Western Tree Failure Database/California Tree Failure Report Program

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Western Tree Failure Database/California Tree Failure Report Program

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Date: Mar 11, 2010
Name: Chester Chesbro

Someone told me that municipalities are beginning to systematically remove carobs (ceratonia siliqua) as street trees because they are prone to heart decay and failure. I am looking for confirmation of that. The only city Ive been able to confirm so far is Santa Monica, CA. Can anyone help me here?

Date: Mar 11, 2010
Name: Dan Omdal

If a co-dominant tree should be recognized as a hazard, how much of that hazard is abated by simply removing one of the co-dominant stems?

Date: Mar 11, 2010
Name: Dan Omdal

Can you tell from your data how much more likely to fail is a tree/branch with defects compared to a tree/branch without defects?

Reply

Mar 11, 2010
From: Katherine Jones

This is what our data shows to date. The defects tabulated do not include decay.

For the database as a whole from 4651 reports:

At least one defect associated with failure: 4218

No defects: 519

Data missing: 86

For branch failures from 1656 reports:

At least one defect associated with failure: 1534

No defects: 122

Date: Mar 7, 2010
Name: Craig Crotty

I am interested in statistics with causes of structural failures of Eucalyptus globulus in windrow plantings, esp. So. Calif., but I will take any Calif info.

Reply

Mar 8, 2010
From: Katherine jones

Our report forms don't specifically ask for windrow information and there is only one specific mention of a failure in a windrow for E. globulus.

There are tabulated fields in the CTFRP form for "Alone" (no other tree within a crown diameter), "In a group" (less than one crown diameter apart), and "Altered stand" (in a group, but one or more trees had been removed from the group prior to the failure).

There are reports on 252 Eucalyptus globulus failures to date. 75% of those were in a group or altered stand. 25% stood alone.

The location of failure and presence of decay is very similar in both groups.

	Group	Alone
Trunk	14%	14%
Branch	40%	42%
Root	46%	44%
Decay	some 57%	some 60%

!5 reports were from southern California cities.

Date: Mar 5, 2010
Name: Ron Bennett

I would like to know the number of Phoenix canariensis with trunk failure (crown drop) in northern California in the past 10 years.

Reply

Mar 6, 2010
From: Katherine Jones

That would be good to know. Unfortunately, very few palm failures are reported to us. We have only one report of Phoenix canariensis. It was a trunk failure. It might be helpful for you to contact cities where they are very commonly planted, such as San Francisco and San Jose.

Date: Dec 30, 2009
Name: Robert Sartain

Is it possible to get a copy of the annual meeting. I am unable to attend this year as in southern california there is the annual Street Tree Seminar Western Tree Symposiun on the same day. I am especially interested in the presentation by Charles Filmer on Substantiating sudden branch drop. If I cannot get notes form the presentation can I get a contact number or email for Charles Filmer. Thank you.

Reply

Dec 30, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

If handouts or summaries of the talks are provided by the speakers they will be made available on the web site after the meeting.

Date: Sep 27, 2009
Name: Richard Kirchner

I have approximately 20 italian cypress around the southwest edge of my property here in Ridgecrest, CA. All were grown by a high desert nursery and all that were planted 19 years ago survived, and most are over 20 feet tall today. Three years ago one suddenly failed. Today I found three more immediately adjacent to where the first one was. They appear dried out despite the apparent health of the others, although all were stressed by the constant beating from the fronds of an adjacent palm. Several years ago most of the Arizona cypress in the area were killed off but Ive not noticed it in the italians.

Reply

Sep 28, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

It isn't clear from your question what you mean by "failed." For our purposes we define a failure as a broken branch, trunk or uprooting. Our data doesn't contain information about dead trees unless the tree failed after dying. You might benefit from an on-site visit from a consulting arborist who is familiar with conditions in your area. You can locate one at http://www.asca-consultants.org.

Date: Sep 16, 2009
Name: David Croom,MD

My Oak has just experienced 4 separate sudden limb drops.2 limbs on 9/12/09 at the same time on opposite sides of the tree and 2 more limbs yesterday in mid-afternoon, 24 hours after our first rain. I am not a member but are you interested in me or my arborist filing a report, and or in any samples, photos?

Reply

Sep 16, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

We would be pleased to receive reports about these failures. Reports don't have to come from arborists, but if you do it yourself we ask that you use the ITFD form and read the ITFD manual first. Both are downloadable from this site. Then mail the report to our Half Moon Bay office. Photos would be great too. If you have them in digital format, send them to treefail@mac.com.

Date: Sep 1, 2009
Name: Nancie Jantz

I work for a tree company and have noticed a lot of limb failure from both Oak trees and pine trees. They usually fail during winter months but seems more are failing during the summer months

Reply

Sep 2, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

Your observation is correct except that it doesn't apply to this year alone. Our data shows that both oaks and pines do fail in summer months. Of 846 reports of pine failures, 28% failed in the months of May through September. Of 974 reports of oak failures, 34% failed during those months.

Date: Aug 31, 2009
Name: Katherine Jones

There are 47 Sequoia sempervirens trunk faillures in the database. Only one report mentions fire damage. Do decay was evident in that tree.

Date: Aug 26, 2009
Name: Chris Schroeder

How many Sequoia sempervirens do you have in the database with trunk failure. How many of those trunk failures had cavitys/Old Fire damage? Thanks for your help again!

Reply

Aug 31, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

There are 47 reports of Sequoia sempervirens trunk failure. Only one mentions fire damage. No decay was evident in that tree.

Date: Jul 31, 2009
Name: Chris Schroeder

Of those 128 reported with no structural defects how many of them failed within the summer months or temperatures greater then 90 degrees?

Reply

Aug 1, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

Of the 128 there are 14 reports of temperatures 90 or above. However, of the 128 there are 48 reports of branch failures in the months of May through September in temperatures of 70 degrees F. or above. There is a slight error in reporting where in nine cases "no defects" and "heavy lateral limbs" were both mentioned.

Your question seems to imply an interest in the sudden (summer) limb drop phenomenon. There are 35 reports where the cooperators either thought this was the case or the reports fit most of the following parameters. If the parameters, temperatures 70 or above, little or no decay, failure away from point of attachment, low wind, no precipitation, are applied the 35 trees sort out as follows:

Temp. 70 or above: 34, not reported 1.

Little or no decay: all

Away from attachment: 18, at attachment 6, unreported 11

low wind: 26, moderate wind: 7, unreported 1

no precip: 33. unreported 2

The genera for these 35 cases are:

Acacia 1,Cedrus 1, Celtis 2, Eucalyptus 6, Liquidambar 1,Paulownia 2, Pistacia 1, Metrosideros 1, Platanus 1, Populus 1, Pseudotsuga 1, Quercus 10, Sophora 2, Ulmus 5

Date: Jul 31, 2009
Name: Chris Schroeder

How many trees have been reported for limb failure with no defects present?

Reply

Jul 31, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

Interesting question. There are 4615 reports in the database. 1616 of those are branch failures. There are 128 reported with no structural defects apparent. The genera with 5 or more reports in this category are:

Cedrus 6 (5 with no decay)

Cupressus 10 (8 with no decay)

Eucalyptus 31 (29 with no decay)

Pinus 6 (1 with no decay, 2 decay unreported)

Quercus 31 (13 with no decay, 1 decay unreported)

Ulmus 11 (2 with no decay, 4 decay unreported)

Date: Jul 30, 2009
Name: Chris Schroeder

Scenario: Large over mature black oak with co dominant stems. One stem breaks out, and the remainder of the tree is still standing. Would you consider this trunk failure or branch failure. Follow up question- You have a large 38" DBH White Fir with a co dominant top. One of the tops breaks out would you consider that branch failure or trunk failure. Last question: You have a 26" DBH 128ft tall Douglas fir with a a codominant stem that starts 30ft off the ground, and twists around itself with 10ft of included bark. Right next to it is a 38"DBH by 116ft tall Sitka spruce with long Mature Branches (5" diameter by 25ft long) Which of these two trees would you be more concerned about.

Reply

Aug 11, 2009
From: Larry Costello

Black oak with codominant stems: trunk failure

White fir with codominant stems: trunk failure

Doug fir with codominant stem and included bark: significant concern --- needs close inspection and monitoring. Remedial action should be considered.

Sitka spruce with long branches: we don't have info about branch failures in Sitka spruce. Suggest checking with local arborists for observations regarding the frequency of this type of failure in Sitka spruce.

Date: Jul 6, 2009
Name: Marie

I planted 11 Italian Cypress in 24s a few weeks ago. They were deep watered when planted then watered every six days. It started to get hot and I went to see them and they are dry. I took the watering to every 4 days in the 85-90 degree heat. Any suggestions?

Reply

Jul 6, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

CTFRP data can't help with this problem. I've forwarded your question to someone who can give you some advice.

Date: Jul 1, 2009
Name: Vickie

My ficus(indian laurel) leaves are turning brown and falling off, the tree almost looks dead? can anyone help?

Reply

Jul 1, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

The CTFRP data can't help with this problem. Lots of questions need to be asked in order to come up with a solution. Where do you live? I can help you find your local Master Gardener help line. Or, to find a consulting arborist near where you live, go to http://asca-consultants.org

Date: Jun 17, 2009
Name: Mark Porter

Do have failure data on Ceratonia seliqua? Thank You

Reply

Jun 22, 2009
From: Katherine Jones

There are 4615 failure reports in the database today. Only 23 are Ceratonia siliqua. 8 Trunk, 5 Branch and 10 Root. Mean age 26 years, mean DBH 15 inches and mean height 23 ft. Structural defects reported are 5 dense crown, 3 failed portion dead, 2 multiple trunk/codominant stem, 2 lean, 1 each of heavy lateral limb, uneven-top heavy, multiple branches at same point, crack/split, none and 5 other. Decay was a factor in 19 cases. 19 trees failed during the months of November through February. Precipitation was reported in 15 cases and 11 trees failed in winds over 25 mph.

Date: May 23, 2009
Name: Frank Ono

Does the CTFRP data base have any information regarding coast redwood tree failure, particularly in fire damaged trees?

Reply

May 25, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
We have reports of 99 Sequoia sempervirens failures. Mean age 50 years, mean DBH 29 inches and mean height 75 feet. Trunk (51%), Branch (20%) and Root (29%). Decay was a factor in 36% of the combined trunk and root failures and 2% of branch failures. There was no mention of fire damage with any of these failures.

Date: May 18, 2009
Name: Rita Lowitt

My neighbor has two cypress trees side by side. They have grown from potted plants for the last nineteen years and are about the height of a two or three story apartment building. Very tall and columnar and filled out. My question is whether they will continue to get taller, and are they a danger to my house which is within its fall distance should they fall. Are they wind resistant? It gets windy here in Ukiah, CA. The trees appear to be very healthy. Thank you for your answer.

Reply

May 21, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
The CTFRP database does contain reports of cypress failures, but a question about the structural stability of any individual tree requires an on site evaluation. Growth in height does slow down over time but it's reasonable to assume that those trees will continue to grow. Wind can be a factor when trees fail, but often there are other contributing factors involved. Perhaps you could discuss your concerns with your neighbor and arrange for an evaluation by a consulting arborist.

Date: Apr 30, 2009
Name: Max Butler

Data on Quercus lobata failure please.

Reply

May 1, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
There are reports on 219 Quercus lobata failures; Trunk 26%, Branch 42% and Root 32%. Mean age 158 years, mean DBH 45 inches and mean height 63 feet. Defects reported over 10% of total are Heavy Lateral Limb 25% and Failed Portion Dead 11%. Decay is noted as a contributing factor for trunk (26%), branch (41%), and root (33%). 40 % of the failures occurred in the months of November-February and 35% in June-September. No precipitation is noted in 59% of cases. Wind: less than 5mph (50%), 5-25mph (26%), and over 25mph (24%).

Date: Apr 28, 2009
Name: Jan Scow

Data on Pinus halapensis whole tree failures please?

Reply

Apr 29, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
There are 67 Pinus halepensis reports in the database. 17 of those are whole tree (root) failures. Mean ht. 54 ft., mean DBH 25". Month of Failure: Jan (3), Feb (3), Mar (2), May (1), June (1), July (3), Oct (1), Nov (2), Dec (1). Structural defects reported: dead (1), multiple trunks (1), uneven branch distribution (1), dense crown (1), lean (5), kniked/girdling roots(3), none (3), decay (some 13, none 3). Soil conditions: saturated (10), shallow (3), good (1), compacted (1), dry (1). Precipitation: rain (11), none (6). Wind: moderate-high (12)

Date: Apr 16, 2009
Name: Mark Porter

A question was asked on the American Society of Consulting Arborist list serve concerning the safety of Douglas fir during earthquakes. The question came from Oregon. My initial thought was that no tree failures were ever reported concerning earthquakes as a contributing factor to any reported failures. In 30 years of pracice I have witnessed only one trunk failure, a Morus alba (fruitless mulberry tree that failed during an earthquake. This happened in southern California years ago centered in Big Bear. The tree (>36" dbh)was predisposed by a co-dominant trunk with a bark inclusion. The quake was 50 miles away and the trunk split in half at the fork with the inclusion. I dont remember if I sent in a failure report. Do you have any tree failure reports concerning earthquakes as a contributing factor? If so, what defects were reported as contributory?

Reply

Apr 16, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
The CTFRP form doesn't have a tabulated field for earthquake related failures, but a search for the word "earthquake" revealed only the Morus alba failure you reported.

Date: Apr 4, 2009
Name: dave

i have a row of monterey pines, that i need failure data on to prove to the property owner that these pines are a hazard because of the age and vigor levels

Reply

Apr 6, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
The database contains 481 reports of Pinus radiata failures. Mean age 60 years, mean DBH 33inches, Mean height 70 feet. Trunk 26%, Branch 40%, and Root 34%. Of the structural defects reported 52% included heavy lateral limbs (32%), lean (10%) and dense crown (10%). No decay was noted in 75% of cases. 75% failed in winds over 5mph. Some precipitation was noted in 63% of cases. 52% failed in the months of November-February, 21% in March-June, and 22% in July-October.

Date: Apr 1, 2009
Name: Frederick F. Fletcher

A 50 foot, age 25 palm tree grows in my Sacramento back yard. How can I best assess the risk of tree falling in gusty (40 knot) wind conditions? I appreciate your time and expertise here. best, FFF

Reply

Apr 1, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
There are only seven reports of palm failures in the database. Four failures were dead trees. One was a branch (a frond on a palm) and the other two were root failures with root decay. It is always best to get expert on-site advice about structural stability. Try finding help through the American Society of Consulting Arborist's web site at http://asca-consultants.org. In the meantime, check your tree for lean. Increasing lean is a cause for concern.

Date: Mar 14, 2009
Name: matt goodman

Hello; there is a diseased 40 Grevillea Robusta (Silk Oak), with weeping sores at its base, planted along an urban sidewalk near my house (Oakland, CA). Im wondering what the disease might be. Am also concerned about property damage due to tree failure (eg in high winds). Any advice/suggestions (nature of problem, course of action, whom to contact, etc)? Thanks!

Reply

Mar 15, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
We have only 7 reports of Grevillea robusta failures. 4 trunk and 3 branch. Decay was listed as a factor for all of the trunk failures. Weeping at the base can be an indication of decay. An on-site evaluation is needed to determine structural stability. You can locate a consulting arborist near where you live at http://asca-consultants.org

Date: Mar 2, 2009
Name: Trevor Douglas

Hi, Can i please have some cuurent stats on failures in Liquidambar species? Thanks.

Reply

Mar 3, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
There are 97 reports of Liquidambar failures out of 4603 in the database. It is the 9th most commonly reported genus. Trunk 37%, Branch 61% and Root 2%. Mean age 26 years, mean DBH 18 inches and mean height 42 ft. The most commonly reported structural defects are: Multiple trunks/co-dominance 27%, Heavy lateral limbs 22%, Embedded bark 18% and Dense crown 15%. No decay was noted in 73% of cases. 90% of the failures occurred in areas of medium to high use. 65% of the failures occurred in the months of October, November, December and 26% in the months of June, July and August. No precipitation noted in 64% of cases. 87% of the failures occurred in medium to high winds.

Date: Feb 19, 2009
Name: Michael Baefsky

Any reports of Ficus microcarpa branch failures?

Reply

Feb 19, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
Not much. Of 28 Ficus failures reported, only 10 are F.microcarpa. 2 trunk, 4 branch and 4 root. Mean DBH 34 inches. For structural defects, 3 reports each for codominance, embeded bark and dense crown, 2 each for heavy lateral limbs and multiple branches at the same point. In 5 cases the failed portion was dead. For decay, 5 reported none, 2 root rot and 3 heart or sap rot. Eight of these failed in moderate to high winds. In 6 cases it was raining and in 4 it was not.

Date: Feb 11, 2009
Name: PAT MINER

syagrus romanoffiana Queen Palm trimming happened 1.5 yrs. ago old boots are sheading to reveal a old chainsaw cut into the trunk. it is 3inches deep. The mature tree is growing fine. the tree will have to be cut down so wind wont cause the top to fail and fall on something. my question to you is can the damage happen in hurricane cut and never be detected?

Reply

Feb 13, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
There are no reports of Queen palm failures in our database. Your situation requires an on-site inspection of the tree to determine if there is actual damage or if the "cut" that you notice is a natural feature. The arborist or consultant could then asses the potential for failure.

Date: Feb 11, 2009
Name: Pat Miner

I have two Queen Palms that look as if they were cut by a chainsaw right under the old boots that remain on the trunk of the tree. Could these injuries have happen 1.5yrs ago unnoticed untill now the boots fall off revealing this damage? the top growth is fine but the trees will have to be taken down so in high winds they dont come down

Date: Jan 22, 2009
Name: Nancy Hardesty

I have two sequoia sempervirens about twenty feet apart, same age. the eastern one now has dieback in top 4 ft plus/minus. (Trees have 48" diam or more). Both straight upright. Does it do any good to deep root fertilize these now?

Reply

Jan 23, 2009
From: Larry Costello
I doubt that the dieback is related to fertility issues. More likely, it's caused by canker-forming pathogens (Botryosphaeria sp or Coryneum sp) or by water deficit. If the dieback is confined to a discrete part of the tree (e.g., just the top, or a branch), then it's likely to be a pathogen. If it's distributed generally throughout the crown, then it's more likely to be water deficit. With water deficit, the parts of the crown with greatest exposure to sun and wind will show more injury than protected parts. I recommend that you make sure the trees receive sufficient amounts of water during the summer months. By keeping them well irrigated, there's a lower potential for infection --- and likewise for water deficit injury. Fertilization is not recommended --- in fact, it may exacerbate the problem by increasing salt levels in the root zone.

Date: Jan 2, 2009
Name: Mark Porter

Agenda for No Cal 2009 Meeting?

Reply

Jan 2, 2009
From: Katherine Jones
CTFRP Annual Meeting 01/08/2009 9-9:15 Welcome 9:15-9:45 Case studies 9:45-10:45 Nelda's top Ten: The 10 most Important Things I've Learned in Risk Assessment in the past 10 years. Nelda Matheny, Consulting Arborist, Hort Science Inc. 11-11:30 Measuring Lean: Equipment and Techniques. John Pronos, Plant Pathologist (retired), USDA Forest Service 11:30-12:00 The Role of Insects in Tree Failures, Dr. David Wood, Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley 1:00- 1:40 Tracking Tree Failures Throughout Northern and Central California. Charles Filmer, PG&E Vegetation Management Program 1:40-2:20 Locating Roots using Ground Penetrating Radar: A Progress Report. John Lichter, Consulting Arborist, Tree Associates 2:20- 3:00 Coast Redwood in Urban and Forested Settings: What's the Difference? Blair Glen, Owner, Saratoga Tree Service, Saratoga CA 3:00 International Tree Failure Database Training (if sufficient interest)

Date: Dec 27, 2008
Name: D Byrnes

need failure info on monterey cypress in northern ca specifically ratio of trunk failures to uprooting of entire trees im doing the 3rd report for a set of trees and want to bolster my info with hard data numbers that the owner cant dispute. i dont know why the other 2 arbs reports were thrown out, but my report is going to the state housing board. thank you

Reply
There are 435 Cupressus macrocarpa failure reports out of 4600 reports to date. Root:153reports Mean DBH: 32" DBH groups: 1-18" 24%, 19-42" 54%, 43" and over 22% Decay: none 63%, some (50% or less) 26%, Wind 25mph and over: 95% Rain 84% Trunk: 78 reports Mean DBH: 23" at point of failure DBH groups: 1-18" 375, 19-42" 58%, 43" and over 5% Decay: none 35%, some 65% Wind 25mph and over: 50% Rain: 70%

Date: Dec 4, 2008
Name: George King II

Hi I have a Monterey cypress tree growing in my back yard in San Francisco and it is about 6’ from the property line. The circumference of the trunk is about 11’ the canopy / treetop is about 50’ .I am guessing at the age of the to be to be 75-95 years old. I have been very diligent in maintaining the tree for the last 13 years. My neighbor is planning to completely remove their existing house and rebuild a replacement. My question to you is how much root pruning can these trees take? They will need to excavate for a new building foundation. The new building will go to the property line as well. This tree is only 6-8 feet away from the property line. Can you recommend some one to who come out and evaluate the health of my Monterey cypress tree and provide me with a written evaluation report? I consider the tree to be a valuable amenity to my property and to the neighborhood. Thanks George

Reply

Dec 5, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
You are wise to seek on-site advice about your tree. Every situation is different and major roots may or may not be on your neighbor's side of the fence. We can't recommend a particular consultant, but you can choose one by going to the web site of the American Society of Consulting Arborists http://asca-consultants.org The site describes the two levels of expertise for the members and allows you to search for someone near where you live.

Date: Nov 10, 2008
Name: Art Flores

Trimming a Quercus virginiana tree during the fall or winter make it prone to fail. What i mean will it be harmful to make cuts to this type oftree.

Reply

Nov 11, 2008
From: Larry Costello
Art: I'm unclear about your question. Are you concerned about how pruning may affect the structural stability of the tree? Or, are you concerned that pruning during the fall and/or winter months may have an impact on the health of the tree? If you could clarify this for me, I'll be able to offer a specific response.

Date: Oct 26, 2008
Name: Barri Bonapart

Can you tell me what the ratio is of eucalyptus tree reported failurees to presence in tree population--e.g, I know it is 3rd highest in number but what about per capita? Also, is there any data re fire related "failure" of eucalyptus (blue gum in particular)?

Reply

Oct 30, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
Our data doesn't go that far because there is no way of knowing exactly how many trees of a given species exist. We can say how many reports, the types of failure and what the contributing factors were for the species, but that's about it. If, for example, an area was selected and every tree was counted and every failure was documented in the area, you could talk about failures per capita. Of 569 reports of Eucalyptus to date only 3 mentioned fire as a factor.

Date: Sep 30, 2008
Name: Jennifer Wu

We have a redwood tree (~70 years old) in our backyard with two co-dominant leaders with included bark. During a storm last winter, a 30-foot length of one of the leaders split off mid-way and punctured our neighbors roof. The remaining length of that leader is about 30 feet, while the other leader is about 60 feet long. We solicited opinions from two different arborists. One recommended cabling between the leaders, topping the 60-ft leader to remove weight, and pruning every few years. The other recommended removing the remaining length of the shorter leader altogether, since he believed it was a matter of time before it was going to come down. Considering your reply on April 30, reporting 17 redwood failures involving multiple trunks, should we consider removing the tree altogether, something both arborists mentioned, but didnt recommend? Apologies if this is not an appropriate question for this forum.

Reply
CTFRP can only give you the results of the data we have collected. Advice about any individual tree is beyond the scope of the database manager. Sometimes arborists offer advice on this forum based on their own experience and that can sometimes be helpful. However, it is always best for any individual tree to be examined on site. If you are unsure about the advice you have received from the two arborists who have already looked at the tree, maybe one more would tip the balance. For that, the American Society of Consulting Arborists can help. Their web site is www.asca-consultants.org.

Date: Sep 16, 2008
Name: pam parsons

Could you please tell me if any people have been killed by falling eucalyptus branches in California over the last 5 years or so? (Our local paper asserted there were several deaths in the US and Australia because of eucalypt tree failure, and Im just checking facts.) Thank you very much!

Reply

Sep 17, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
CTFRP does not keep the statistics you are asking for. Reports are submitted voluntarily and many failures that occur are not reported to us. When there is a death or severe injury due to a tree failure, the case is often in litigation and we may not receive a report about it for some time after the the failure if at all.

Date: Sep 5, 2008
Name: Brai Rumsey

I recently purchased a Bonsai tree from Ikea and the label on the bowl says Picus Microcarpa which I presume is the name of the tree. I would appreciate any information you could provide. Thank you.

Reply

Sep 17, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
You may have misread the label. Did it say Ficus microcarpa? If so, it would be Indian laurel fig. You can compare your plant with photos on Google images.

Date: Aug 27, 2008
Name: Paul Casey

Response to Don Zimar. Here are some figures from a UK perspective. Obviously these would differ for the USA as there are differences in populations. However, it may be a start: The risk in any one year of being killed by a tree in a public space in the UK is about 1 in 20 million. A regular lottery player is apparently 75 times more likely to win the lottery jackpot than be killed by a tree in a public space. Total accidental deaths in the UK number over 12 000 per year. About 6 of these are due to trees. You are 2000 times more likely to die from some other type of accident than by being hit by a falling tree. You are around 600 times more likely to be killed in a road accident than by a falling tree. (source: uktc) Hope this helps. Regards

Date: Aug 26, 2008
Name: Don Zimar

How many tree failures each year result in the death or injury of an individual. What is the statistical riak of being injured or killed by a falling tree?

Reply

Aug 30, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
CTFRP doesn't tabulate death and injury information. Thanks for the UK statistics, Paul! If anyone wants to research US information, federal statistics are available at http://www.fedstats.com. Accidental deaths, category W-20, are classified by the International Classification of Diseases as "Struck by thrown, projected or falling object" this includes falling stones, rocks, trees, buildings and cave-ins. http://everything2.com (search for accidental death odds) offers some interesting information.

Date: Aug 13, 2008
Name: Michael Cowan

I would like to know other arborists experience with the likihood of Arbutus menziesii failing; i.e. a perfectly healthy tree failing. YOur input would be greatly appreciated

Reply

Aug 30, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
Of 4539 reports to CTFRP to date, only 9 are Arbutus menziesii. Trunk (3), Branch (1) and Root (5). Decay was reported as a factor in 7 cases.

Date: Jul 20, 2008
Name: Tom

I live in Houston, and have observed sudden limb failure in a Green Ash tree in the parking. Regarding discussion of the cause, it seems the root cause is pruning the "suckers" off the limbs which drives the limbs to be longer and heavily weighted with foliage at the ends. The cure is apparently "crowning", or removing some of the weight from the ends of the limbs, combined with not pruning the interior shoots that will regrow. The tree is healthy, and according to two arborists this treatment will solve the problem. Since everyone I know who has their trees professionally pruned has them "cleaned up" with removal of the suckers to make them attractive by emphasizing the limb structure, I wanted to pass on that this practice is apparently not a good idea from the point of view of sudden limb drop. The tree has had two limb failures, both on hot summer afternoons, suggesting that the "straw that breaks the camels back" could well be engorgement with water in times of heat stress, but the root problem is too much foliage at the end of the limb caused by pruning off the unsightly suckers. One arborist indicated that allowing the suckers to grow also causes the limb to thicken and strengthen, as well as changing the weight distribution to a better pattern.

Date: Jul 8, 2008
Name: Jamie Inashima

Just out of curiosity The statistics say 4500 failure reports and gives % of the most reported, but how many different species have been reported?

Reply

Jul 9, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
96 genera, but many include only one or two reports. In the fall, time permitting, I'll post a list of all of it. In the meantime, feel free to ask about any species of particular interest.

Date: Jul 8, 2008
Name: Ray Girouard

I am seeking information on limb failure or uprooting of E. Globulus that resulted in property damage, injury or death. My purpose is as follows. We live in a suburban setting and have a number of blue gums on our property. Our local jurisdiction defines a heritage tree as any tree except acacia that is 4 ft. in circumference at 4 ft. up from the ground. (I wonder if a member of our planning commission has an allergy issue with acacia.) I have decided to make another attempt at obtaining a permit for removal of am E. Globulus and am building a file of harmful incident caused by blue gums that were planted in inappropriate settings. Any information that is available from the CTFRP would be most appreciated. Thank you, Ray Girouard 650-327-4424

Reply

Jul 14, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
There are 4539 failure reports in the database to date. 240 of those are Eucalyptus globulus. Of those there are 85 reports of property damage of varying severity including damage to power lines, vehicles, buildings and other structures such as fences and park benches. Also noted is damage to other trees and landscapes. Included are 5 reports of personal injury.

Date: Jul 7, 2008
Name: ken loomis

Have observed pine limbs, especially stone pines, sag down considerably with out actually breaking or cracking. This is a problem with powerlines when they are below the limb. Want to know the cause and if there are any indicators to look for that limb sagging will occur. thanks!

Date: Jul 2, 2008
Name: Nick radoci

Kathrine: What are the lastest failure results for Euclyptus amygdalina? Thank you

Reply

Jul 2, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
There are no reports in the database for Eucalyptus amygdalina. To my knowledge, it is not a species commonly grown in California. There are 569 reports of Eucalyptus failures and the great majority are E. globulus (240) followed by E. sideroxylon (85), E. camaldulensis (40), E. viminalis (33), E. ficifolia (24), E. polyanthemos (20), E. nicholii (17), E. citriodora (15). There are 46 reports of Eucalyptus "species unknown". There are also 19 other species reported in numbers less than 10, some only one or two.

Date: Jul 1, 2008
Name: Paul Casey

Response to Robbie Bell - RE: Ganoderma Ganoderma zonatum, which is what I assume you are referring to Robbie, is an incurable pathogenic disease of Palms. There are currently no cultural or chemical controls for preventing the disease or for curing the disease once the palm is infected. It is recommended that infected palms should be removed as soon as possible after the conks appear on the trunk, removing as much of the stump and root system as possible. Further, because the fungus survives in the soil, planting another palm back in that same location is not recommended. Sorry I couldnt post a more positive response.

Date: Jun 27, 2008
Name: Robbie Bell

Gardner hacked at bottom of queen palm trunk with edger, now have Ganoderma conchs, tree dying. I soaked with fungicide. Any other suggestions or are my trees doomed?

Date: May 20, 2008
Name: Ann Seccombe

A client of mine has an 18" dia. Sequoia sempervirens that is now 3 ft. away from his livingrm window. The root buttress is 7" AGL. Should I reccommend that he take it out, or design around it? He loves this tree.

Reply

May 22, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
There are 32 records of Sequoia sempervirens root failures in the CTFRP database. Of these, 3 mention root pruning under "maintenance history" and 4 list root cutting under "restricted roots". Your question implies more than a request for information about failure however and a consulting arborist could help you decide what to do. If you and your client live anywhere near Larkspur, a walk along Madrone Ave. will illustrate many examples of buildings, sidewalks and driveways amongst redwoods of various ages and sizes.

Date: May 16, 2008
Name: Roger Bucholtz

Can I get more specifics on the 17 failures in redwoods mentioned in your response to Augustin on April 25, 2008?

Reply

May 19, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
The following summary includes 19 Sequoia sempervirens trunk failures that list multiple trunks/codominant stems as the first or second most important structural defect associated with the failure. 10 also listed embedded bark. Mean age of these trees is 37 years, mean height 76 ft. and mean DBH 33 inches. Mean height at point of failure 38 feet, and mean diameter at point of failure 15 inches. No decay was noted in 11 cases and some in 7. 14 occurred in a group, 4 stood alone and 1 in an altered stand. 15 stood in sites of medium to high use and 2 low use. 16 failed in high winds (over 25mph) and 2 in moderate winds (5-25mph)

Date: May 16, 2008
Name: Paul Casey

Hi Don Similar question posted on March 10th 2008. The response then was: Mar 10, 2008 From: Katherine Jones There are 4440 reports in the database today. 240 are Eucalyptus globulus. Mean age: 62 years, mean DBH 43 inches, mean height 82 feet. Failure type: trunk 15%, Branch 37% and root47%. Most commonly reported structural defects including decay are heavy lateral limbs 25%, multiple trunks/codominant stems 12%, kinked/girdling roots 11%, failed portion dead 8%, Some decay 52% (28%root) and no decay 48%. 49% of the failures occured in winds over 25mph and 8% under 5mph. Precipitation was a factor in 57% of the cases.

Date: May 15, 2008
Name: don rodrigues

Statistics on Eucalptus tree failure especially E. globulus.

Date: Apr 25, 2008
Name: augustin

Hello, I have a stand of redwood trees in an urban setting. I noticed that one tree, with a DBH of 35", has a codominant growth with included bark. I can also see a distinct line coming down from the crotch. I have been told that redwood trees do not fail as readily as other trees so I should not worry. My question is, are redwood trees exempt from the same type of scrutiny given to other trees that have included bark in a codominant leaders?

Reply

Apr 30, 2008
From: Larry Costello
Augustin, No --- coast redwood is not exempt from the same level of assessment as other trees with codominant stems. In the CTFRP database, we have 17 reports of redwood failures in which multiple trunks were identified as the key defect. Just because they're coast redwood, they should not be ignored. Apply the same assessment process that you would use for other species of trees.

Date: Mar 24, 2008
Name: Warwick Varley

Katherine, what are the failure results for Eucalyptus nicholii? Thanks

Reply

Mar 24, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
There are 567 Eucalyptus failure reports out of 4440 total reports. Only 17 are E. nicholii. Mean age: 20 years, mean DBH 18 inches, and mean height 38 feet. 6 were branch failures, 4 out on the limb and 2 at the attachment. No decay reported in 4 of the branch failures. There are 4 trunk failures (3 at ground level,no decay reported) and 7 root failures (no decay reported in 5 cases) Kinked/girdling roots was the most commonly reported structural defect (6 cases).

Date: Mar 14, 2008
Name: Mark Porter

Kathrine: What are the lastest failure results for Cupressus macrocarpa? Thank you.

Reply

Mar 17, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
Out of 4440 reports to date, 430 are Cupressus macrocarpa. 96% of the reports originated from San Francisco Bay Area counties. Mean age: 65 years Mean DBH 40 inches Mean height: 69 feet Mean Crown Spread: 42 feet Trunk 17%, Branch 47% and Root 35% Some decay was noted in 37% of failures and none in 63%. The most commonly associated defects other than decay are heavy lateral limbs(27%), Dense crown (11%) and Multiple trunk/codominant stem (15%)

Date: Mar 6, 2008
Name: Barri Bonapart

Hi Katherine: What is your latest failure data for eucalyptus globulus? Regards, Barri

Reply

Mar 10, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
There are 4440 reports in the database today. 240 are Eucalyptus globulus. Mean age: 62 years, mean DBH 43 inches, mean height 82 feet. Failure type: trunk 15%, Branch 37% and root47%. Most commonly reported structural defects including decay are heavy lateral limbs 25%, multiple trunks/codominant stems 12%, kinked/girdling roots 11%, failed portion dead 8%, Some decay 52% (28%root) and no decay 48%. 49% of the failures occured in winds over 25mph and 8% under 5mph. Precipitation was a factor in 57% of the cases.

Date: Feb 23, 2008
Name: Ann Barklow

Is there any statistics on sudden limb drop in liquidambars. Any pertaining to injury or death from?

Reply

Feb 25, 2008
From: Katherine Jones
Liquidambar styraciflua is a "species reported to experience summer limb drop" Harris, Clark and Matheny. Arboriculture, 4th Ed. p.429. There are 96 Liquidambar failures out of 4391 CTFRP total reports to date. 58 of the Liquidambar failures are branch failures. Of those, 5 fall into the parameters set for sudden limb drop. Average age 40 years, Average height 54ft.,average DBH 24 inches, average branch diameter 5.4 inches and average height of the branch 20ft. No information is available regarding injury or death.

Date: Dec 27, 2007 Name: Mark Porter	Can we send in a failure report via this web site yet? If not, is it possible in the future? Reply Dec 28, 2007 From: Katherine Jones No. There aren't any plans for this in the near future.
Date: Dec 15, 2007 Name: Greg Applegate	Does the data base or anyone have information or statistics on camphor, Cinnamomum camphora, failure, especially limb failure? Decay? Wind-no wind? etc Reply CTFRP data show only 6 Cinnamomum camphora failures out of 4338 reports to date. One root failure with lean, heavy lateral limbs and decay that failed in high wind and rain. The remaining 5 are branch failures. Four failed in high winds, three with no precipitation and two with rain. In one case the failed portion was dead. The remainder reported defects of heavy lateral limbs, one sidedness and dense crown. Decay was noted in three cases and was unknown in two.
Date: Dec 3, 2007 Name: Mark Porter	Reply to Doris Carmen: Published works by Costello and Jones, Gary Watson Journal of Arboriculture, Matheney and Clark, Tom Smiley at Barlett Research Labs, Matthech and Breloer, and Shigo, Brudi, Wesolley all discuss roots, protection zones and root cutting. The Westen Chapter ISA has several books available on the subject, and membership with ISA will give you accesss to several articles such as Gary Watsons work. The American Society of Consulting Arborists has a search page for consultants in your area who may be of assistance. You can google msearch Static Integrated Assesment and Destructive pull tests. Gordon Mann also has published work on root pruning.
Date: Nov 27, 2007 Name: Doris Carmen	I was interested in any literature that discusses the correlation between root pruning (esp. close to the base of trees) and subsequent failures of the tree. and/or whether root pruning on both sides of a tree could ever be justified
Date: Oct 24, 2007 Name: Warwick Varley	What is the breakdown of causes for failures in Eucalyptus sideroxylon? Reply Oct 25, 2007 From: Katherine Jones Out of 4338 reports to the database to date, 85 are Eucalyptus sideroxylon. Branch (64%) Trunk (30%) Root (6%). Mean age:23 years, mean DBH:17 inches and mean height:40 ft. The structural defects most commonly associated with the failures were Heavy Lateral Limbs (31%), Multiple trunks/codominant Stems (18%), Embedded bark (13%) and Decay (25%). 85% of the failures occured in moderate to strong winds. Precipitation was reported in 55% of the cases.
Date: Oct 21, 2007 Name: Elizabeth Kennedy	My neighbor has hired a local gardener and day laborers to top a 50 European Ash tree with multiple trunks. The tree is located on the edge of a steep canyon. I am trying to convince him that this is a bad idea, and moreover, the tree should be removed due to the hazard of having multiple large trunks about 30 from homes. Any help or examples from past failures of this sort would be very helpful! Reply Oct 22, 2007 From: Katherine Jones There are 150 reports of Fraxinus (ash)failures out of a total of 4338 reports to CTFRP to date. The majority of structural defects associated with the failures are Heavy Lateral Limbs (23.3%), Multiple Trunks/Codominant Stems (23.3%) and Embedded Bark (13.3%). Structural defects are factors that may contribute to failures, but may not be the cause of a failure of a particular tree. A decision about an individual tree's structural stability should be made by a qualified arborist. To find a consulting arborist in your locality see the American Society of Consulting Arborists web site at http://asca-consultants.org.
Date: Oct 15, 2007 Name: dave menche	just an update, two years ago Redwood City, CA did extensive root prunning for sidewalks. many trees were about 50 years old, many are Ash trees. on my stret two tree were lost within a short time frame, one fell on a truck that bumped it, other was removed when it was noticed leaning. around corner from me, one tree fell on a traveling car missing the driver, totalling car, and around other corner, tree was removed after I reported it swaying, and uplifting ground. since then, several more tree have been removed by the city, and many trees, particularly trees that had extensive root prunning done on both street and sidewalk side are starting to die (low leaf mass, leafless limbs) this city continued this practive dispite warnings, including that from the Aborist Society, and a report I had made on my stret tree. I fear that with up coming rains,a nd wind, we will see more tree falls. what can be done to get the city to take some action to prevent deaths? They acted stupid in the root pruning, ignoring all reason, and just kept cutting the roots, we now have a big problem. What can be done? By the way, Redwood City was awarded Tree City USA designation, what a farce!
Date: Oct 9, 2007 Name: Beverley Moore	I have four 30 year old California redwood trees in my back yard. Two at the southwest corner and two at the southeast corner. The house next door to the east of me is for sale and some discussion came up about a buyer possibly putting in a swimming pool. My trees are about two feet away from the property line. My concern is when they come in to do backhoe work it will sever a big chunk of the root area. Will this cause my tree to become unstable? Will I have to have it removed and if so will the City of Elk Grove allow me to do this? Thanks.
Date: Oct 3, 2007 Name: T. Takeuchi	Disregard previous request, information found. See below. Apr 4, 2007 From: Katherine Jones There are 4292 reports in the database. 85 of those are Sequoia sempervirens failures. Of those, 25 are root failures (18 with some decay noted). 20 failed in moderate to high winds. No root pruning was noted in any of the root failures, but two were in altered stands where some root disruption may have occurred.
Date: Oct 3, 2007 Name: T. Takeuchi	Please supply the failure information for Sequoia sempervirens.
Date: Sep 2, 2007 Name: Linda Littsen	We have what appears to be a fungus growing in our lawn where a California Sycamore used to be (removed 3-4 years ago). This fungus looks like Inontus Dryadeus. How can we get rid of these huge masses that seem to be growing out of the grass? Reply Sep 4, 2007 From: Larry Costello It is likely that the fungus is decomposing the woody roots of the sycamore. It does not harm the grass --- other than taking up a little space. I recommend that you simply remove the fungal growths (sporophores) as they appear --- either with a lawn mower or with a digging tool (shovel, trowel, etc.). I'm not aware of any chemical treatments that would be effective in controlling the fungus and not harm the grass.
Date: Aug 19, 2007 Name: Kathleen Wiley	Do large, old Italian stone pines pose safety hazards in public places such as school yard paygrounds? I am wondering specifically about the chances of limb failure. Thank you. Reply Aug 27, 2007 From: Larry Costello Yes, there is concern about structural failures in Italian stone pine. Many trees of this species have weak branch attachments that do fail when end weights become large. Of course, not all branches fail, but there have been a sufficient number that caution is warranted. I recommend that you contact a consulting arborist (http://www.asca-consultants.org/) in your area to evaluate risk potential for the tree in question.
Date: Aug 10, 2007 Name: Catherine	Our neighbor has a grove of huge, unmanaged, 80 year old Blue Gum eucalyptus trees. Many have been "topped" by non-arborists over the years and show signs of thin, new branches from the topping areas. What are the risks of whole tree failure? Reply Aug 13, 2007 From: Larry Costello The risk associated with topped Eucalyptus globulus is one of branches failing at the point of attachment. Topping stimulates the regrowth of branches that are typically weakly attached and prone to breaking out when end weights achieve a critical point. This regrowth should be managed such that end weights are minimized. Although a whole tree failure can occur for several reasons, it is generally not associated with topping. Any large trees that are located in urban areas (where buildings, vehicles, people, etc. may be hit should they fail) should be inspected for structural defects. This requires the services of a tree care professional, such as a consulting arborist. For a consulting arborist in your areas, you can go to the website of the Amercian Society of Consulting Arborists (http://www.asca-consultants.org/) and click on the referral directory.
Date: Jul 18, 2007 Name: Valerie	We have a five trunk king palm where the largest trunk recently bent in half. The trunk is approx. 5" in dia. at the bend. I dont see any cracks at the bend, just the fronds touching the ground. What is the remedy? Thanks! Reply Jul 19, 2007 From: Katherine Jones Your tree should be inspected by an arborist who can look for signs of decay. Some members of the American Society of Consulting Arborists specialze in palms. You can find someone close to where you live at their web site. http://asca-consultants.org
Date: Jul 9, 2007 Name: James Halderman	Elm tree - what information do you have on tree failures in the Sacramento Valley ove rthe last 5 years? Reply There are 4298 reports in the database. 132 are Ulmus failures. 36 are from central valley cities. Only three are within the last five years. One root failure in Davis in 2002 and one root and one branch failure in Sacramento in 2003.
Date: Jun 4, 2007 Name: Mary Bohnen	How long does a Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta) tree live? We want to do some extensive, costly landscaping which includes replacement of a damaged driveway. Tree is approximately 50 years old, sits 8 feet from driveway. Besides its shallow root system that has created a dangerous situation (guests have tripped), it is a very messy tree!!! Reply Jun 4, 2007 From: Katherine Jones This site is devoted to a discussion of structural failure in trees. You probably would benefit from a consultation with a certified arborist or consulting arborist. To find a consulting arborist in your locality go the the web site of the American Society of Consulting Arborists at http://asca-consultants.org
Date: May 24, 2007 Name: bettijane levine	for a story on grevillea robusta, i wonder if you have updated tree failure rates. i am told by an expert that it is high, but looking on this site that doesnt seem to be accurate. thank you Reply May 24, 2007 From: Katherine Jones We only have seven reports on Grevillea robusta. Four trunk failures and three branch. Our data doesn't accurately reflect failure patterns on all species, especially where the number of reports for the species is low.
Date: May 11, 2007 Name: Ray Moritz	On the 31st of December 2005 and January 1, 2006 there was a severe strom following weeks of exceptional rain. There were huge numbers of tree failures in Marin County. Some trees had defects and some did not. In some cases the root ball simply rotated on the saturated soil under severe winds. I wonder how far spread the large numbers of failure were. I also wonder how wide spread these large numbers of failures were, and what arborists experienced in other counties. Reply May 14, 2007 From: Katherine Jones CTFRP received 71 reports for those days from several San Francisco Bay Area cities as well as one from Tracy. 44 were root failures, 15 trunk and 12 branch. 21 genera were represented, but the most commonly reported were Acacia (11), Cupressus (11), Eucalyptus (10),Quercus (8)and Pinus (7).
Date: May 7, 2007 Name: Larry Costello	Re: Davids question concerning coast redwood from May 2. If the tree is small enough, you can reset it to a vertical position and anchor it with stakes. Larger trees are more problematic, however. Typically, a number of roots have been broken and future stability may be compromised. It would be best to have the tree assessed by a qualified consulting arborist to determine whether there is benefit in putting it back in an upright position. In either case, it would be worthwhile to identify the reason why the tree leaned --- strong winds? saturated soil? girdling root? failure to develop lateral roots? etc. Since the tree has the potential to grow quite large, it will be important to have a careful assessment of its potential to be well anchored.
Date: May 6, 2007 Name: Curt James	We have a 12 year old Queen Palm thats approx. 25 feet tall and has a very healthy trunk up until about 10 feet. From that point up the trunk is starting to get huge cracks all the way around, very soft and a 2" thick piece can be peeled off to the touch. Should we be concerned? Were thinking about having somebody come out and take a look at it. We live in Ventura, CAILF. We have Seven Queen Palms and others arent having this problem. We have one king palm with 3 shouts within a coulpe of feet from her. Shes our favorite, please help! Thank you, Curt Reply May 7, 2007 From: Katherine Jones It is reasonable to be concerned about the symptoms you have observed on your palm. Call the Ventura County Cooperative Extension (805-645-1451)for assistance.
Date: May 2, 2007 Name: David	Will a newly planted leaning Coast Redwood be ok? Or does it need staking to be straight?
Date: Apr 23, 2007 Name: Paul Casey	General Comment in Relation to Mark Porters message of 20-April-07. I know that this is not a discussion forum, but I was interested to read Marks comment re: Risk Assessment. Can I ask, do you know what the most popular risk assessment systems are that you use in the California or the USA in general? I know that the Mattheny & Clark system gets referenced and used a lot here in the UK, but the Quantified Tree Risk Assessment system is also gathering a good following over here, in Australia and also in parts of Europe. Are you aware of this system or know if it has reached the USA as yet? Thanks
Date: Apr 20, 2007 Name: Mark Porter	Great job on the southern California regional meeting yesterday. What a great line up of speakers. Every year we learn a little more about risk assesment. Every speaker offered valuable information for us to take home and put to work. Thank you. Reply Apr 20, 2007 From: Katherine Jones Thank you. We hope you all will remember to send in a report on the failures you encounter in the coming year.
Date: Apr 17, 2007 Name: Lisa Layton	I have a young norwegian pine and my dog has been peeing on it and the bottom needles are turning brown but there is still growth at the top. We did put up a fence around it but I was wanting to know what to do? Is it because the dog was peeing on it or could it be something else. It stands about 3ft tall. Thank you. Reply Apr 17, 2007 From: Katherine Jones This site is devoted to a discussion of structural failures in trees. Nothing in our data can help with your problem. If you tell me where you live, I'll try to help you find someone you can talk to about it.
Date: Apr 12, 2007 Name: Mary	I have a 30 foot mexican palm tree that is slightly leaning over my house. I have a cluster of 3 palms and when I had them trimmed last year the tree company owner told me that he has never seen a palm tree fall in the 40 years of tree trimming. It does appear to be very healthy. Do these palms ever fall or break? Reply Apr 12, 2007 From: Katherine Jones Of 4292 reports in the database as of today, there are only four reports of Washingtonia robusta (Mexican fan palm)failures. Three trunk and one branch(frond). If you desire a more detailed inspection of your trees, consult the American Society of Consulting Arborists at http://asca-consultants.org
Date: Apr 5, 2007 Name: Paul Casey	Response to Kurts message: Kurt, sounds like that level of excavation and the distances stated could potentially have a major impact upon the future stability of the tree itself? Not sure what type & level of winds you get in your area and how exposed the tree is, but I would certainly be keeping my eye on this tree and be seeking the comments of a qualified Arboricultural consultant (if you are not one already that is?) with regards to its future management. I am pleased to see that you have already identified potential targets.
Date: Apr 3, 2007 Name: kurt fouts	95 foot sequoia sempervirens with a DBH of 42" and 40 foot crown spread and average health. Excavation for a new home (basement) 8 feet deep within 4 foot of the tree trunk base for 40 feet (20 feet on either side) on the South side of the tree. Roots up to 8 inches were severed. Soils are clay type. Two story home now sits 10 feet away on the South side of the tree. A target (home) exists 40 feet to the North. My question, any history of whole tree failure due to this type of constuction impacts? My experience is Redwoods are on of the more stable species. Reply Apr 4, 2007 From: Katherine Jones There are 4292 reports in the database. 85 of those are Sequoia sempervirens failures. Of those, 25 are root failures (18 with some decay noted). 20 failed in moderate to high winds. No root pruning was noted in any of the root failures, but two were in altered stands where some root disruption may have occurred.
Date: Mar 7, 2007 Name: Mark Porter	Could you provide a list of fungi reported with tree failure reports? Which fungi has been reported most frequently? Reply Mar 7, 2007 From: Katherine Jones The CTFRP form doesn't have a tabulated field for the types of fungi. Sometimes it is mentioned in the text areas, but it would be time consuming to do the search for an exact answer. In general, I would say that Armillaria would be most commonly mentioned, then Ganoderma. The International Tree Failure Database form does ask for the name of the fungus. That database is downloadable from the ITFD web site.
Date: Mar 1, 2007 Name: Linda Niman	My home is in an oak grove near Alpine CA. 91901. In the 18 years I have lived here, I have seen a lot of oak failures in my area. There have been large branches dropping off, to uprootings and whole trees just dropping for no reason. I have also seen a tar-like ooze coming from some trees, and lots of weird mushrooms. I have seen lots of mature oaks die. Can you tell me if there is knowledge of any virus or diseases in this area? Thank you, Linda Niman Reply Mar 2, 2007 From: Katherine Jones Oaks can fail for many reasons and you have described symptoms that can occur on oaks statewide. You should speak with someone locally about your own trees. There is a UC Cooperative Extension Horticulture Advisor and a Natural Resources Advisor in the Amador and El Dorado County offices. You can find contact information at http://ceeldorado.ucdavis.edu or http://ceamador.ucdavis.edu
Date: Feb 22, 2007 Name: Paige Terry	I dont know if this is the right place to ask my question but here goes: We just lost an 80-100 yr old deodara cedar to oak root fungus. We would like to plant another tree in the same area. Can you tell me what kind of fast growing tree is resistant to oak root rot? Thank you. Reply Feb 26, 2007 From: Katherine Jones This site is devoted to a discussion of structural failures in trees. Information is available about oak root fungus in University of California publications. Contact your county UC Cooperative Extension office for assistance. Or, if you live in San Francisco or San Mateo County call me at 650-726-9059 x 109.
Date: Feb 1, 2007 Name: T. Takeuchi	Please provide available stats for trunk failure and all failure in Cedrus deodara, particular emphasis on those with internal decay present. Please provide any information available from failure resulting due to added canopy weight from competative plants such as epiphytic cacti or ivy. Thank-you Reply Feb 5, 2007 From: Katherine Jones There have been 66 Cedrus deodara failures reported out of a total of 4298 failure reports to date. Trunk 6, Branch 45, Root 15. The most commonly reported structural defects for all Cedrus deodara failures are: Heavy lateral limbs (42%), Multiple trunks (11%)and Failed Portion Dead (6%). No defects apparent in 15% of cases. 83% reported no decay present. For the six trunk failures the mean age is 60 years, mean DBH 26inches and mean height 66 ft. Three failed at ground level, two at 20ft and one at 50ft. No defects apparent in 3 cases. Other defects include multiple trunks, included bark,crack and failed portion dead. No decay in four cases. One case reported a fill grade change. Moderate to high wind in all 6 cases. Rain in 5 cases. No information about added canopy weight is available.
Date: Jan 11, 2007 Name: Robert Tate	I would like statistics of sudden limb drop (failure) on Valley Oaks/California Oaks. Reply Jan 17, 2007 From: Katherine Jones As of 1/16/2007 there are 4269 reports in the CTFRP databse. 257 are oak branch failures and 84 of those are valley oaks. Our report form does not contain a tabulated field for "summer/sudden limb drop". When the data is sorted with the following parameters: failure away from point of attachment, little or no decay, little or no wind, no precipitation, 70 degrees F or above; 22 valley oak and 11 other oak branch failures might be considered to be "summer limb drop".

Date: Dec 10, 2006 Name: Jim Besh	Dear Friends, I have a high rise and magnificient BLUE NORWEGIAN PINE (picus pinea, cultivated type) in my arboretum composed of about 20.000 trees and woody plants. Today I observed that almost all branches, which remain in the inner side of the tree, have turned to faded greenish colour and some stems have dead pines with brownish colour. Almost on all the inner stems I saw yellowish fungus layers distributed unevenly on branch surfaces. My question is as follows: What type of remedy and pesticides do you recommend which could heal my 20 years old monumental blue pine being one of my gardens prides... Thank you very much for your kind concern. Sincerely yours, Jim Besh Hobby Farmer and Tree Enthusiast Reply Dec 11, 2006 From: Katherine Jones This web site is devoted to a discussion of structural failure in trees. Our data cannot supply information regarding diseases that may affect your trees. For information like that we suggest that you look for a Cooperative Extension Horticulture Advisor in your county. Try your county web site for the contact number.
Date: Dec 1, 2006 Name: Caitlin	I am from San Diego, and we are looking to transplant a 100 year old Star Pine tree (Araucaria heterophylla). I was wondering if this will cause the tree to die or not. Thanks.
Date: Nov 27, 2006 Name: Scott Orr	I have about 100 post oaks on my lake side property, 5 of them have started cracking horizontally across the bark every 2 or 3 inches up top to bottom and the bark pieces are falling and making piles at the base on the ground. Then the trees loose their bark, dry up, die and fall over. This has started within the past year, do you know of the virus or desease my trees have and what I can do to stop it from spreading? Reply Nov 27, 2006 From: Katherine Jones Post oak isn't a species that is grown in California, so we don't have any data about post oak failures. Try to find a Cooperative Extension Horticulture Advisor in your county who should have information about the problem you describe. County phone directories or web sites are the places to look.
Date: Sep 18, 2006 Name: ann	I have a very large 50 year old Italian Stone Pine that is in good health and I have neighbors who are concerned that it might fail. It overhangs my house and their driveway. Id like the trimming/lacing it needs this winter to be done by someone who knows what they are doing to ensure that the tree stays healthy so my neighbors can be reassured and not conitune to pressure me to take it out. I did have an informal inspection done by a certified arborist two years ago who confirmed it was in good health, but Ive lost his number. I live in San Diego--any suggestions of vendors would be great. I know I need to book as soon as possible to have it done this winter.
Date: Sep 10, 2006 Name: robert elliott	i have planted a eucalyptus (blue)fairly close to the house and now worried about the root system damaging the foundation ,the tree grew bigger than i anticipated,it is about eight feet tall now and in its second year ,should i move the tree and just try and get 80%of the roots or are the roots small enought that they wont damage the houses foundation? Reply 10-Sep-06 From: Katherine Jones This site is devoted to addressing issues relating to structural failure in trees, so our data can't help you with your problem. In general, though, better than trying to correct an error in site selection by having to keep pruning roots and branches for the life of the tree, you should consider how big a tree is likely to be at maturity and choose a planting site suitable for the tree. If you tell me your city, I will refer you to a UC Cooperative Extension office that can help with your questions about transplanting etc.
Date: Aug 9, 2006 Name: SoCA Homeowner	I need to know about the root systems of the very tall Italian Cypress trees. I have several in my yard, and I would like to know how the roots typically grow in Southern California. Are they known to cause damage?
Date: Aug 4, 2006 Name: Mark Porter	Responce to Guy. Occasionally we get bark beetles on the tops of Deodars here in Riverside and for that reason we prune in the cooler months. Most beetles are active in the warmer weather so I would wait to be sure. I have not read any warnings that I recall, just speaking from experience. Probably ips beetle but Im not sure. You can call your local University extension advisor to be sure.
Date: Jul 27, 2006 Name: Guy D.	Is there danger to an old deodora cedar if it is pruned in mid summer as opposed to the winter? Thanks for your response.
Date: Jul 27, 2006 Name: Matt Seidman	A large limb from my 90 year old deodora broke away from the trunk and landed on my roof two days ago, leaving a wound in the tree nearly a third of the trunks diameter. I was told that the remaining limbs were in danger of falling and should be trimmed immediately. Since we are in the throes of a heat wave and deodoras should be pruned in the winter, my concern about pruning now, in mid-summer is that it might be fatal to the tree. Should I have the tree pruned anyway? As well, should I have my jacaranda tree pruned at this time also? The trimmer wants to prune this one, too. He also wants to remove the ficus (taller than my two story house), since it is right next to the house and he said the root system will undermine my houses foundation. I would appreciate an answer as soon as possible, since I am worried about other limbs on the deodora falling and damaging my and/or my neighbors house. Thanks for your attention to the above. Reply 27-Jul-06 From: Katherine Jones An on site evaluation is needed to best address your concerns. The web site of the American Society of Consulting Arborists can help you find a consulting arborist in your locality. http://www.asca-consultants.org
Date: Jul 26, 2006 Name: Robert Sartain	I have a question about "Summer Limb Drop" has there been an answer as to why this happens? Does it have anything to do with the hot summer temperatures, high humidity and the transpiration of fluids through the tree. It seems that native califormia trees like oaks and sycamores would naturally have their stomata closed off at extreme temperatures during the daytime highs to reduce transpiration so as to conserve water in non irrigated situations as aprt of a natural drought tolerance machanism. And that when it cools at night the stomata would open to a rush of available fluids, naturally from overwatered trees. The same trees in a natural setting would not have that amount of water to draw from, unless they have a good natural water source, stream, high water table, or some kind of aquafir. Also in the case of Eucalyptus, they seem to produe large amounts of seed pods during the summer which produe an enourmous amount of extra weight if you have ever picked one up with pods,and they too are drought tolerant, so when they are overwatered, they tend to break. Also on days of high humidity their does not seem to be a suitable amount of difference in air humidity to perform transpiration/ evaporation and the trees cannot loose their water? Kinda like an evapoative cooler in Florida versus Las Vegas. Can the trees pull up more water than they can transpire? Can it be held during high humidity.? I have seen several trees break on hot humid days in southern California with no trace of wind at all. Does any of this make sense??? Curious Bob. Thanks Reply 07-Aug-06 From: Larry Costello No definitive answer. There have been numerous theories, but nothing that fully explains it. Yes, it does have to do with high temperature and probabaly is associated with moisture movement in the tree. We see numerous cases of this problem in the Central Valley (mainly Visalia) in valley oak during the summer months. As temps increase, the cases of sudden branch drop increase. Valley oaks in Visalia have extensive root systems that are utilizing ground water sources in the summer months. They don't exhibit water stress, yet the branches still drop. Weight associated with seed pods, fruit, leaves and wood all contribute to end weight...that in turn is a prerequisite for sudden branch drop. We don't see this problem on branches that don't have significant end weights. Stomates open and close in response to light levels...and more accurately to changes in CO2 levels from photosynthetic activity. Even though it is humid, there will be some level of transpiration. Of course, it will be a lot slower than when humidity lvels are high. Water uptake is driven by water evaporation from leaves. The "pulling force" for transpiration is initiated by evaporation of water from leaves (from stomates). When stomates close, there is some water loss through the cuticle, but (depending on the species) this does not represent a substantial means of water loss. You are right about branch drop occurring on still days...we have many cases documented during warm and windless days. Exactly how internal moisture relations play a role, we don't know. This is an area where more research will help.
Date: Jul 19, 2006 Name: Mark Porter	I would be interested to know how cities in California respond to claims of property damage when a city owned tree damages a residents property? I recently inspected a failure of a 40 inch dbh Schinus molle that crushed a gate and chain link fence. The city cleaned up the mess but refused to pay for the repairs. This failure was easily predictable due to the defects present. The homeowner was told this was an act of God. I am optomistic that the homeowner will prevail with their claim. However I would welcome any comments.
Date: Jul 15, 2006 Name: Sheila	My cottonwood tree is losing large branches. It is planted next to the pond in Penryn, its a large tree at least 17 years old. The branches are just breaking off. A few leaves at the very top are yellow but the tree visually looks fine. Thanks for your help. Reply 17-Jul-06 From: Katherine Jones Sometimes healthy appearing branches having weak attachments or other structural defects break off in the wind. You should discuss this problem with an arborist in person. Call the Placer/Nevada Cooperative Extension (530-889-7385)for assistance.
Date: Jul 8, 2006 Name: Sam Hill	Is there anyway to get a copy of the article by Costello and Berry, 1988 Breaktime? Reply 10-Jul-06 From: Katherine Jones There are two issues of Breaktime from 1988. June and October. Neither is available in electronic format, but I would be happy to mail you copies if you give me your mailing address.
Date: Jun 24, 2006 Name: Dave Dockter	I am looking for as much statistical information as possible specifically for: Eucalyptus globulus "Compacta, Dwarf Blue Gum Thank you. Reply 10-Jul-06 From: Katherine Jones There is only one report (a branch failure) on Eucalyptus globulus 'Compacta' in the database.
Date: Jun 11, 2006 Name: Paul Casey	Hi, with regards to figures for whole or partial tree failure, is there any information relating to numbers or statistics of failure for Summer Branch Drop as opposed to observable structural defects prior to failure or anticipated probability of failure? I have read a small number of theories as to why/how Summer Branch Drop occurs (Matheny & Clarke, Shigo etc.), but I cannot find a definitive reason for the occurrence of this type of event. Is this monitored or considered by UCs CTFRP or is there any other program that you are aware of that specifically looks into this type of failure? Reply 07-Aug-06 From: Katherine Jones Look ahead to the inquiry about summer branch drop on July 26 2006. CTFRP collects data on limb failures, but there is no tabulated field for summer branch drop per se. Temperature, wind, precipitation and structural defects including decay are tabulated so some failures might be labeled as summer branch drop if they fit within the parameters. We don't know of any other program looking into the question.
Date: May 25, 2006 Name: Robin E Hargis	I am in the process of developing a power point presentation showing pictures of various tree failures. This would be used for educational and training purposes. Is there a good site where I could download from.
Date: May 24, 2006 Name: Matt Leddy	Is there a publication with more detail concerning tree species that fail? More than what is presented on the "Tree Statistics" of this website? I am particularly interested in how Quercus breaks down by species. Reply 30-May-06 From: Katherine Jones Six California native oak species constitute the majority of failure reports received for the genus. They are: Q.agrifolia 435, Q.chrysolepis 14, Q.douglasii 33, Q.lobata 208, Q. wislizeni 60. Nine other oak species have been reported numbering five or less each. They are Q. coccinea, engelmanii, garryana, ilex, macrocarpa, nigra, palustris, robur and suber.
Date: May 24, 2006 Name: Paul Casey	Are there any statistics available relating to the use of non-invasive diagnostic testing for internal decay, such as PICUS for example, where trees have failed following information resulting from the testing that the decay was within acceptable parameters, or where trees have been retained and have remained intact even though the test results have stated that the tree decay was not within acceptable parameters? Reply 05-Jun-06 From: Larry Costello Two papers come to mind regarding your inquiry --- both co-authored by Tom Smiley (Bartlett Tree Research Lab): Gilbert, E.A. and E.T. Smiley. 2004. Picus sonic tomography for the quantification of decay in white oak (Quercus alba) and hickory (Carya spp.). J. of Arboriculture 30 (5): 277-288 Smiley, E.T., T.R. Martin, and B.R. Fraedrich. 1998. Tree root failures. Landscape Below Ground II: Proceedings of an International Workshop on Tree Root Development in Urban Soils. International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, IL The first paper evaluates the efficacy of sonic tomography for decay detection. The second paper examines tree characteristics (crown spread, height, condition, decay level, etc.) of failed trees versus survivors (control group) following Hurricane Fran (1996). This information is used to identify factors that contribute to root failures.
Date: May 16, 2006 Name: Paul Casey	Hi, A number of years ago I spent some time working as an arborist for a great tree company based in the Valley. At that time, Sudden Oak Death was a relatively new disease that I have now become a little more familar with and which it appears has now reached the shores of the UK. Are there any statistics for the number of trees dying from infection in the USA, California or localised areas over any given year or period? Also, if treatments are available, are there any statistics available relating to tree survival rates (single or multiple species)? ps: Great site. Reply 16-May-06 From: Katherine Jones CTFRP receives most failure reports from urban locations and so far, except for neighborhoods that abut wildlands or commercial nurseries, SOD hasn't been reported in California cities. There are only a couple of reports in our database that mention SOD associated with the failure. You should contact the California Oak Mortality Task Force http://nature.berkeley.edu/comtf for the statistics you are interested in.
Date: May 9, 2006 Name: Jennifer K.	Hi. I spoke with my father who lives in southeastern Arizona. I know this site is for California tree failure, but...I am wondering if you can point me in the right direction. He has 4 Italian cypress, 3 years old, and two have died this year from the top downward. No ozeing, mold, pest damage, tree borer damage. He also has a Cottonwood tree with a 12" trunk base that sent out nodes this season, but so far has not produced any leaves. The nodes are still green inside. His area(Willcox) is experiencing thier 4th year of drought. (if this helps) Thank you for any help? Reply 10-May-06 From: Katherine Jones Your father should contact the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension office in his county for assistance. http://ag.arizona.edu/extension The home page will lead him to the county office.
Date: May 8, 2006 Name: Torrey Young	Data query re. Sequoia sempervirens -Incidentce of reporting for the species? -Incidence of limb failure? -incidence of whole tree failure?(uprooting and/or basal failure) -incidents related to edge tree removal or other stand modification? Reply 10-May-06 From: Katherine Jones There have been 82 Sequoia sempervirens failures out of 4202 reported to date. Sixteen of those were branch failures, 23 root and 43 trunk. Two failures were associated with altered stands.
Date: Apr 21, 2006 Name: Monica Bliss	Our (backyard fence)neighbor has a huge redwood tree that is pushing our fence over with its trunk and suckers and dropping large limbs in our yard & hitting our house. I have asked him to clean the tree up but he wont comply. How do I get him to take care of this potential hazard? Thanks Reply 24-Apr-06 From: Katherine Jones I don't think our data can help you with this dispute. Check the web site for the American Society of Consulting Arborists. http://asca-consultants.org for a list of consulting arborists in your vacinity. In the end, if you and your neighbor can not come to an agreement, an arbitrator might help. Check your Yellow pages for that.
Date: Apr 16, 2006 Name: Hws	This is a wonderful wealth of information. Good Luck!
Date: Mar 20, 2006 Name: Scott Sherman	what data is there for large monterey pines, particularly relative to trunk failure due to beetles, abundant pitch, and sunken (apparently cankerous) large area at locus of pitch tubes? thanks! Reply 20-Mar-06 From: Katherine Jones If you download a copy of the CTFRP report form, you will see that the data collected is not as detailed as your question. The best we can do is as follows: Of 4185 reports, 460 are Pinus radiata. 119 of those are trunk failures. 98 failed above ground level.(Mean DBH at point of failure is 23 inches) Decay was a factor in 49% of the trunk failures and only five showed visible conks or sporophores. Other defects associated with the failures include: lean (14%), failed portion dead (12%), multiple trunks (12%), dense crown (12%), and onesided (12%). Insect activity at the location of failure was mentioned in 20 cases.
Date: Mar 15, 2006 Name: Greg Applegate	I am in southern Calif and would like California pepper failure experience Reply 20-Mar-06 From: Katherine Jones There are only 13 reports of Schinus molle out of 4185 reports to date. Trunk 2, Branch 7 and Root 3. Mean age:47 years, mean DBH: 30 inches, mean height: 38 ft. The most frequently reported structural defect is heavy lateral limbs (54%). Decay was present in all but 3 branch and one root failure. Wind over 5mph was a factor in ten cases.
Date: Mar 6, 2006 Name: melvin villali	i live in bakersfield california im wondering if any has had success in moving a crape myrtle. The tree is about 50 yaears old or older has a tree spread of about 15 to 20 feet wide and is about 15 to 20 feet high as well
Date: Mar 5, 2006 Name: Lott Steffey	has anybody transplanted an Araucaria heterophylla ? is it an easy transplant or difficult. The tree Im looking to transplant is 55 tall and in an 120" box. Thanks Lott Steffey (949) 338-2344
Date: Feb 22, 2006 Name: Mark Porter	Are there any reported records for Grevilla robusta (Silk Oak)? Reply 27-Feb-06 From: Katherine Jones See Forum for February 11 2005. There have been no more entries since then.
Date: Feb 17, 2006 Name: anadrol	Very good site! I like it! Thanks!
Date: Feb 5, 2006 Name: Paul S.	I purchased a home in Santa Clara, CA in Sept. 2003 with a large number of Italian Cypress trees in the backyard. A total of about 30 plants each 3-4 feet apart. I noted that one plant had been removed at the base but thought nothing of it. A few months later the two on each side of the missing plant turned brown and died. This disease seems to keep spreading as now the next two plants on each side have the same problem. Can you comment on what may be the issue and any possible treatments? Reply 06-Feb-06 From: Katherine Jones Your UC Cooperative Extension office in Santa Clara County (408-299-2635)should be able to provide you with a list of Consulting Arborists you can hire to examine your trees. Two common problems that cause decline and death of cypress are Cypress Canker and Phytopthera root rot.
Date: Jan 22, 2006 Name: Kerry Norman	Unable to locate useable link to access website to enter a tree failure? all links come up with no information? or site web page that opens? Reply 23-Jan-06 From: Katherine Jones For California Tree Failure Report data there is no internet entry possible. You have to mail us the form. Download a copy of the form, fill it in and mail it to CTFRP, 80 Stone Pine Road #100, Half Moon Bay CA 94019. The International Tree Failure Database is internet only for data entry. In order to receive a password for that site, you have to attend a training session. Information about training sessions is available from the home page of that site without a password. The URL is http://ftcweb.fs.fed.us/natfdb
Date: Jan 21, 2006 Name: Paul	Want to pruchase Mexican fan palms but have noticed that some have very fat trunks. Why is this? I prefer the thinner trunks. Reply 22-Jan-06 From: Katherine Jones This web site was established to provide a forum on the subject of structural failures of trees. General horticultural questions are best answered elsewhere. Not all palms that have fan shaped foliage are the same species. In the case of Washingtonia, W. filifera, California fan palm has a fatter trunk than W. robusta, Mexican fan palm. There are other distinguishing features as well. I suggest you consult a plant manual such as Sunset Western Garden Book or a knowledgable nursery professional for help in choosing the plant you want.
Date: Jan 19, 2006 Name: nina bynum	How can I be absolutely certain that my neighbors pine tree is dead? He doesnt want to take it down if there is a chance that it might dome back. He had used a backhoe fairly close to the trunk. Reply 19-Jan-06 From: Katherine Jones If the damage to the tree is a result of root cutting by the backhoe, it also may be unstable. A pine tree with brown needles that does not put out new green growth in the spring can be assumed to be dead. Consult your Yellow Pages for an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture for advice.
Date: Jan 17, 2006 Name: T. Takeuchi	Please provide available stats for failure in Monterey cypress from internal decay,SLD and general failure (root plate, trunk failure). Reply 18-Jan-06 From: Katherine Jones There are 4101 reports in the database. 404 are Cupressus macrocarpa. Trunk 66, branch 195 and root 145.Mean age 65 years, mean DBH 40 inches and mean height 68 feet. The most commonly reported structural defects are heavy lateral limbs 28%, dense crown 11%, multiple trunk/codominant stem 14% and none 9% No decay was noted in 6% of trunk failures, 36% of branch failures and 21% of root failures. We don't have a tabulated field for SLD per se, but 10 branch failures occured between April through October in low wind, away from the point of attachment with little or no decay so might be considered as SLD.

Date: Dec 16, 2005 Name: Sherri Scott	I have a large Platanous racemosa in my yard in Chico and consider it healthy besides its case of athracnose. There are no signs of decay or previous failures or any defects. I saw the low statistics posted for limb drop on this species, but I wondered if there is a history of other failures I should be concerned with as it is the dominant tree in mine & my neighbors yard. Thank you. Reply 19-Dec-05 From: Katherine Jones Out of 4070 failure reports to date only 25 are Platanus species (racemosa 14 and acerifolia 11). For Platanus racemosa the most commonly reported structural defects are leaning trunk(29%),heavy lateral limbs(21%) and decay (trunk 14%, branch 29%, root 21%) Despite the relatively low numbers of reported failures for this species, a large tree, of any kind, in close proximity to a house should be periodically inspected for common defects that could lead to structural failure. A publication that can help with that is ANR Publication 21584 "Recognizing Tree Hazards, A Photographic Guide for Homeowners" available from http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu
Date: Nov 6, 2005 Name: Mark Porter	Reply to Dave Menche. I have not heard of an inclinometer being used here except at various seminars describing the methods. The technology comes from Dr. Wessoly's work (ask Google). Not to many pull tests in United States, although common in Europe. Arborist supply houses and trade magazines do not yet supply inclinometers nor dynometers to measure pull load yet, but I believe they will in the not so distant future. The techniues seem reasonable although proper technique is still a bit vauge. Even some of the top academics minds here in the United States are not sure of proper intrepretation of the use yet. The guys teaching this stuff don't understand U. S. standard units of measure and try to explain it to us arborists in metrics (how dare they). Mattheck and Breloer's work on "root plate raduis" is a good starting point although crown load, wind speed, material properties, tree height, soil type and moisture are all mitigating factors associated with either test. Root plate radius minimum on a fat trunked tree which I believe ash to fall under the definition of a fat trunk would be 3 times the trunk radius of undisturbed root plate. This reliability of root plate minimum size method was studied by myself and Dr. Fred Roth when approximatly 200 Blue Gum Euc failures that occurred in a 2 square mile area. Several days of rain saturated the soil with strong north wind gusts up to 70 mph (west wind was prevailing)leveled all the trees in a few hours. These eucs were un -pruned for several years, averaged about 70 to 80 feet high and no root decay was present. The most significant common problem was a root plate smaller than Mattech and Breloer's recommended 3 x trunk radius rule for fat trunk trees (fat trunk-oak, ash, euc, camphor, mulberry etc). They recommend a root plate minimum up to 15 times on skinny trunk tress (white pine, fur etc.) Remember the coat stand explanation, load it with heavy fur coats, cut a leg off the stand and leave the door open on a windy day. What do we do when we don't have an anchor point? I believe root plate radius is the best we have to work with. Air spade? Maybe. See The "body languge of trees". Somehow we need to come up with an accepted standard soon. Root cutting is not addressed in our standars of proper care yet. This needs to be clarifyed. Pull tests need to be simplified. Acceptable level of risk needs to be clearly defined. I welcome comments.
Date: Nov 3, 2005 Name: dave menche	Does anyone have information on tree pull tests to determine stability of 50 year old Ash trees that had extensive root damage (50% of roots removed up to 1 -2 feet from base of trees, some tree roots reomved on both sides with maybe 75% root loss. Want to determine tree fall risks. Any good tests out there?
Date: Nov 2, 2005 Name: Frank Wicks	I have what I am told are Monterey Pines in my yard that are around 25 feet tall. Every summer more of these trees are dying (5 so far this year)the trees appear to be healty, then the needles turn brown and the tree dies. I am told that it is a disease that is killing then. Is there something that I can do to save the remaining trees? Reply 03-Nov-05 From: Katherine Jones You should determine if the disease is Pine Pitch Canker. See the Pitch Canker Task Force web site at http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/pitch_canker. If you will tell me where you live, I can refer you to a Cooperative Extension advisor in your locality.
Date: Oct 30, 2005 Name: Tom Strachan	I have a number of Italian Cypress Trees. They are 5 years old and about 30 feet high. Over the past month, one is dying from the top down with about 10 feet dead. I have noted a oozing sap on the bark and suspect Canker, any way to save the tree. My lawn service says nothing can be done. If I cut the tree just below the infected area would that end it and would the tree begin growth again. Reply 31-Oct-05 From: Katherine Jones If you tell me where you live, I will refer you to a Horticulture Advisor in your locality who can help.
Date: Sep 27, 2005 Name: Wonderful Site	Great Informatio on the topic!
Date: Aug 27, 2005 Name: T. Takeuchi	15Jan04 data for E. globulus generalized to all eucs or do you have similer data for E. sideroxylon? Particular emphasis on trees failed mid-main trunk (4.0'from gl), no decay present, planted both at normal grade and root collar excessively deep? Of those failures how many were either 'untrimmed' or dense canopy? Fluctuating temps from low 60's to low 100's F Wind speed ave calm 1-2mph with a single micro burst of 31mph noted percipitation immediately following mirco-burst wind. Reply 29-Aug-05 From: Katherine Jones Out of 4053 reports to date 81 are Eucalyptus sideroxylon failures. Most are branch failures (52). Trunk (24) and root (5). Most of the trunk failures ocurred above 10 ft, but from 2-10 ft. there were 6. One of the six failed in winds less than 5mph. No precipitation was noted in three. Temperatures were below 60 degrees F. No decay was noted in four. Other structural defects include heavy lateral limbs, multiple trunks, crack/split, crook/sweep, onesidedness. Dense canopy was not mentioned for these six and only once for the remaining 18. There is no information about planting depth.
Date: Aug 24, 2005 Name: eduardo flores	i have 8 california sycamore trees lining senior apts.- one is showing signs of dying. the other 7 have mild fungi problems but look healthy. the problem one has an unhealthy looking base, looks drying up.anyone familiar with situation? please advise. Reply 25-Aug-05 From: Katherine Jones If you will e-mail me (kajones@ucdavis.edu) and tell me where you live, I will tell you how to contact a Cooperative Extension Advisor in your locality.
Date: Aug 7, 2005 Name: Mark Porter	Reply to Nicky Ward-Allen: The California Oak Foundation (COF)has a publication paper called "Caring For Native Oaks" which specifies 10% total leaf area reduction. I believe this recommendation along with pruning native oaks in July and August was to avoid excess sprouting followed by powdery mildew fungus turning the sprouts to an unsightly witches broom. COF has several books on native oaks. Dr. Alex Shigo teaches about the importance of (mass to energy ratio balance) in his book "A New Tree Biology". Dynamic mass should not exceed energy production capability, very important on masture trees. It is written that an oak lives for a hundred years and dies for a hundred years. If your an ISA member you can log on to their web site and search the Journal of Arboiculture artical titles which might be helpful. Sound like this tree needs a comprehensive strength loss assesment. There are other alternatives such as propping, cabling, bracing, etc. Most public agencies will not employ these methods due to admission of a defect creating unwanted liability. Refer to the ANSI A300 pruning standards and ISA's Best Management Practices. The tree may very well need some crown reduction if the limbs are overloaded like a loaded fishing pole with as big tuna on the end. Past failures or tension cracks on the top should help indicate which treatment is best. Some times thinning some of the lower branches on the ends will cause an oak limb to spring up and relieve some excess weight. Your request is so common with unqualified city personel without any credentials trying to tell an arborist how to prune. Arm yourself with the tools you need, find some PHD's in your area to back you up, you can always email digital pictures. Learn all you can about strength loss assesment Matthech and Broeler, Smiley, Matheney and Clark, Bartlett, Coder, Static Integrated Assesment, Pull test, Wessoly, etc. The Germans are coming up with some very complex assesments using physics along with biology that is gaining alot of interset. Good luck.
Date: Aug 7, 2005 Name: T. Takeuchi	Can you please provide information on Ceratonia siliqua failure and specifically from Ganoderma or other heartrot decay organisms? The propensity for failure in general. Contribution to failure from dense canopy or overly long limbs? Thank you. Reply 08-Aug-05 From: Katherine Jones As of today there are only 21 cases of Ceratonia siliqua failures in the database. The defects associated with those are as follows: 7 Trunk failures, 4 at ground level. No decay (1) some decay (6) Other defects include multiple trunk (1), dense crown (1) and lean (1). 4 Branch failures, 3 at point of attachment. No decay (1), heart and/or sap rot (3). Other defects include dense crown, heavy lateral limbs, uneven branch distribution. 10 Root failures. No decay (2), Root and/or heart/sap rot (8). Other defects include failed portion dead (3), multiple trunks (1), dense crown (3), lean (1) and crack/split (1). Ten of the failures occured in winds over 25 mph.
Date: Jul 28, 2005 Name: Nicky Ward-Allen	I recently pruned a 120 year old oak tree that was saved from the chop by a group of tree huggers. The tree has three large leaders, all of which have been affected by deep decay (from an old flush cut) and fungal infection. I pruned the tree to remove the extensive amount of dead wood and any badly damaged/diseased limbs. The crown was in quite good health. The City has complained that I did not prune hard enough, and they want me to uniformly reduce the entire crown by 15% to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure. My gut instinct is that this will be harmfull to the tree's health (removal of much needed energy producing leaves et. cet.), and I am searching for information that validates my opinion. Can anyone help with journal articles/research on the point, please?
Date: Jul 28, 2005 Name: Nicky Ward-Allen	I recently pruned a 120 year old oak tree that was saved from the chop by a group of tree huggers. The tree has three large leaders, all of which have been affected by deep decay (from an old flush cut) and fungal infection. I pruned the tree to remove the extensive amount of dead wood and any badly damaged/diseased limbs. The crown was in quite good health. The City has complained that I did not prune hard enough, and they want me to uniformly reduce the entire crown by 15% to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure. My gut instinct is that this will be harmfull to the tree's health (removal of much needed energy producing leaves et. cet.), and I am searching for information that validates my opinion. Can anyone help with journal articles/research on the point, please?
Date: Jul 13, 2005 Name: Mark Porter	Reply to Timothy Staats. Your assesment might be true to a certain extent. First you need to see what type of palm it is. Then a specific disease such as Fusarium oxysporum, Gliocladium, or Theleviopsis paradoxa, could very well been a contributing factor to the failure. Overpruning leads to a poorly developed trunk although I dought that alone cause the tree to fail. What the courts probably want is some type of proof and if your tree is chopped up and sent to the dump, it may pose a more difficult job of identifying a specific pathogen. If the tree still has a crown left as evidence it is often very difficult to see a pathogen on a microscope due to too much bacterium innoculating the sample if it has not been refrigerated. especially in the summer months. A culture simular to the mmethods a medical laboritry uses still might work growing a known pathogen, although I'm not sure it might be too late. Here in Riverside numerous city trees (Queen Palms) have several climbing spike wounds from fly by night palm trimmers that lead to Gliocladium fungi rotting the trunk. This pathogen although slow to develop can signifigantly lead to trunk or crown failure. I find difficulty in hearing that the city of Long Beach (one of the richest cities in the world is what I have heard in the past)fails to accept responsibility. It's their tree they should pay you for your loss, what a shame you have to go through this headache. That's just my humble opinion. This almost seems unethical in my point of view. Sound like the city legal department has a reason for this stance, I just do not understand the reasoning behind it. Good luck.
Date: Jul 10, 2005 Name: Timothy Staats	I had a tall palm tree crush my 1972 toyota landcruiser. The tree was on City of Long Beach property, the car was parked legally on city street. City does not want to pay for damages. I contend the palm tree had a constricted trunk or pencilling of the trunk due to poor pruning practices. Can anyone help me. I go to small claims court on Wed. July 13. I need a reference if anyone has one. I would be glad to provide your database with great photos of this accident. Regards Reply 11-Jul-05 From: Katherine Jones This database has too few failure reports on palms to be of any help to you. Try contacting palm expert Kenneth Allen at kallen@allenarbor.com or 415-440-5157.
Date: Jun 26, 2005 Name: Guy Stivers	Could you tell me the stats on limb failure for Cedrus atlantica and C. deodora? Thank you. Reply 28-Jun-05 From: Katherine Jones Of 4031 reports received to date, there are 28 for Cedrus atlantica and 62 for Cedrus deodara. 82% of atlantica and 70% of deodara are branch failures. Mean branch diameter of the branch failures of both species is 11 inches. Decay was not a factor in 91% of the branch failures of both species. The most commonly reported structural defect is heavy lateral limbs (atlantica 60%, deodara 57%). 82% of the deodara branch failures failed away from the point of attachment and 16% at the attachment, but for atlantica 26% of this category was unreported, leaving 48% failed away from the attachment and another 26% at the attachment.
Date: May 24, 2005 Name: Scott Cullen	Reply to Mark Porter's 21 Mar. Mike Ellison has developed a "circular slide rule" type calculator for field use that I believe eliminates the need for actual QTRA calculation by the tree inspector. Mike will be speaking at the ISA conference in Nashville. If anyone has specific questions you might try posting them on the UKTC e-mail list. (Just do a Google search on UKTC and you can subscribe). Either Mike himself or UK practitioners who have been trained in QTRA are likely to respond.
Date: Apr 4, 2005 Name: Jamie Inashima	I have a Parks Superintendent that would would like Geijeia parviflora removed from a park plan. He says that this species is weak and he has seen numerous branch failures. He claims the failures happen on the more established trees and seems to think this species has an inherently weak branch attachment. How many failures have been reported for this species and what kind of failure is most common? Reply 04-Apr-05 From: Katherine Jones Out of 4022 failure reports to date, only 14 are Geijera parviflora. Trunk (2), Branch (6) and Root (6). With the six branch failures the reported structural defects are heavy lateral limbs (3), multiple branches in the same location (1) and embedded bark (2) and no decay. The mean age of the branch failures is 19 years.
Date: Mar 21, 2005 Name: Mark Porter	Very intersesting article in the Journal this month pertaining to quantifyable risk assesment. The author is offering a new proposal to change some of the language and suggests adopting a British standard ratio of acceptable risk. He acknowledges Matheney and Clarks's work in one of the most significant developments in hazard tree evaluation. The three componants -currently used in the evaluation process-failure potential, size of the part that could fail, and target do not provide a way to quantify acceptable risk according to the author. The author, Ellison proposes we change the componants to-target value, impact potential, probability of failure, and impact potential. He offers ways to quantify this with many examples and what I found most interesting was the British adopted rule of acceptable risk a ratio of 1/10,000. Also the value of human life. His calculations seem very complex and I'm not sure this is a practical solution for the average tree inspector. Anybody involved in hazard tree assesment, this article is a must read. Any comments on this new proposal?
Date: Mar 9, 2005 Name: Barri Bonapart	Hi Katherine: Hope you are well. Can you give me stats on summer limb drop in Quercus lobata and Quercus generally? Also, is there a breakdown by location, like if I wanted data from east bay? Barri Reply 09-Mar-05 From: Katherine Jones I'm well. Thanks for asking. Due to the confusion about a precise definition of sudden limb drop, we have decided to set parameters for the question in order to be consistent in our replies. They are as follows: 1.It was a branch failure. 2.The point of failure was away from the point of attachment. 3. No decay or less than 25% decay was present at the point of failure. 4.There was little or no wind. 5. There was no precipitation. 6. It failed in temperatures of 70 degrees F. or higher. Also, the presumption is that it failed "all of a sudden" but we don't have a tabulated field for that. There are 4019 failure reports in the database. 244 are Quercus branch failures. When those are sorted for branch/away from attachment/no wind/no precip, 36 remain (18 lobata, 10 agrifolia and 8 other). When decay and temperature factors are added, 9 lobata, 5 agrifolia, 3 kelloggii and 1 garryana fit the definition. Increased amounts of decay is the reason most were eliminated. Two Q. agrifolia failed at 65 degrees. Two failed in Alamo and one in Livermore
Date: Feb 24, 2005 Name: Fletcher Johnson	Is there any data that shows a relationship of utility company side trimming and a tree failure? Reply 24-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones The CTFRP data doesn't include that question. Utility companies may gather such data. Our contact at Pacific Gas and Electric in northern California is Don Gasser at dpg5@pge.com
Date: Feb 24, 2005 Name: Dan Culbert, UF/IFAS Extension Service	I bumped into your website today. Over here on the right hand coast of the US, we had a few events (actually 4 of them)last summer that caused many tree failures. Our U.FL Extension staff has been taking a critical look at the results. Some anecdotal data has already been published in a consumer-centered book by Landscape Designer Pam Crawford entitled Stormscaping. Try this link to get more information on this book: http://www.easygardencolor.com/stormscape.cfm Keep up the good work! Reply 24-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones Thank you. We'll order the book. I hope you and your colleagues will participate in the International Tree Failure Database program. http://ftcweb.fs.fed.us/natfdb
Date: Feb 23, 2005 Name: David Caldwell	Do you have any data that may be useful to aid arborists in predicting which pinus pinea are at relatively higher risk of trunk failure? I am curious whether some of the structural defects listed in your report form have a statistically significant higher association with trunk failures than others. What is the total number of trunk failures of Pinus pinea in your current database; and the statistical data relating to these trunk failures (e.g., mean height of failure; mean DBH at site of failure; association between trunk failure, height of tree, crown density, and wind; and the structural defects associated with these trunk failures. Reply 24-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones We have data on 101 Pinus pinea failures. 32 of those were trunk failures. The answers to your questions are as follows: Mean height: 44 FT. Mean DBH: 29 inches Height of failure: At ground level(13), Not at ground level (19) Structural defects: Multiple trunks (15), Dense crown (6), Embedded bark (3), Kinked/girdling roots (3), Onesided (1), Top heavy (1), Lean (1), Failed portion dead (1). 21 cases reported no decay. Precipitation: Some (13), None (16) Wind: Less than 5mph (13), 5-25mph (9), over 25mph (8)
Date: Feb 19, 2005 Name: Sam Cowie	A reply to Jamie Inashima. As I live in Australia and Grevillea robusta is commonly planted and natural in most instances, I have noted several types of failure common in the species (naturally occurring branch formations). Both are cracks in the form of either a hazard beam crack or shear crack (Mattheck's definitions). Large mature trees seem to be particularly susceptable, with one removed specimen in Sydney having approximately 25-30 examples still within the canopy (trunk DBH 1300mm, height 30 metres, canopy 10-12 metres). In discussion with Dr Mattheck recently in Brisbane, we concluded that the large ray formation (easily seen in sawn and polished timber slabs) in the wood leads to these cracks. They rarely seem to result in the loss of the effected branch, but may been seen by either the resultant growth to contain the crack or by the split in the branch. Further to this, bark inclusions readily fail in the species, maybe another result of the wood structure. Of interest the only lightning strike on the species resulted in a shattered trunk and large splinters scattered around the area. To Katheine Jones, have you any failures of Araucaria by bark inclusion in the database? Also contact me as I'm in the final stages of setting up the Australian Tree Failure Database. Regards Sam Reply 22-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones No. We only have three reports on the genus and bark inclusion did not contribute to any of the failures. In northern California the genus Araucaria is not in common use, although some specimens exist mainly in coastal locations. The International Tree Failure Database team would be interested in hearing from anyone outside North America who would be interested in participating in the program. Contact John Pronos jpronos@fs.fed.us or Judy Adams jadams04@fs.fed.us
Date: Feb 14, 2005 Name: Mark Porter	How many failures reported resulted in deaths? Is there any data on costs spent on failures? The most costly failure? Average cost per failure? Reply 22-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones Deaths due to tree failures is not a tabulated field on our report form. Costs resulting from failures are tabulated. The costs are lumped together and include those from personal injury, property damage, clean up or other. As of today there are 4006 failure reports in the database. 2449 (61%) reported costs. The breakdown according to location of failure is as follows: Trunk: 764 cases, mean cost $3,723.00 Branch: 895 cases, mean cost $4,021.00 Root: 790 cases, mean cost $3,461.00 The most costly failure reported to date was a branch failure that resulted in severe injury and the cost including settlement was $2,500,000.00
Date: Feb 11, 2005 Name: Jamie Inashima	Grevillea robusta is reported as to have brittle wood by most literature. Yet I have never seen any failure of this tree other small finger sized twigs and branches that grew as a result of topping. The latter I discount since I don't consider those failures due to the natural character of the tree. Has this tree ever been reported to the program? If so, what kind of failure(s)? Reply 11-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones Out of 4006 failure reports to date, only 7 are Grevillea robusta. 4 trunk failures and 3 branch. Decay was associated with all of the trunk failures and one tree was dead. 2 had multiple trunks. Decay was also associated with all of the branch failures. Other defects noted on the branch failures were heavy lateral limbs and multiple branches at the same point. All except one trunk failure occured in wind speeds of 25 mph or over. Some precipitation was noted in 5 cases. One trunk failure reported none and one unknown.
Date: Feb 6, 2005 Name: Mark Porter	Failure forms have several defects listed regaurding structure. Should we not include epicormic shoots from topping cuts defined as defective limb structure? It certainly detracts from the natural form and structure and also devalues a tree's networth. I'm aware of the complications of changing the database however I believe this is a very important defect that needs to some how be included in the database. Whould the point system be altered so far as to invaladate the previous reports? If the overall reports will be effected maybe a statistical expert can develop a way to include this definition that will be compatable with past and future reports. It certainly is a common defect that our industry is aware of yet the public still requests this type of service and believes it is acceptable. Reply 07-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones Yes, epicormic branches should be considered as defects contributing to branch failures. There are no plans to change the CTFRP form though, because we are merging our data with the newly established International Tree Failure Data Base. The URL for ITFD is http://stdpweb.fs.fed.us/natfdb. You can download a report form from there and on it you will see that epicormic branches are listed as defects under branch failures. The site is operational for data entry, but lacks some important features that it will eventually have. In particular, the user guide, which will define terms and explain, with diagrams, all of the fields. For that reason, we are continuing to accept CTFRP forms that are then entered into both CTFRP and ITFD. Eventually the CTFRP forms will be phased out. CTFRP contributors can obtain passwords for data entry. If you are a CTFRP contributor and feel comfortable using the ITFD form without the user guide to refer to, you can enter the data directly or send it to us and we will enter it for you.
Date: Feb 2, 2005 Name: Fred Roth	I would like information on summer branch drop in Platanus racemosa Reply 04-Feb-05 From: Katherine Jones It is a difficult question to answer due to the lack of agreement on a definition of "summer branch drop". There seems to be general agreement that it is a branch failure that occurs in the absence of wind or precipitation in "warm" weather. There is less agreement on the location of the failure(at attachment or away from it) and the presence of decay or other defects. Our data shows that out of 4001 reports to date, there are only 6 Platanus racemosa branch failures. One was in November under windy and rainy conditions. The remaining five failed May-August in low to moderate winds and no precipitation. Three of those failed at the point of attachment (2 with no decay). The one that failed away from the point of attachment reported 50-75%decay. The failure point of one report is unknown, but there was decay on that one.
Date: Jan 28, 2005 Name: John Call	Is there detailed information accessible regarding the type of failure, i.e., root, trunk, limb.Also species,locations, noted pre-existing problems, specific environmental conditions under which the failure occurred. Reply 28-Jan-05 From: Katherine Jones Access to the database itself is restricted, but I can provide a summary report of the data in MS Word that will describe, in general, the items you have listed.
Date: Jan 20, 2005 Name: T. Takeuchi	Does the data base have any information regarding trees or limbs that have failed because of the added weight of a tree swing or other weight? Thanks Reply 24-Jan-05 From: Katherine Jones No, it doesn't.
Date: Jan 18, 2005 Name: T. Takeuchi	Can you tell me the propensity for Pinus pinea windthrow in rain saturated soils, no root decay present. Propensity for same to windthrow in non-saturated soils (due solely to canopy weight)? Thanks Reply 18-Jan-05 From: Katherine Jones Out of 3976 reports there are 38 reports of Pinus pinea root failures. 25 of those report no decay. Soil conditions were: Saturated 16, Good 4, Compacted 1, Shallow 2 and Unknown 2. Six failed in low wind conditions and 19 with winds over 25mph. Of the remainder, 11 reported decay and two unknown. Soil conditions were: Saturated 6, Compacted 3, Good 2, Shallow 1 and one unknown. Six failed in low wind conditions and 7 in winds over 25mph. Various structural defects were associated with these failures both in the decay and non decay gruops. They include dense crown, lean, uneven branch distribution and kinked and girdling roots.
Date: Jan 17, 2005 Name: glen lamontagne	my phoenix canariensis has a virus of some sort. 12ft fronds are weakened then bend in half 3 ft from main trunk,slowly yellow and wither, then die. main trunk is 5 ft high and 3 ft dia. when i remove fronds they are brown in the middle of the stem. this started 4 mos ago,2 others at other corners of the yard dont seem infected yet.i think its a virus? any ideas? i live in vallejo ca, with world class clay, the tallest is 40 ft and ok so far. thank you Reply 18-Jan-05 From: Katherine Jones Try contacting Kenneth Allen, a palm expert in San Francisco at kallen@allenarbor.com or 415-440-5157
Date: Jan 11, 2005 Name: Greg Applegate	Are there any records of ornamental fig (Ficus) failures? If so what species and types of failures. I'm especially interested in decay. Reply 12-Jan-05 From: Katherine Jones Out of 3976 failures reported to date there have been 19 reports for ornamental fig; 13 from southern California locations. 4 Ficus macrophylla: Average age 101 years. One root failure in which there was decay. Three branch failures with no decay. Average branch diameter was 14 inches. Failures in average temperatures of 68 degrees F. with low wind and no precipitation. 8 Ficus microcarpa: Average DBH 18 inches. Two trunk failures with low decay, high wind and no precipitation. Two branch failures, embedded bark, but no decay, moderate wind and rain. Four root failures, decay in three, none in one, low to moderate wind, no rain in three, some in one. 7 Ficus rubiginosa: Av. DBH 28 inches. Two trunk failures at ground level, one with decay, one unknown. Moderate winds and no precipitation. One branch failure with heavy end weight and no decay. Four root failures associated with restricted roots due to barriers, containers or root cutting. Little to no decay, dense crowns and high winds.
Date: Dec 26, 2004 Name: molly samuel	ref:oct 6th enquirey about italian cypress trees- we live in el segundo,ca- close to L.A airport&beach Reply 27-Dec-04 From: Katherine Jones Contact UC Horticulture Advisor in Los Angeles County, Don Hodel (drhodel@ucdavis.edu)about this.
Date: Dec 7, 2004 Name: jim thompson	i am doing a tree hazard survey in southern california with tall Mexican Fan palms (Washingtonia robusta). I find many of these trees with deep fissures(1/2 way into the central core of the tree). some of these longitudinal cracks are out to 6 to 8 feet long. my question, does anyone have data or knowleadge on palm tree trunk failures related to this condtion. i can't seem to satisfy my knowledge of their stability. Reply 09-Dec-04 From: Katherine Jones The CTFRP data can't help on this. We only have 3 reports of Washingtonia failures. Kenneth Allen, a Consulting Arborist and palm expert will be speaking at the CTFRP annual meetings January 13 in northern California and February 10 in southern California. If you would like details about the meetings or if you would like Kenneth Allen's e-mail address, please reply to me at kajones@ucdavis.edu.
Date: Nov 8, 2004 Name: walter levison	is there no way for the public to search the entire ctfrp database to find trends such as the most common failures in san mateo county, or other micro trends? it seems the only trend info on this site is located in the Breaktime writeups. Reply 08-Nov-04 From: Katherine Jones At the moment there is no way for the public to do this. In the near future our data will be combined with the newly formed International Tree Failure Database. When that happens, there will be greater access to the data. John Pronos, US Forest Service, will be speaking on the subject at the CTFRP Annual Meeting on January 13, 2005. In the meantime, if you would care to ask one or more specific questions, we will try to answer them.
Date: Oct 6, 2004 Name: molly samuel	I have many italian cypress trees in my backyard,probably 30 or more years old.Many of them we chopped them down.They seem to have a disease that is turning them brown on the top of the tree and then the tree dies gradually.It is spreading to all the trees and even to the next house.HOw can we treat this trees.Help Reply 07-Oct-04 From: Katherine Jones For queries about diseased trees or any other than those concerning tree structural failures, we need to know what city and state you live in order to refer you to the appropriate resource.
Date: Aug 12, 2004 Name: aaron crispen	Found a really cool Web Site, For teaching Arborists real safty tecniques on the job, Certified instructors that will come to you.. www.trainingarborists.com Reply 12-Aug-04 From: Katherine Jones Thanks. The web site doesn't mention where their physical location is. I guess you have to contact them to find out.
Date: Jul 24, 2004 Name: Jochen A. Pfisterer	Hallo Katherine, congratulations for the great site. Meanwhile I looked around and found some interesting informations. According to summer limb failure, the results of my own investigations are: 1) limbs use to drop after a longer drought 2) usually flat growing, suppressed limbs from the lower part of a tree's crown will drop. 3) I never observed summer limb failure of a dominating limb from the upper crown's part. So, may I question your tree statistics for summer limb drop: a) What kind of limb (e.g. from which part of a crown) used to fail in CA? b) Do certain varieties fail more easily than others? Here in Germany we mostly observe oak and maple trees to fail after a longer drought in summer. The limbs use to be extremely light and dry. Once again, thank you in advance. Yours sincerely Jochen Reply 26-Jul-04 From: Katherine Jones Thank you for your interest and your comments. There was a question about summer limb failure posted on March 17 2004 and I don't have anything new to add to that reply. You have made some interesting observations, but our data doesn't show where the failed limb was in relation to other branches. If you download the report form you will see that it asks the height and diameter of the branch, if the failure was at the point of attachment or not, the angle at the point of failure and if there was end weight or not.
Date: Jul 23, 2004 Name: Jochen A. Pfisterer	Hi, I'm looking for recent publications concerning summer limb failure / sudden limb drop. Can you help me? Thanks in advance, yours sincerely Jochen A. Pfisterer
Date: May 17, 2004 Name: tom hawkins	We have 3 of 11 Italian Cypress that were planted from 24" boxes last June now exhibiting obvious leaning or bending, as much as 2 to 3' off vertical. Plants were single staked when purchased, but switched over to double staking when planted. Removed stakes late...not until April of this year. Will these 3 likely still straigten out on their own, or should they be re-staked in a different manner? Thanks for any help you can provide!! Reply Your trees are unlikely to straighten on their own. There may be a defect in the root system such as a kinked or circling root which has inhibited anchorage. We suggest re-staking for a while. Get a certified arborist to look at the trees and show you how best to apply the stakes.
Date: Apr 16, 2004 Name: Lisa Cantu	Katherine, I would like any data with limb, root or trunk failure on Coastal Redwoods. Particularly data on Coastal Redwoods from suburban/semi-suburban areas. (ie: please no data that includes major city proper such as San Francisco) Also, are the Coastal Redwoods, native to California? Reply 19-Apr-04 From: Katherine Jones Most of the data in CTFRP is submitted by arborists in cities and towns. A small percentage is from unincorporated areas or Nationl Parks. We only have 76 reports of Coast Redwood failures and those were all in cities or towns. Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is native to California.
Date: Mar 17, 2004 Name: zjoske oddens	hi my name is Zjoske and I'm working together with Aart, we are working on our final project and therefor we are studing 'summer limb failure' / 'summer branch drop'. Now we are looking for example's of 'summer drop'(if it's possible with pictures) and if you have also some theories of how it develops it would be of great help. We hope to hear from you soon, Aart and Zjoske Reply 18-Mar-04 From: Katherine Jones For a discussion of the probable causes of summer branch drop see: Harris,R.W., Clark, J.R., and N. P. Matheny. 2004. Arboriculture; Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Vines 4th Ed. Prentice Hall. 428-429. CTFRP data shows, from a total of 3839 reports, 163 branch failures during the months of May through October with temperatures 70 degrees F. and over, no precipitation and winds less than 25 mph. 83 failed away from the point of attachment. The most frequently reported genera are Quercus (54), Eucalyptus (26), Pinus (20), Cedrus (18)and Ulmus (9).
Date: Mar 9, 2004 Name: Walt Fujii	Hi Katherine: Have you updated figures on Montery pine failures? The part of the tree (root, trunk limb) in percentages that failed is also of interest. Thank you, walt Reply 11-Mar-04 From: Katherine Jones As of today there are 438 reports of Pinus radiata in the data base. This is 63% of all pines reported. 72% of the reports originated from San Francisco County. Location of failure on the tree is as follows: Trunk 26%, Branch 42%, Root 32%. Mean age 61 years, mean DBH 33inches and mean height 71 feet. 31% of the failures occurred in the months of December and January, but failures are reported for all of the other months as well, averaging 6.8% per month. No decay was associated with 75% of failures. No structural defects were associated with 6% of failures. 12 defects were mentioned, the most common being heavy lateral limbs 34%, dense crown 10% and leaning trunk 10%. No precipitation was associated with 38% of the failures and 27% failed in winds less than 5 mph.
Date: Feb 16, 2004 Name: Guy Stivers	I would appreciate knowing how many Pinus halepensis blew over in wind storms? Reply 17-Feb-04 From: Katherine Jones As of today, we have 3817 failure reports in the database. 55 are Pinus halepensis failures. Of those, 11 (20%)are root failures. The wind speed associated with the root failures was less than 5 mph: 2 reports, 5-25 mph: 3 reports and over 25 mph: 5 reports. 8 of the 11 failed with some precipitation and 3 with none.
Date: Feb 11, 2004 Name: Emily Bunge	How many trees are cut down each year? How many trees are planted each year? thanks!! Reply 11-Feb-04 From: Katherine Jones That's an interesting question, but CTFRP doesn't have the answer. The US Forest Service may be able to provide numbers regarding forest trees and individual municipalities regarding urban trees.
Date: Jan 29, 2004 Name: asaba owerri	guys it looks really nice and good. keep it up.
Date: Jan 15, 2004 Name: Michael Santos	Katherine, The 1999 Breaktime reported on failures of Eucaluptus globulus in terms of number of reports and percent of failures by trunk, branch and root. Do you have any updated numbers? Thank you, Michael Santos Reply 20-Jan-04 From: Katherine Jones As of today we have 201 reports of Eucalyptus globulus failures out of 3736 total reports. A brief summary includes: Mean age: 60.8, Mean DBH: 41.6 inches, Mean height:80.7 feet and mean crown spread:43.5 feet. Location of Failure: Trunk 15%, Branch 36% and Root 49% 54% of the failures occured in areas of high or medium activity, located in parks (50%) and residential (24%) areas. Most common structural defects: Heavy lateral limb:23%, multiple trunk/codominant stems:12%, dense crown:10%, none:10%, failed portion dead:8% and kinked/girdling roots:8% No decay was noted in 48% of the cases. Precipitation: 57% some, 43% none. Windspeed: less than 5mph 25%, 5-25mph 25% and over 25mph 50%.
Date: Jan 7, 2004 Name: Meg Burgin	Any statistics on Italian Cypress failures? Topple? Reply 12-Jan-04 From: Katherine Jones We only have seven reports of Italian cypress failures. 4 root, 2 branch, 1 trunk. 5 failed in high winds and rain. One root failure was a 100 year old tree which was dead. Another was an 8 year old with kinked/girdling roots.
Date: Nov 6, 2003 Name: Katherine Jones	There is only one record of Casuarina in the CTFRP data base. It's a branch failure.
Date: Oct 30, 2003 Name: Michael Santos	Katherine, I would like any data with limb, root or trunk failure on river she-oak, Casuarina cunninghamiana, or for Casuarina spp. in general. Has anyone observed canker like symptoms at former branch sites (underneath side of limb)on Casuarina?
Date: Oct 14, 2003 Name: Greg Applegate	I would appreciate any personal experiences with limb, root or trunk failure on Italian stone pine, Pinus pinea. Reply 15-Oct-03 From: Katherine Jones There are records of 93 Pinus pinea failures in the CTFRP data base out of 3705 reports to date. 29 Trunk, 28 Branch, and 36 Root. Mean age is 41 years, mean DBH is 29 inches and mean height is 44 ft. The most frequently mentioned structural defects are multiple trunks/codominant stems, dense crown, heavy lateral limbs, leaning trunk and kinked/girdling roots.
Date: Sep 22, 2003 Name: Scott Cullen	Laura, I realized that my earlier reply to you question needed a little summary. There is literature. It is not consistent on whether or when pruning to "reduce sail" is an effective or cost effective measure for mitigation of failure risk. The literature is clear that in at least some specific circumstances it may increase risk. The biggest issue for me is "how do you know there is sufficient risk to need reduction, and how do you know if the pruning you decide to do has reduced the risk?" We do not have good tools for that. The tools we have are not very usable by the typical field crew or even resource manager. IMO if pruning is understaken as a mitigation measure it should be for a specific risk. I do not see this as either needed or efficacious a a blanket, routine treatment. That is not to say that certain populations or parts of populations might not be treated. One paper I did not include was one that suggested that failures might actually be higher in pruned than in unpruned blocks. Luley et al. It's in the Proceedings of the Tree Structure and Mechanics Conference (Savannah) published by ISA.
Date: Sep 22, 2003 Name: Scott Cullen	[39] Coder, Kim D. 2000. Pruning Guide for Storm Force Reduction in Trees. University of Georgia School of Forest Resources. Extension publication FOR00-27. http://www.forestry.uga.edu/warnell/service/library/index.php3?docID=411&docHistory%5B%5D=2&docHistory%5B%5D=413 (Accessed 6/26/01) That's one fairly specific source that comes to mind. It is purely a mathematical calculation of the reduction in wind load resulting from the reduction in cross-sectional (sail) area normal to the wind... I think on optical porosity basis. There is a lot of anecdotal stuff or very brief mention in the literature. In the PNW they use 25% "spiral thins" on Doug Firs and maybe hemlocks. You'll find sketchy refrences in the literature from BC Forestry and UBC. You'll hear it in coastal areas all over. The NE and SE Atlantic Coast of US. The Caribbean. Elsewhere. "I prune my clients' trees and they don't fail in storms." But there's no clear picture of whether that's just failure prone tree parts or routine thinning. There are studies in the literature showing that initial thinning (>A300 dose) will actually increase drag coefficients before casuing a reduction. And that thinning can increase within crown wind velocity... which can increase wind load on interior or leeward branches and crotches. Also thinning can expose leeward crotches to higher tension loads and reduce natural damping. Claus Mattheck has an illustrative drawing of a tree as a ship with multiple sails. Ken James did a recent paper in Journal of Arboriculture on dynamics and damping. Oscillation and damping are also treated by... [234] Spatz, Hanns-Christof and J. Zebrowski. 2001. Oscillation Frequencies of Plant Stems with Apical Loads. Planta 214(20:215-219 (December). [235] Spatz, Hanns-Christof and Olga Speck. 2002. Oscillation frequencies of tapered plant stems. Am. J. Bot. 89(1):1-11. [93] Grant, P.F. and W.G. Nickling. 1998. Direct field measurement of wind drag on vegetation for application to windbreak design and modeling. Land Degradation and Development 9(1):57-66. [226] Shi-Igai, Hiroyoshi and Tohru Maruyama. 1988. Measurement of wind drag forces on trees. Journal of Natural Disaster Science (Japan) 10(2):25-33. It is also necessary to understand that if the goal is to reduce the "turning" or "bending" moment at the base of a tree or stem, then height reduction will be more effective than thinning. This is becasue A) the lever arm is shortened... Moment = Horizontal Force x Lever Arm... and B) wind velocity increases with height so not only are the "sail" and lever arm reduced but the velocity profile and the force per unit "sail" area is reduced. Wessolly has done a lot with these equations and packaged it as "tree statics." Go to www.tree-consult.org to read some English translations. Crown raising is least effective for the opposite reasons. Dr. John Moore found that over 40% crown reduction by raising is necessary to affect turning moment significantly (forest conifers). There is tons of literature on thinning for stand stability. [50] Coutts, M.P. and J. Grace (eds.). 1995. Wind and Trees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 501pp. Description and chapter list at http://books.cambridge.org/0521460379.htm (Accessed 07/09/02) There was a subsequent conference and proceedings in a special issue Forest Ecology & Management, editor Peltola et al. A follow on conference was merged with a similar content conference at Karlsruhe and held last week. There should be proceedings from that. www.ifh.uni-karlsruhe.de/ifh/ science/aerodyn/windconf.htm See also the program of the 4th Plant Biomechanics Conferece that was held at MSU in July. http://www.plantbiomechanics2003.msu.edu/ And see my bibliography in Jan '02 Journal of Arboriculture for a ,ore complete listing... though they are not sorted specifically by this topic.
Date: Sep 3, 2003 Name: Laura Alber	do you know of literature citations concerning pruning to reduce the sail effect? Specifically that this may not be an affective managment option to reduce failures both limb and whole. Thanks
Date: Jul 23, 2003 Name: Jerry Dicker	to Larry Costello & Ron Faircloth: I have bought a Picus Sonic Tomograph as I was so impressed with its capabilities. What do you want to know? I live near Bristol in UK.
Date: Jul 16, 2003 Name: Donovan Robinson	I have 5 100+ year old hardwoods in my lawn which are nestled in a "clump" surrounded by 11 younger trees(20-40 yrs). A highway widening project has marked the 11 trees for removal. What is the prognosis for future damage to the older trees when the younger trees no longer surve as a buffer strip against north winds and lighning? Have you any data re: single trees vs. clumps in the long term? Reply 24-Jul-03 From: Katherine Jones Recent exposure is a characteristic commonly associated with tree failure. See Harris, R.W., Clark, J.R. and N.P. Matheny. 2004. Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Vines. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Among the questions on our report form is one that asks "Does the tree occur 1. alone (at least one crown diameter apart), 2. in a group (less than one crown diameter apart) or 3. in an altered stand (trees removed from stand)?" Currently we have 3688 failure reports in the database. 205 hardwood failures (72 trunk, 52 branch and 81 root) were associated with altered stands.
Date: Jul 8, 2003 Name: Marta Peña	phoenix canariensis diseases and nutritional disorders
Date: Jun 4, 2003 Name: Steve Ryan	I have about 250 Mexican Fan Palm trees that I am maintaining in a commerical setting. I have discoved tree rot (thaleuiopis I am being told by the company trimming the trees). Where can I find information on this disease. Thanks for your help. Steve Reply 05-Jun-03 From: Katherine Jones A subsequent e-mail from you indicated that you are located in San Diego County. You can get advice about palm diseases from UC Cooperative Extension Horticulture advisors. In San Diego County it's Dave Shaw dshaw@ucdavis.edu (858-694-2853). Don Hodel in Los Angeles County has expertise in palm management. drhodel@ucdavis.edu (323-838-4531) Also, a publication called "Diseases and Disorders of Ornamental Palms" by Chase and Broschat, published by the American Phytopathological Society contains information on Thielaviopsis bud rot.
Date: May 15, 2003 Name: Chris Hinton	I have recently inspected a number of old Phoenix canariensis(800mm stem ø)with cavities that girdle a large proportion of the stem, the cavities are about 80mm deep and about the same in height. I am concerned that these represent a failure point. I have not previously seen this in New Zealand and I would ask readers if they are familiar with this problem and is it a recognised cause of failure in phoenix palms. With thanks. Chris Hinton Reply 15-May-03 From: Katherine Jones Our data contains only 2 reports of Phoenix canariensis failures. One was a root failure and the other one was a trunk failure with no decay noted.
Date: Feb 5, 2003 Name: Ron Faircloth	To Larry Costello I too9 would like to know about the machine. I haven't found anyone who sells them, would you know of a dealer?. Reply 06-Feb-03 Contact Lothar Gocke at: www.argus-electronic.de
Date: Jan 29, 2003 Name: Bruce McCrory, RLA	After several (many) hours on a highspeed ISP, Have found nothing related to practical applications of oak protection for the "to-be-built" environment. Specifically, Quercus garryana. Come on! Pull your beaks out of the sand! Reply 30-Jan-03 From: Katherine Jones I'm not sure I understand your question. This web site is limited to information about structural failures of trees. If you are concerned about "Sudden Oak Death" try www.suddenoakdeath.org
Date: Jan 12, 2003 Name: W Tyson	wdsroot.ucdavis.edu/clients/treefail/ news/annual/July1990.html appears to be a "dead link" (Google search results) Reply 13-Jan-03 From: Thank you.
Date: Jan 9, 2003 Name: Wayne Tyson	Are there any public agencies that are cooperating by integrating your reporting with their own? Are you set up to encourage and accommodate such agencies? Reply 13-Jan-03 From: Katherine Jones Not yet. We hope to have something set up at a future date.
Date: Jan 9, 2003 Name: Wayne Tyson	If the data can't be accessed on-line, is it available in any other form or by any other means? Reply 13-Jan-03 From: Katherine Jones Not the whole data base, but you are welcome to ask a specific question, for example "How many Eucalyptus branch failures were submitted for Santa Clara County in 2000?"
Date: Dec 5, 2002 Name: Jan C. Scow	Is there any way I can access the data base on-line? Reply 06-Dec-02 From: Katherine Jones Not as yet. If you have a specific question about the data, I will try to answer it.
Date: Oct 8, 2002 Name: Larry Costello	Has anyone had experience evaluating decay using the Picus sonic tomograph?