Save the Pear Tree!

In my garden there's a mature Pear tree roughly 80 years old that is having all life throttled out of it by rampant Ivy. It's clealry on it's last legs and during the heavy snowfall a few months ago large portions of it snapped off.

Two questions. Is there anything to be done to save it? Obviously cut back the Ivy at the base but then I worry about it's structural soundness with the Ivy controlled. It hasn't had any new growth for years so existing branches are algae covered, gnarled and very delicate.

I took two cuttings yesterday which I stood in water and then put some rooting hormone on into compost - and now they're looking a bit sickly as well. Any advice would begratefully recieved!

Below are pics of the cuttings (with a few Aubrieta that are doing fine) and the actual tree itself. Not the greatest picture but the light green leaves are the trees leaves, everything else is Ivy.

 

Generally speaking you cant take cutings from trees the only way would be to graft a piece of the tree onto a rootstock

 

Hi Archdoodler,


80 yrs is a long lifespan for a pear tree. The ivy ( and this is contentious because there are differing opinions but in mine.............) is not killing your tree. It is dying because it has reached the end of it's lifespan.


Now you have cut the ivy back and good feed might help it to a few more years-I do know of an apple tree near me that is over 100 yrs old and still going strong-it gets fed.

There is a tree surgeon member on here, I'm sure he'll be along shortly.

 

Tree Surfer is the main man for this Arch'..:gnthb:

 

Haven't touched the Ivy yet - there's a junk heap at the bottom of it that we're removing within the next few weeks. However the trunks of the Ivy are like huge Anacondas!

Had no idea about grafting but that's under the normal circumstances where the branches are supple and 'bendy'? Problem being that most of the live bits of the tree are about 15ft up and the branches are really fragile and snap really easily. Though I did notice one half of the tree is alot more alive than the other.

I'll save this tree no matter what!!

 

Hi Archdoodler

Firstly I commend your attitude to saving this tree, but you have to understand that if it is at the end of it's days then there's a good chance that no matter what you do it will eventually go. But you needn't lose it completely as there are alternatives to removal.

Anyway, let's talk about your tree's ivy infestation. The picture you provided isn't exactly clear about what's what but I expect your tree is heavily infested. Removing the ivy at the base of the tree is normally a good place to start when dealing with ivy, but in this case it will not be enough - it will take about two years or so for the ivy to die back. Thick ivy blocks light reaching new buds and leaves, so reducing the tree's ability to photosynthesize. Secondly, ivy absorbs water and nutrients from the rhizosphere (the area underground surrounding the roots) thus depriving the tree. As you also mentioned it adds weight to limbs and can cause them to break, so leaving open wounds for harmful pathogens to enter. Ivy also houses said biotic pathogens.

Without seeing the tree I can only think that your tree is suffering from all of the above. I'd also say that you'd really need to remove the ivy from the entire crown of the tree as well as severing it at the base. I think you'll find that once the ivy's removed you will get a clearer overview of the tree's health, including any physical structural damage such as stress fractures, decay pockets and other hazards.

My recommendation would be to get an arborist in and see what they say. If the tree is beyond saving then there are a number of options available, including leaving a standing stem (if safe to do so) for wildlife, because even with all it's evils, ivy can provide an important habitat with a great micro-ecosystem.

Hope this helps. If you need any more info then let me know.

Cheers,
Matthew

 

I'm not sure that's true.

Willow is best propagated from cuttings, in fact in nature that's its best means of propagation. I've grown Hawthorn from a cutting, I just pushed a twig into some soil and it grew. I watched a program on the garden channel about some trees in London that were passed it, and the folks on there collected loads of cuttings to get new trees of the same species to replace the old ones as they died.

 

Cheers Treesurfer, I'll try and get some better pics up within the next day but I'm glad the death knell isn't ringing just yet for the old thing.

Clueless - cuttings I've taken just haven't worked, outlook doesn't look too good - I found what green growth I could,(involving an eight rung step ladder and a garden rake!) and dipped it in rooting hormone, it just hasn't taken. Which is a pain considering the circus act I had to do to get the cutting!

 

Another pic, shows the area just above the crown and how bad it is. Ivy branches seem to be thicker further up the tree.