Helping out Ash Tree

I would not take out the maple. If you have not been invaded by the emerald ash borer yet it is just a matter of time. This bug has devastated the ash trees in every area it has hit. This bug is now just attacking my area. Two years ago they were saying it was coming and I thought that it wouldn't hit us, but I was wrong. They say that every ash tree will eventually be gone. This bug only lives off of ash trees and has no known enemy. Hold on to that maple so you will have a tree there when the ash is killed.

I agree with the above statement.

Is the Ash the little baby tree to the right and the maple the bigger tree to the left?
I have Ash that are just starting to establish here. Oddly a hundred years ago there probably wernt any. But they take about 30 years before they start seed production and now the trees that are producing seeds are going to town.
Like my Norway maples, I have baby Ash trees everywhere. They will be devastated before they reach full size.
I say let both trees stay.

I have to agree... I'm in a place were there are no ash trees left alive... there is a TON of good, standing dead ash for firewood, but not a living one to be seen. I wouldn't even THINK about taking out another tree to give an ash room to grow because that ash will be dead by the end of the decade and you won't have any tree in that spot.

All excellent comments.

Thousands of ash trees are dead in my area in a matter of three years.

Sad.....

I believe you can save an Ash from the Ash Borer by spraying or treating in some way. if this is a shade tree that is important to you, consider trying to save it from the borer. I don't know the cost. If not, I agree with others - the Ash is a goner and I wouldn't thin the other trees to help an Ash that will die soon anyway.

Wood Duck said:

I believe you can save an Ash from the Ash Borer by spraying or treating in some way. if this is a shade tree that is important to you, consider trying to save it from the borer. I don't know the cost. If not, I agree with others - the Ash is a goner and I wouldn't thin the other trees to help an Ash that will die soon anyway.

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You can treat, it costs about $70-150 per year if you do it yourself (thats the cost of the chemicals) or $300-1500 if you pay a company to treat it (yes some places are/were gouging customers on this service because they know the customer is between a rock and a hard place)

There are several different "theories" on treatment of critical ash trees. Some say that you will have to treat forever. Others say that you should only have to treat until the pest moves through the area and burns itself out. It only likes ash trees, once the non-treated ash trees have been decimated there shouldn't be anymore borers left to harm your untreated trees. Is it worth the risk to stop treating though?

mass_burner said:

Wow, Rochester is pretty far east, I thought the beetle was a Midwest thing. I'm bummed now, the tree must be pretty old, the stump must be about 6' wide.

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The borer is a "midwest thing" because it is foreign to North America. It was first discovered in the Detroit, MI area in 2002; it likely caught a ride across the big pond in a shipment of automotive parts from Asia (considering the area it was first discovered) and it has been spreading quite rapidly ever since. If it wasn't for humans it's spread would be much slower because it doesn't travel far as an adult. But humans transport firewood, and it's spread it pretty predictable because of that. Out ahead of the "mass infestation" zones small "hot-spots" pop up... where do those hot-spots appear? None other than camp-grounds... humans spreading the infestation of a pest that has no known enemy to otherwise clean areas... The fact of the matter is that it WILL spread to every single area that ash trees are known to exist and it will wipe them off the map. The borer is very prolific and as all the states in the midwest have now figured out, any attempt to prevent it's spread is futile. Enacting laws to prevent moving firewood didn't stop it in Indiana, idiots still moved firewood from infested areas to clean areas and spread the infestation.

Anyways, with Detroit as the epicenter it started as a "midwest thing" but it will certainly be a "north america thing" soon.

This is a "EAB Risk Map", MA is all Moderate-High or High risk for EAB infestation


This is an EAB infestation map. The gray areas are areas of heavy infestation (the trees are already dead or dying). The red indicates the leading edge of the infestation, and everything else is what is about to be infested... Edit: I just noticed this map is out of date: it's from 2011. The infestation is certainly spread out further. As a matter of fact, the area I'm cutting dead standing ash trees is within 40 miles of the edge of the infestation zone shown and the trees I'm cutting have been dead 2-4 years.

I agree with all the above, and will point out that we have confirmed EAB infestations in Berkshire, Essex and Suffolk Counties in Mass.

Second, I have to say that I am astounded that an ash would grow so well and have such longevity in SE Mass. They are really sensitive to having adequate soil moisture and nutrient levels, so I guess it must have found a happy place on your property. Enjoy it while you have it, but plan for the inevitable .

mass_burner said:

What is its predator in Asia, let's get the bugger in here. What could possibly go wrong?

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No way. If you don't understand a predator completely you don't want to find out its down side by introducing it. Do you remember when lady bird beetles were benign things you played with as a kid? Don't try that with the Japanese version we have all seen in the last few years.

I knew Ash trees where in trouble, but I didn't realize it was that bad. Sounds like the Ash will go the way of the Chestnut. Maybe, because it is a bug and not a disease, they will make a comeback at some point. Will never see Chestnut again.

You should start treatment of the ash this year if you want to save it. You want the systemic in the tree before it reaches the point where you see damage. It takes one to 3 yrs to kill an ash tree but there have been reports of them dying in a few months. In Ont., the systemic can only be sold and applied by a licensed person, which makes it very expensive to treat an ash tree. I'll probably lose 25 or more starting this year. The damage is getting to the point that the trees will no longer survive.

Longstreet said:

I knew Ash trees where in trouble, but I didn't realize it was that bad. Sounds like the Ash will go the way of the Chestnut. Maybe, because it is a bug and not a disease, they will make a comeback at some point. Will never see Chestnut again.

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There are "survivor" chestnuts still out there. They have/had a genetic anomaly that gave them resistance to the disease. Its simply a matter of time/luck if the survivors are close enough to breed (do chestnuts need a mating tree?) and start to spread again. That process will take HUNDREDS of years, but it will happen. I believe the same will happen for ash trees as well. Nature has a remarkable way of taking care of itself; it springs back from these types of problems remarkably well... it's just sometimes very slow in our eyes.

Oldman47 said:

No way. If you don't understand a predator completely you don't want to find out its down side by introducing it. Do you remember when lady bird beetles were benign things you played with as a kid? Don't try that with the Japanese version we have all seen in the last few years.

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They have already released a non stinging wasp that is it's predator. They're expensive at 4 bucks a piece but are starting to reproduce in some areas where they have been release. I'm sure the bad outweighs the good.

A lot of research still being done, making hybrids between our ash trees and the Chinese trees,(their ash trees are much more tolerant). They're researching "survivor" ash trees from areas that have been destroyed. Research has also showed that bitter cold winters slow them down so places like MN or WI may see some slow down on colder winter years.

Long term our up and coming trees may become more tolerant, don't think I'll see that in my lifetime though.

mass_burner said:

Wow, Rochester is pretty far east, I thought the beetle was a Midwest thing. I'm bummed now, the tree must be pretty old, the stump must be about 6' wide.

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A tree that big may be expensive to treat, the big ones also seem to go fast. Treating a tree or two is doable but when it comes to wood lots very few(none) will survive. At least it makes great firewood, we have very few left in my part of Michigan standing dead or living.

I have 90% Ash trees in my yard. I looked into treating my big trees and they want $250 a tree and you have to do it indefinitely every year. I am starting to plant new trees and will take down the ashes as they die. It will be interesting to see if any of them can fight off the infestation. My landscape is going to look completely different in the next 10 years.

I've heard that on average 1 in 9 ash trees is naturally resistant to the EAB. We're taking down ashes all around here, too BUT please be sure they're actually sick and stressed by the EAB. There's nothing worse than removing the resistant trees from the gene pool. Dad's woods has dying ash throughout, with the exception of a few that look healthier than ever. As the susceptible die out by EAB, the "survivors" will re-colonize the holes in the woods.