Good afternoon and I hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying this sunshiny weather! I love being able to get outside with my girls and get some vitamin D and open our windows and get some fresh air. With spring around the corner, I wanted to bring to your attention that Russell Tree Experts is implementing some new Oak tree and Elm tree safety procedures to ensure the health and safety of these types of trees in the Columbus area.
As you may have seen in some of our previous articles, we advise not pruning any Oak trees (or Elm trees) between March 15th and October 1st. If you are a current customer of ours and have Oak trees, you may know that it has taken us most of the winter to work through and complete all of the Oak pruning work we have accumulated over the year. Please note that if you require any future Oak pruning work, it will be done during the pruning window (October 1st - March 15) and despite everyone’s desires (including my own), not everyone’s Oak trees will be able to be pruned the first week of October, because of sheer capacity and manpower. As always, we will do our best to accommodate anyone’s specific situation. If we come across an instance where an Oak or Elm tree MUST be pruned in this window (such as safety concerns), the wounds will be painted with tree paint or wound dressing to help deter the Nitidulid beetles that spread Oak Wilt from entering the tree and ultimately spreading the disease. This is something that we have been doing for the past few years since Oak Wilt became an issue in the area and we became aware of these best practices.
It is vital to seal oak wounds/cuts between March 15 - October 1st to limit the transmission of oak wilt.
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Upon reading up on some neighboring states’ tree removal contracts, I have found that it is also recommended in parts of Michigan to immediately paint any stump from a freshly removed Oak tree so the beetles will not be attracted to this wound as well. In Michigan, Oak Wilt has been more prevalent than here in Ohio but I believe it is necessary to take their findings and apply them to our own situation at home. Painting the stump is an effective mitigation method is because one of the ways Oak Wilt can spread to other trees is by root grafts. Even though the tree has been removed, it is possible the Nitidulid beetles may still enter the stump, carrying the pathogen, and the disease could be spread through the roots of the newly infected tree (or now stump) to a neighboring oak tree through the root grafts, which could be as far as 100 feet away. Although the spread of the disease this way may be unlikely, for the amount of effort it takes to paint a stump, it is an easy way to reduce the risk of spreading such a deadly disease.
Even the stump of an oak can transmit oak wilt therefore stump cuts between March 15 - October 1 will be sealed.
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We are including Elm trees into this new practice as well is because the spread of the infamous Dutch Elm Disease is spread in a similar way.
As always, if you have Oak trees and expect you may have Oak Wilt, please give us a call and our experts would be happy to advise you on next steps and how we can confirm a diagnosis. It is best to try and find out sooner rather than later to try and reduce the spread to neighboring Oak trees.
Have a great rest of the week and be sure to get outside and soak up some rays!
Lindsey Rice | Regional Manager, Russell Tree Experts
Lindsey joined Russell Tree Experts in 2015 with a B.S. in Agribusiness and a minor in Horticulture from The Ohio State University. Growing up in Northwest Ohio, she participated in various sports, band, and FFA which ultimately inspired her love for the tree industry. In her free time she loves to spend it outdoors with her husband and daughters.