our my trees dying
ogee88
Posts: 3
Hi everybody i am quite a new gardener moved to our house in October having lived in a flat for years i am surprised how long it is taking to sort but am really after I bit of advice on two trees 1 is an oak Tree was completely covered in ivy and on the wonk I have removed as much of the ivy as I could without damaging any further this was when I first moved in and I have noticed patches tuning brown I think it is ok the second one I am unsure of what it is there was a bush all around it which I cut down but have noticed all slugs at the bottom the branches have a green colour in large patches the bark falls off if you poke it and has a slimey orange/brown colour underneath I will try to attach some pics but doesn't seem to be working and hopefully someone can help
Thanks
Owen
Posts
To upload photos start with the camera icon ... if they don't upload reduce the size ... that usually works.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for the advice think it was just the old tablet used my phone and all worked ok
They both look fine to me ... yes the oak has a couple of dead twigs, but I don't think it's anything to worry about ... they might have snapped in a strong wind or with the weight of a heavy wood pigeon (not joking, it happens in our trees).
The other tree is a Common Elder ... it has some elderberries forming and these will be loved by the birds when they ripen ... and of course if you or anyone you know is into home winemaking they'll be great for elderberry wine. Next year you can use the flowers for elderflower champagne or elderflower fritters and other recipes you'll find online.
The slugs etc were probably around the base because as you said there were bushes there ... now you've got rid of the bushes I can't see any slugs there? The bark looks ok to me ... a bit damaged but if you leave it alone it should be fine. The orangey brown layer is perfectly normal.
Green stuff on the branches is probably lichen, which is an indication of good air quality and not harmful to the tree.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I wouldn't rely on the wine
I've got 4 elder trees and never get any ripened berries. The blackbirds pick them off one by one, as soon as they start to change colour!