happening.  Were they heavy with nuts?  In some of the orchards near here, I have seen a good bit of breakage in the last 3 weeks.  It may be just natural and nothing to worry about.

[Kevin]

Pecan is subject to sudden summer limb drop, a phenomena characterized by branch failure in the middle of a large-diameter branch. This typically occurs on a very hot summer day with no wind.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ST122

[Riles]

Wow. Pretty much dead on. The only thing they left off was Dang's address...

[DanG]

  It may be just natural and nothing to worry about.

That's been my thought all along.  If it develops that it is in decline, there's plenty of time to get rid of it.  Fortunately, the limb that just fell was on the side toward the house, so it is now limb-heavy to an open area.  I'll be watching it closely, though. ;)

[Kevin]

I'm not really a Forester but I play one on the Forestry Forum.  ;D

[Tom]

Now, that's funny :D

[Jeff]

I'm not really a Forester but I play one on the Forestry Forum.  ;D

That is when he aint playing return of the Jedi

[SwampDonkey]

It seems that you have solved the mystery. I just wanted to make a comment concerning white birch. When some main upper branches die back I always suspect stem and but rot. This often happens when a stand is opened up or from ice damage. When cutting one of these trees we will often find that there are pockets of rot in the but and some further up the tree.

Butternut is one of those trees I would not favor as a yard tree or in the open because it tends to have long laterally reaching branches that are very susceptible to mechanical damage from wind. I have had to cut a couple of large limbs off by yard butternut because of wind and that ever present force of gravity that causes stuff to migrate to the ground.

[DanG]

The "mystery" is more in a "wait and see" status, rather than solved.  I seem to remember reading somewhere about a fungal disease that is preying upon pecan trees in the Southeast, but I can't remember where I saw it.  I was sorta hoping someone here would mention it, then do my legwork for me. ;D :  I think I recall that there was some sort of testing that could be done if the disease was suspected to be in an orchard.

This particular tree has a short little stem, only 8 or 10 feet, then multiple large branches fanning out in all directions.  If it stays, I'll be more concerned about a branch falling on someone or something, than it clobbering the house.  I expect that area to be one of the more active parts of the yard for cooking out or just settin' around.  With only 170 feet of porch, I'll be needin' a cogitation zone, ya know. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Well, a little branch or nut on the nogin might just jog your thinking while your cogitating. ;D  :D

[DanG]

A nut on the noggin would probably smart a bit, but some of those branches are like saw timber.  One of them could poke ol' DanG's noggin right through his green plastic chair!

[Riles]

Scab is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to pecan fungi, but it turns out the collection is pretty substantial.

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2211.htm

None of these fit the symptoms for falling branches however. And you haven't exactly been having fungal friendly weather conditions this summer.