Advice needed - unhealthy knothole/overflow.

Hi all,

Grateful for any advice on this - seems a hole in one of my trees is now overflowing something nasty down the trunk. Don't know what it is but doesn't look good.

 

Looks like the poor old thing had a branch cut off and it never healed over properly.
Now the water has got in and rotting the heart out of that part of the tree.

Really need a tree surgeon to look at it, but I think it might mean a chainsaw job.

 

Does not look too good. If it was not going to look too awful you might get the rotting limb cut off and leave the other if you can get the rotten one cut down far enough to get to decent healthy heart wood. I have a similar tree with a big hole through the main trunk ( Silver Birch). I was somewhat alarmed when in the spring I saw a Starling with nesting material in it’s gob disappear into the trunk and then reappear out of a previously unaware hole the other side of the trunk. The tree itself seems quite healthy but when the wind blows I always move the car from anywhere near the tree.....just in case, timber!
Said tree, not exactly small?

 

Thanks for your comments guys.

Yep that looks exactly like what's happened. Not a small tree. Will get a tree surgeon in. My favourite tree in our garden too! Hopefully just the one side can be taken off.

 

Always the way that your favourites get into trouble. Just a word of advice, try to get a proper arborist not a cowboy firm who are tree slaughterers rather than surgeons!
We unfortunately have had quite a few chainsaw massacreists ( spelling iffy!) over the years c/o the power company as there are pylons in the fields next door. My god these so called tree surgeons if not watched over will slaughter anything that does not move. I would imagine your tree would be easier felled completely rather than attempts made to salvage her. Hope you get a good outcome.

 

Follow up - successfully dealt with by tree surgeon. Was right thing to do - rotten inside, managed to save rest of the tree.