Is my tree slowly dieing?

[AlenG]

Hello everyone,

I am worried an old tree in my backyard may be dieing.

I recently cut off a large branch which had nothing but dead leaves on it and what looks like a fungus growing on the main branch. I’m worried this had spread to the rest of the tree.

I have taken some images, if anyone can help identify what is wrong and if there is anything at all I can do.

 

[Marck]

Hello, and welcome to the Forums.

Even though that one branch died, it doesn't necessarily follow that the rest of the tree will soon succumb. Also it is an open question whether a pathogenic fungus caused the branch to die, or as the branch declined, a saprophytic fungus began to consume the dead and dying tissue. It would be good to show more pics of the whole tree and the state of its living branches.

 

[AlenG]

Thanks Marck, here are a few more images

 

[Neno Baylov]

Не бързайте да отрежете дървото. Вижте тази стара круша.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=6042309989144568&id=100000968801568

 

[Marck]

Thanks Marck, here are a few more images

Yes, I think your tree looks healthy. I can't say for certain from photographs, but I have no reason to think your tree is ill or in decline.

 

[Mike Allen]

Sadly YES. Your tree is rotting away. Looking at the base of the tree. The rot has eaten away more than half the diameter of the trunk. Take some cuttings (arial cuttings or grafts) If possible, provide some kind of support to the trunk. The tree could last a few more years yet, but there is not much more than a small portion of bark supporting it.

 

[Marck]

I am considering the tree pictured, as a single multi-trunked tree, which looks mostly healthy. None of the photos clearly show the base of this tree.

If we consider only the trunk that has had a branch removed, I do not think the white fungus on the bark suggests imminent demise. Also, I would describe the living wood on that trunk as being supported by more than "a small portion of bark".
However I am not claiming to know what may happen to that trunk X number of years from now. Nor do I know the value of X.

 

[Neno Baylov]

(PDF) Polypores, Agrobacterium and ivy damage on Hungarian ancient trees

PDF | Ancient trees are important habitats, confer vital ecological roles and function as cultural legacies. Old trees with large girth are keystone... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Sadly YES. Your tree is rotting away. Looking at the base of the tree. The rot has eaten away more than half the diameter of the trunk. Take some cuttings (arial cuttings or grafts) If possible, provide some kind of support to the trunk. The tree could last a few more years yet, but there is not much more than a small portion of bark supporting it.

Mike, I think you are looking at the photo from Neno Baylov of a different tree in a Hungarian garden, a little miracle as they say (Love Google translate). I have to agree with Marck, the tree in the OP looks healthy. The white bits on the cut off log do not look like a fungus attacking the tree to me, but a lichen. These are a combination of a fungus and a bacteria which grow in close association and are self supporting, simply using the tree as a platform to lift itself above the ground and will do no more harm than a bird using it to perch.

Lichens are interesting things, many grow on stone, some very slowly, and can be used to date old stone constructions like Stonehenge.

 

[Mike Allen]

Ooops!

 

[cpp gardener]

I would remove the trunk that has been cut at the base and let the other part take over.