C-r-a-c-k!

TreeBay

I was watering just a few feet from where this branch fell from one of the neighbor's American Elms. I heard some strange creaking-snapping-popping sound. I checked the rooftops thinking something BIG was walking around, but I couldn't locate it.

I had just moved away when it fell with a big crash. The branch was still dangling, supported by the fence, mainly, with some minor branches draped over the bonsai near the fence.

I went to grab some pruners and the camera, and while I was doing that a second branch went CRACK!

No real damage to the bonsai. I am sure there are some cracked branches and stuff, but nothing compared to how it might have been if the fence hadn't been there to support the weight of the branches, or if the other end hadn't still held on.

Elms grow very quickly when they find water. This was a watersprout from the root system of an elm I took out about 10 years ago.

After pruning away the smaller twigs, I pulled six trees off the benches and went 'round the other side and pulled the branch down over there.

Regards,

Matt

Attached Images

cracked_branch.jpg (62.4 KB, 269 views)

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DavidN

Close call Matt. Was it windy at all or just all of a sudden the branches decided to snap?

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Bonsai Northwest Inc, Melbourne, Australia

Bonsai Flora Nursery in Yarraville, Melbourne

TreeBay

It was a little windy today, but the real wind was a couple weeks back. The temperature dropped quite a bit over the past day, and tree probably picked up some stress cracks that the rapidly changing temperature accelerated.

The scary trees are on the west side. All of those are second growth eucalptus. The previous owner of the neighbor's home trimmed a row of mature trees back to about ten feet off the ground, and with their root systems intact, they shot up like crazy with very sappy growth.

We had a freeze back around 15 years ago that killed parts of the trees, so they are continually assaulting me. As you know, they're very brittle, very tall and very heavy.

Regards,

Matt

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DavidN

Matt, eucalptus are very scary. You know they lose limbs whenever they feel like it!!!!!!!

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Bonsai Northwest Inc, Melbourne, Australia

Bonsai Flora Nursery in Yarraville, Melbourne

dishinstallers

We live in a grove of these trees and what happens according to the neighbor is that the sap gets hot and literally blows up causing the limb to crack or the whole tree to topple over.

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Terri

Jerry Meislik

You were lucky to escape with so little damage. Probably a good time to talk with neighbors about maybe trimming some over-hanging limbs before they fall on bonsai or move the bonsai to safer territory.
Its a shame to lost bonsai for this type of problem.
Jerry Meislik

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Jerry Meislik
Whitefish Montana USA
Zone 4-5
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/

TreeBay

Well I should update you on this.

I actually wound up losing 3 of the trees that were hit. When I went back to examine the branch it looked like it had died and then broken when the wind got to it. I wonder if it was a verticilium problem and maybe the spores got to my trees, or maybe the trauma of the shock from being hit, but I did not know that plants were susceptible to a physical kind of shock like this even though they looked okay.

I had a beautiful dogwood just dry up over the course of 2 months. It was imported and quite nice, one of my wife's favorites.

I also lost a Japanese Styrax (egonoki) and one other tree.

Regards,

Matt

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