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DEAD BEECH?
By Howee74
United Kingdom
Hi, i planted a beech tree at the beginning of the year which lay dormant until about a month ago when it sprouted a few leaves on its bottom half. The top half is now covered in orange spots and appears to be dead- is there anything i can do?
On plant
Fagus
- 15 Aug, 2008
Answers
It looks very big to have been so recently planted. The symptoms you have described tell a sorry story. The usual check to find out if the tree is dead is to scrape off a small piece of bark and look at the colour of the trunk. If it's still green there's life there. However, I don't hold out much hope in this case. If the tree was transplanted it could be that not enough of the rootball was lifted to sustain it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
15 Aug, 2008
Ok, thanks for the advice, i have a feeling its past it, the leaves it does have are turning brown now. Will try cutting off the infected parts
15 Aug, 2008
What type of soil is it planted in? Beech is not happy on clay soils - hornbeam would be better in these conditions
15 Aug, 2008
its in clay soil
18 Aug, 2008
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I doubt it is salvagable but there is always a little hope.
The spots are coral spot. This infects dead wood but can also travel on to live wood. Cut off anything that is infected as it will be dead or dying anyway.
For a tree to sprout low down it has to be in a severely stressed state usually from lack of water ot too much but it can also be a sign of root damage or bad planting...not staked correctly and wobbling in its planting hole etc...
Beech is an easy plant so you may be lucky and make it grow again. Being used for hedging means it can regenerate itself from growth low down.
15 Aug, 2008