We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my
eye pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't
able to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe
it didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Charles T. Smith wrote:
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my
eye pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't
able to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe
it didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

I would be concerned that a hole that size would substantially weaken
the trunk. Even as a small tree, it might easily break in the next wind
storm. Thus, I would remove and replace it.

First, however, I would consult a local aborist or horticulturist to
identify what pest made the hole. Then, you might be able to either
plant something that does not attract such a pest or else be able to
block it from damaging anything else.

The "World Book of Trees" and Sunset's "Western Garden Book" list many
oaks (genus Quercus) with common names indicating European and Asian
nations as well as states within the U.S. However, neither work lists
an "American oak". Was it possibly an "Armenian oak" (Q. pontica)?

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

"Charles T. Smith" wrote in message
news
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my
eye pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't
able to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe
it didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

"American Oak" / centimeters?

Got Live oak, and Red oak around here. Our tape measure read inches and
feet.
Dave

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 04:34:21 +0000, Dave wrote:

"Charles T. Smith" wrote in message
news
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my eye
pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't able
to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe it
didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the
tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

"American Oak" / centimeters?

Got Live oak, and Red oak around here. Our tape measure read inches and
feet.
Dave


Yes? Ours doesn't.

On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:55:08 -0700, David E. Ross wrote:

Charles T. Smith wrote:
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my eye
pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't able
to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe it
didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the
tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

I would be concerned that a hole that size would substantially weaken the
trunk. Even as a small tree, it might easily break in the next wind
storm. Thus, I would remove and replace it.


Yes, I guess you're right... unfortunately. I was hoping I could ignore
it and it would go away.



First, however, I would consult a local aborist or horticulturist to
identify what pest made the hole. Then, you might be able to either plant
something that does not attract such a pest or else be able to block it
from damaging anything else.


I actually hadn't intended to buy anything exotic ... we have oaks here
in southern Germany ... but maybe it really was from a different clima.
Your point makes me think that the garden shop did me a disservice.


The "World Book of Trees" and Sunset's "Western Garden Book" list many
oaks (genus Quercus) with common names indicating European and Asian
nations as well as states within the U.S. However, neither work lists an
"American oak". Was it possibly an "Armenian oak" (Q. pontica)?


Well, it was clearly presented as an American oak, but that could have
just been sloppy naming.

In article ,
"Charles T. Smith" wrote:

We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my
eye pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't
able to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe
it didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/tree-small.wmv

On Jun 11, 1:16?pm, "Charles T. Smith" wrote:
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my
eye pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't
able to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe
it didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Sounds like a tree borer. You probably did see it. I would try
standing guard duty for a while and perchance it will emerge again and
you can stab it with a barbed stick and yank it out. Also being such
a young tree is in your favor becaue it can't be very deep as it could
in a much larger tree, so there is probably just the one rather than a
colony. If I had no luck in grasping the borer I would attempt to
flush it out with a strong jet of water from a garden hose. Once it's
out there is no reason you couldn't pack the hole completely, cement
will work. The tree will heal and within 2-3 years you shouldn't even
be able to find the remnants of that hole. But more importantly keep
watch that more borers don't attack that tree or other trees as they
are likely in your soil. You probably should adhere to a regimen of
the proper insecticide applications.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/insect/05530.html

the hole will not get any bigger as the tree grows and as long as
water is not allowed to get into the hole it wont rot.
Most of any tree is dead, in fact, 98% of a redwood is dead wood. the
only part of the tree that is alive is right under the bark, the
leaves, the roots.
at this point I would be worried about that something eating or laying
eggs in the hole, so I would flush with an insecticide. then tape the
hole shut without encircling the whole trunk. as the tree grows the
bark/growing layer will grow out until it meets and closes the
entrance (more or less).


On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:16:08 +0200, "Charles T. Smith"
wrote:

We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my
eye pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't
able to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe
it didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Good news! Thank you.


On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:41:28 -0500, dr-solo wrote:

the hole will not get any bigger as the tree grows and as long as water is
not allowed to get into the hole it wont rot. Most of any tree is dead, in
fact, 98% of a redwood is dead wood. the only part of the tree that is
alive is right under the bark, the leaves, the roots.
at this point I would be worried about that something eating or laying
eggs in the hole, so I would flush with an insecticide. then tape the
hole shut without encircling the whole trunk. as the tree grows the
bark/growing layer will grow out until it meets and closes the entrance
(more or less).


On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:16:08 +0200, "Charles T. Smith"
wrote:

We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from the
ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter (just
under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4 cms
down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my eye
pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't able
to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe it
didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:14:07 -0700, Sheldon wrote:

On Jun 11, 1:16?pm, "Charles T. Smith" wrote:
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my eye
pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't able
to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe it
didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the
tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Sounds like a tree borer. You probably did see it. I would try standing
guard duty for a while and perchance it will emerge again and you can stab
it with a barbed stick and yank it out. Also being such a young tree is
in your favor becaue it can't be very deep as it could in a much larger
tree, so there is probably just the one rather than a colony. If I had no
luck in grasping the borer I would attempt to flush it out with a strong
jet of water from a garden hose. Once it's out there is no reason you
couldn't pack the hole completely, cement will work. The tree will heal
and within 2-3 years you shouldn't even be able to find the remnants of
that hole. But more importantly keep watch that more borers don't attack
that tree or other trees as they are likely in your soil. You probably
should adhere to a regimen of the proper insecticide applications.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/insect/05530.html


Thank you! The web site is a bit much to look at, but I'll get my wife to
handle it - she's not as much of a chicken as I am.

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:14:07 -0700, Sheldon wrote:

On Jun 11, 1:16?pm, "Charles T. Smith" wrote:
We bought and planted a tree that was called an "American Oak" about 3
years ago. It's currently about 3 - 4 cm (2 - 3 inches) in diameter.

A few days ago, I discovered a hole in the trunk, about 170 cm's from
the ground (under 6 ft). The hole itself is about 1.5 cm's in diameter
(just under an inch). A wire detected that it went about 15 cm up and 4
cms down (about a foot up and a few inches down).

After probing with the wire, I looked away for an instant, and then had
the distinct impression that I saw something out of the corner of my eye
pop its head out of the hole for a fraction of a second. I wasn't able
to get it again. It looked like a huge worm or something. Or maybe it
didn't happen. But something made that hole.

The hole occupies about 20% of the diameter of the trunk.

My question: will the tree grow in respect to the size of the hole, so
that the hole becomes insignicant, or will the hole "grow" with the
tree?

Should I cut it down now instead of pealing it off my house later?

Should I fill the hole with anything?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Sounds like a tree borer. You probably did see it. I would try standing
guard duty for a while and perchance it will emerge again and you can stab
it with a barbed stick and yank it out. Also being such a young tree is
in your favor becaue it can't be very deep as it could in a much larger
tree, so there is probably just the one rather than a colony. If I had no
luck in grasping the borer I would attempt to flush it out with a strong
jet of water from a garden hose. Once it's out there is no reason you
couldn't pack the hole completely, cement will work.


Cement? I was thinking along the lines of tar. I have an unused bag of
cement, and I've seen trees with cement plugs, now that you mention it...
But it seems extreme to me ... for example, cement gets warm when it
hardens. That won't be a problem? Would cement be less of a chemical
toxen to the tree than tar, for example?





The tree will heal
and within 2-3 years you shouldn't even be able to find the remnants of
that hole. But more importantly keep watch that more borers don't attack
that tree or other trees as they are likely in your soil. You probably
should adhere to a regimen of the proper insecticide applications.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/insect/05530.html

"Charles T. Smith" wrote:

Cement? I was thinking along the lines of tar. I have an unused bag of
cement, and I've seen trees with cement plugs, now that you mention it...
But it seems extreme to me ... for example, cement gets warm when it
hardens. That won't be a problem? Would cement be less of a chemical
toxen to the tree than tar, for example?

Were it an old hollow tree or relatively large cavity then cement will
cause problems. But yours is a very young tree, which in a few years
will grow enough that it reduces that borer hole to mere
insignificance. As to heat, trees easily tolerate far higher
temperatures over much longer periods simply by growing in the sun.
And that is why filling a void with tar is not a good idea, it's fine
to "cauterize" a small surface wound in order to prevent entrance by
insects and water. Whenever the sun strikes that tree the tar will
reliquify to some degree and leach throughout the tree even into the
living portions especially downwards (gravity) to the root area and
that may interfere with sap flow... in a small tree that can have the
same effect as a blood clot in your leg, death. Patching cement
doesn't generate much heat, you can run a small test batch and check
the temperature with an insta-read thermometer... I seriously doubt it
will reach more than 90F during the curing, and only for a very short
duration, not nearly as hot as the surface of a tree gets from the
sun, and thats all day every every sunny summer day.

And if you're still tentative go to a plant nursery and ask if they
can recommend an arborist's cement, calking compound or some such.
Plumbers putty would work too, or spackle patching compound (probably
easier to work with than cement, a small $2 can from The Depot will
do, all you want to do is fill the void until the tree heals itself.
Let us know if you get that borer out.

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 10:28:56 -0700, Sheldon wrote:

"Charles T. Smith" wrote:

Cement? I was thinking along the lines of tar. I have an unused bag of
cement, and I've seen trees with cement plugs, now that you mention
it... But it seems extreme to me ... for example, cement gets warm when
it hardens. That won't be a problem? Would cement be less of a
chemical toxen to the tree than tar, for example?

Were it an old hollow tree or relatively large cavity then cement will
cause problems. But yours is a very young tree, which in a few years will
grow enough that it reduces that borer hole to mere insignificance. As to
heat, trees easily tolerate far higher temperatures over much longer
periods simply by growing in the sun. And that is why filling a void with
tar is not a good idea, it's fine to "cauterize" a small surface wound in
order to prevent entrance by insects and water. Whenever the sun strikes
that tree the tar will reliquify to some degree and leach throughout the
tree even into the living portions especially downwards (gravity) to the
root area and that may interfere with sap flow... in a small tree that can
have the same effect as a blood clot in your leg, death. Patching cement
doesn't generate much heat, you can run a small test batch and check the
temperature with an insta-read thermometer... I seriously doubt it will
reach more than 90F during the curing, and only for a very short duration,
not nearly as hot as the surface of a tree gets from the sun, and thats
all day every every sunny summer day.

And if you're still tentative go to a plant nursery and ask if they can
recommend an arborist's cement, calking compound or some such. Plumbers
putty would work too, or spackle patching compound (probably easier to
work with than cement, a small $2 can from The Depot will do, all you want
to do is fill the void until the tree heals itself. Let us know if you get
that borer out.


No, I'll do the cement, I have it on hand.

But what do you mean, get the borer out? I was planning to just mash
up and down with a heavy wire and then follow up with some insecticide -
do you think it wise to actually have his carcass in hand (habeas corpus,
so to speak)?

systemic works really well in trees that arent producing edible food.
on my peach trees will occasionally get a borer, use the wire to spear
it. but normally I have window screen wrapped around so they cant get
close enough to lay and egg and get into the tree.
Ingrid

You probably
should adhere to a regimen of the proper insecticide applications.

dont fill with anything. it prevents proper overgrowth. tape over the
hole to prevent rain from getting in, wrap the tree with some
aluminum screening to prevent anything else from getting in there.

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:51:02 +0200, "Charles T. Smith"
wrote:
Cement? I was thinking along the lines of tar.