Wednesday 14 April 2021

Mr. Armstrong again

Back in 2015, a young tree was planted in front of my house. It was an Armstrong Maple, and was a replacement for an ash tree that had been killed by an infestation of the nasty Emerald Ash Borer. I was excited about my beautiful new tree. I called him Mr. Armstrong, and and wrote about him here.

But all is not well with Mr. Armstrong. For the last couple of years, I noticed that the main leader branch at the top of the tree had no buds or leaves. Last summer a tree specialist cut off the main spike, and the tree seemed to recover. However, the main trunk shows either insect damage or some kind of disease, and there's loads of grey and yellow lichen growing on the bark.

And further down I see a small shelf bracket fungus has started to grow, a sure sign of something that shouldn't be happening to a healthy tree.
Yet the branches are full of new spring growth and tiny delicate maple flowers.
It looks like Mr. Armstrong's in trouble.

24 comments:

  1. I hope Mr Armstrong is not in serious difficulties.
    I don't think that lichen is a problem. I hope the tree can survive the fungus though.

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    1. Once the fungus has appeared, it means that it's already established in the heartwood of the tree.

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  2. We have a silk lilac tree out front and another out back. The one in front was planted only a year earlier, but it looks like it has a five year head start. The back tree struggles and has had more than one dead branch removed.

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  3. Armstrong may be in trouble but it looks like he will smile on the neighbourhood this year.

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    1. I hope so! He goes a lovely red in the fall.

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  4. Can you get an arborologist to look at it? It is a lovely tree.

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    1. I have informed the property manager about this tree so I hope they'll have a look at it.

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  5. Awww...it makes me so sad to see these regal trees getting sick.
    Hope someone can "cure" it for you.
    Love the name Mr. Armstrong....
    One day at a time.
    Sue

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    Replies
    1. I'll talk to him, give him some encouragement!

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    2. Thanks for looking at my archived photos.
      I do believe that the fish on the side of the building is made of metal. It appears to be in 3 pieces..since everything is in the Dismantal Yard ie..junk yard...who knows what the origin of it was.
      Sue

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  6. Hopefully it can be helped and be healthy for a long life.

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  7. Sorry about Mr. Armstrong’s ailments — looks fairly serious. Hope he can handle.

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    1. Lots of splits occurring in the bark, so insects can get in. Not a good prognosis.

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  8. What a shame, it's always sad when a tree dies, especially one you have grown fond of. Fingers crossed Mr Armstrong has a miraculous recovery Shammi 🌳

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    1. Well, he's not quite dead yet, but certainly needs some attention.

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  9. Poor tree, I hope it recovers and gets to meet spring many more times.

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    1. The buds are looking good right now, if you ignore the fungus and the splits in the bark.

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  10. Poor Mr Armstrong, I hope he's not too poorly.

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    1. He's not looking well if you look at the trunk. There were other maple trees planted at the same time in 2015, and they all look good, mine is the only one suffering.

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  11. It very sad when trees get old and die, or just get diseased. I hope the tree recovers.

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All comments welcome.... unless your name is Anonymous..