Watch out for falling trees

If only trees would tell us when they're planning to fall, our lives would be a whole lot easier. But because trees can't talk, we have to guess. Will it be tomorrow, next month, next year, or 10 years from now? There's no way to tell.

Rest assured, a big tree with a rotten center will fall down sometime. The center of a tree contains a vital core of heart-- wood-dense, strong wood that supports a tree in the same way steel supports a skyscraper. Though heartwood is dead, it retains strength as long as it's safely encased inside sapwood and bark. But damage those outer layers, and you expose the heartwood to water, boring insects, and fungi. The result is a condition known as heart rot, which progressively hollows out the tree.

Damage occurs in many ways. Broken limbs, lightning strikes, fire injury, and topping can all lead to rot. So can smashing into the trunk with a pickup truck. But heart rot doesn't always result from an outside force. Some large trees naturally form a sort of bowl about 10 to 12 feet up from the ground, where all the main limbs spread out from the trunk. Water collects in this bowl and eventually causes rot.

What should you do if you discover a large tree with heart rot? The safest thing is to cut it down. Remember, heart rot never gets any better; it only gets worse. And if a tree that's known to be dangerous falls and injures someone or damages property, you may be held liable.

Of course, if you resist removing the tree for sentimental, aesthetic, or financial reasons, there are alternatives to the chain saw. In some rot cases, cabling, bracing, or filling the rotten cavity can strengthen the tree. Doing this correctly requires a licensed, bonded arborist who belongs to the American Society of Consulting Arborists or the International Society of Arboriculture.

Don't put this off until after the next big storm. Or you could be calling 911 and pleading, "Help! I've just been hit by a falling tree and I can't get up!"

TELLTALE HEART ROT

How can you tell if your shade tree has heart rot? Look for these signs.

* a cavity in the trunk that usually starts near the ground

* a wedge of sunken or flaking bark that proceeds up the trunk

* lots of woodpecker holes in the trunk

* carpenter ants entering and leaving a hole in the trunk

* flat, shelf-like mushrooms growing on the side of the trunk

* a dark ooze that drips out of a hole in the trunk after a rain

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Apr 2002
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