Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Knopper galls are my favourites with a robin's pincushion a (very) close second.
The Sycamore, the Real Thug of the Tree World
- Thread starter Shango12
- Start date
Another tree-based thread:
The Sycamore the real pest of the tree World
The tree that blights our gardens, our urban green areas, railway verges, derelict spots and rural areas, The only tree that should be classified as a pest! “Leaves on the line”?, inevitable they will be sycamore leaves, great big flat leaves that all drop at once, (get rid of the sycamores - get rid of "leaves on the Line") beloved by aphids, as any who parked a car under one would know, even the wood is useless for most carpentry splintering when drilled.
It's an ugly tree that spreads/infests/infects into any open space, yes i admit it, I hate sycomores, it should have the villain-tree mantle that the Leylandii has and is the only tree that should be classified as a pest!!!!.
RING-BARK YOUR SYCAMORES!!!!
i used to think this but no do not .. sycamore yes supports few specific insects but does support an enormous amount through the very large amount sugar it produces .. hence all the aphids which are very important for many birds
also sycamore while invasive of no mans land it does not form woods in this country .. it sucumbs to sooty tar disease .. so really is little threat to native woodland
the wood is also great for carving - spoons were always syvamore and makes a very good fast growing fuel
and large sycamores are as beutiful as the best london planes
if you dislike it so much, get a sheep! sycamores are the beauties of the dales but are kept from spreading by sheep
I agree with most of this, apart from the bit about sycamore being a threat to native woodlands. The relatively dense shade sycamore casts, its rapid spread by seed and rapid growth help it out-compete other species' natural regeneration in existing native woodlands. Speaking from experience here, I spent a few years trying to eradicate it from a SSSI secondary ASNW, with the full blessing of English Nature (as it was then). Frill girdling and Amcide did the job pretty well, but it took quite some time, and even then the seed bank in the soil kept throwing up new saplings every year.
I've come across quite a few that have died from sooty bark, but these were in a minority compared to the ones that didn't. The disease is endophytic, i.e., once infection is established it can be in the tree for a few years before symptoms show, usually as a result of the cumulative effect of various other stress factors - had a to deal with a few that succumbed after a series of hot dry summers, but these were all open grown in grassed areas. The ones in the woodland seemed to carry on quite happily (assuming they had the disease), I'm guessing because the tree cover in the woodland reduced evaporation.
i know what you are saying .. but i spent many years trying to eradicate sycamores in a particular wood and as you say if you try to get rid of them it is a nightmare .. i returned there about 10 years later and noticed they were all gone .. victim of sooty bark .. and as i say i have never seen a mature woodland where they have taken over OR have become a mature woood themselves .. ironically it is the grey squirrels who spread the fungus ...
i think the link with drought is important so what you note re evaporation may be relevent .. this woood is in london and i suspect gets very dry though it has a underground river
p.s. the bastards have banned amcide! the one herbicide that breaks down properly .. i suspect monsanto giving bungs all round so all there is left is roundup!
Cid
Proper break this time
Quarter-sawn sycamore is a lovely wood for cabinetry. Methinks the OP is an embittered commuter.
Yep, very crisp looking timber, often has some nice figuring too... Selling for something like £30 for a cubic foot at the moment. Box I made last year, the dry lining is sycamore (dark stuff on the back panel is spalting). Colours don't come across that well in that image, shellac has made it slightly yellow but if you just wax it or use a very pale shellac it will stay pretty white.
e2a: Top is burr oak, carcass cherry, base cedar of Lebanon, handle macassar ebony, linings sycamore.
p.s. the bastards have banned amcide! the one herbicide that breaks down properly .. i suspect monsanto giving bungs all round so all there is left is roundup!
It's not been banned as such, just withdrawn because no manufacturer submitted a full dossier of data for the EC review. Often happens with products with a limited market, the cost of providing the data is greater than the potential income.
http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/garden.asp?id=1997
The point about sycamore and carpentry is that the wood can only be used for small things like wooden spoons, the heads of violins things like that, it truely can only used for small objects.
The other thing about sycamores is, as i remember from my park-tending days, once established, as other posters have pointed out it so bloody hard to get rid of!!!!!
The other thing about sycamores is, as i remember from my park-tending days, once established, as other posters have pointed out it so bloody hard to get rid of!!!!!
what no conspiracy??
ok fair play not banned but withdrawn .. but sure a limited market but no arb outfit was without some surely? i can't help thinking it is a loss and monsantos gainThe reason I put this in the politics section was because hating sycamores and wanting to wake people up and hate them as well and wanting them all cut down was a political aspiration, I think, it wasn't a gardening-tip or seeking advice, so that's why I put into the politics section.
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
They are a huge problem in my garden. Those little shoots are everywhere, in every paving crack, in the guttering on my shed, all over the lawn.
I spend ages pulling them all up, I think i've got most of them but there always seems to be another sprouting.
Cunts.
I spend ages pulling them all up, I think i've got most of them but there always seems to be another sprouting.
Cunts.
Now is the perfect time to start ring-barking your Sycamores!! just make a line with a knife all the way around the trunk, do it again 6-8 inches down or up the bark and peel off the bark in between the sectioned part! Easy.
nope not that easy! you need to cut a bit into the 'wood' as simply taking off the bark leaves the trees 'pipes' intact. Think of cork bark being peeled off at cork oak tree. To be technical
D), xylem which transports water / nutrients etc 'up' the tree and the phloem which tranports sugars etc 'down' and the cambium that make them are inside the bark. Best way is to get a billhook / axe and chop out an inch all the way around .. be aware at some point in the future they will fall over!! as i said just get a some sheep! www.treeboss.net/images/bark_cross_section.jpg
www.geo.arizona.edu/.../geos581/tilawood.gif
has been a mad year for them .. think climate change favours them .. they're said to be swiss!! but c**ts seems a bit hard on one or the other!
nope not that easy! you need to cut a bit into the 'wood' as simply taking off the bark leaves the trees 'pipes' intact. Think of cork bark being peeled off at cork oak tree. To be technical
www.treeboss.net/images/bark_cross_section.jpg
www.geo.arizona.edu/.../geos581/tilawood.gif
To be honest, Durruti02, i,v had quite a good success with just stripping the bark and underneath layer that usually comes off with it. They take about 2 years to completely die, then you can cut them down without fear of them growing back.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
can you get any juice out of a sycamore ?
fair play .. just that you so keen on wiping them out i wouldn't want any to come back!
p.s. why do you not just treat them as a coppice plant? the wood is good for lots and they grow fast!!
ill-informed
passive aggressive master
if you cut them down in the growing season its amazing how much sugary sap is produced.
when i've looked for insects i've found sycamores are a great source, a single leaf might have a dozen different species. And once i came across a bright pink caterpiller.
In native woodlands though they do need controlling as they take over a bit.
editor
hiraethified
Nice to see that this thread features heavily in a document on a document on the Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council's website.
farmerbarleymow
I'm Petee's spirit animal
I loved sycamore seeds when I was a kid. Who doesn't like a tree that produces helicopters?
bcuster
Well-Known Member
Boy, 16, arrested after felling of famous Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian’s Wall
Police in north of England say teenager arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage
moochedit
Why isn't the christmas forum open yet?
Thread already about this.Boy, 16, arrested after felling of famous Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian’s Wall
Police in north of England say teenager arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damageamp.theguardian.com
Robin Hood's tree now a stump (iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall)
Some time overnight 27 to 28th September some {blankedy blank *******king} person felled the Sycamore at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall. Absolutely gutted at the deliberate vandalism. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-66947040 Northumberland National Park and the police are...
www.urban75.net
bcuster
Well-Known Member
I looked and couldn't find it. Sorry; it's a terrible tragedyThread already about this.
Robin Hood's tree now a stump (iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall)
Some time overnight 27 to 28th September some {blankedy blank *******king} person felled the Sycamore at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall. Absolutely gutted at the deliberate vandalism. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-66947040 Northumberland National Park and the police are...
tim
EXPLODED TIM! (Help me!!!)
This thread would suggest otherwise.
Shippou-Sensei
4:1:2.5
You can smell the green ink coming from that letter.
