TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE - MY ELM TREE HAS BEEN MARKED FOR REMOVAL WITHIN 20 DAYS!!! My tree was just marked by the Minneapolis Park Board for removal due to Dutch elm disease. I live on a city lot (40' x 80') and this is my only tree, and therefore my only shade. My dog would also be devastated because his main pastime is lying between the above-the-ground roots of the tree and keeping the squirrels at bay! My house was built in the 1920's, and I am guessing the tree to be about 80 years old. I had a 10 year trim done last November by a professional service who said nothing about disease. I am just starting my Internet search to find a solution for this. All of the tree service companies are swamped right now due to damage from a recent storm, so they cannot come out and confirm the disease one way or the other. Is there anything to try? any treatment that is effective? any University or arborist organizations to contact for help on this? ANYTHING you can tell me would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Lisa & Mickey

Lfox4551

The primary concern with Dutch elm disease is spread of this contagious fungus to other elm trees. The disease is carried by a tiny bark beetle from tree to tree.

The disease itself is a fungus that blocks the flow of sap, effectively and quickly killing the tree. There are treatments that can be applied, but it must be done before the infection is very extensive. If you tree has Dutch elm disease, and it is widespread throughout the tree, there is little that can be done to save the tree. The City’s concern is to protect other trees from infection by the beetles now living inside your tree. The process is called sanitation, removing infected trees before they have a chance to spread the infection.

The best thing to do is to get a positive confirmation of the infection by the disease, and the extent of the infection. Try working with the City Forester to get an interpretation of the diagnosis. If it is as bad as they indicate, you will probably lose the tree anyway.

You can find qualified arborists to help by going to American Society of Consulting Arborists

http://www.asca-consultants.org

or to the International Society of Arboricullture

http://www.isa-arbor.com

Check for arborists in your area.

Good luck. Please stop back and let us know how it all turns out.

--
Russ Carlson, RCA

Call a Mpls. number for Canopy Tree - Tom Dunlap.

Confirmation is important - the "field" evaluation of disease is made principally from a drive-by spotting looking at signs such as "limb flagging", or die-off and wilting in upper branch growth or single limbs. Isolation studies have to be performed to qualify the inspector's notes.

Not up to date with Mpls' ordinance structures, removal of characteristically infected "flags" has shown excellent recovery in significant larger live oaks in Texas - removal of entire tree is a blanket attempt to thwart disease expansion to unifected hosts - we're no longer recommending such drastic measures.

Find someone who will climb the tree and cut off an affected (e.g. dead) branch, 5 ft. inboard from the dead part, so that you have a live woody part that ends in dead leaves. Carefully scrape off the bark just below the place where dead turns to live. If you see brown stained wood under the bark, then you probably have DED (Dutch elm disease.) If no brown stain is present, maybe something else killed it. Regardless, if you cut 10 ft. back from all of these dead "flags", then you have done a nice eradicative pruning, and there should be no reason to cut it down. If you can't find someone to do that safely, then you are at the mercy of the city it sounds like. If you find someone to do it, let the city know there are no symptoms of DED so leave your tree alone. Good Luck.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE UPDATE - Thank you very much to you who replied. Sadly I was told today by two different arborists that my tree cannot be saved. There is staining at 10' from the ground on a 14" limb, and wilting on a 4" limb, so it is probably in the root system. Both arborists seemed genuinely pained to give me the news, and both had careers significant enough to convince me that it's hopeless.

Thanks again for you info and support.

-Lisa & Mickey

Lfox4551

Lisa and Mickey-
Sorry to hear it not good news. But at least it means that the city is on top of the issue of spreading Dutch elm disease, and is actively trying to keep it in check.

Now the next step- choosing a suitable replacement tree. Obviously it won’t match the size of the elm, but better to start now. I’m sure your dog will get used to the new one, too.

--
Russ Carlson, RCA