It never rains but it pours!

I am really upset as have just discovered one of my most favourite things in my garden is going to die. This on top of issues with my vegetables being affected by contaminated manure. The vegetables pale into insignificance compared to my beautiful Cedar Atlantica Glauca which I have discovered has contracted Sirococcus Tsugae, some sort of fungus thought to have been brought in from America. God what with Dutch Elm , Ash dieback ( yes I have a couple of trees affected) and now this we seemed destined to lose so many tree in the UK. Mind you it is not just the UK, I saw Ash dieback devastation in both Poland and Germany a few years back.
My Cedar is about 70 years old with a diameter of over 120 cms. She was absolutely beautiful until she lost about 8 foot of her top in terrible gales in 2022. I, at huge expense got an arborist to come and neaten the top of the tree and prune back any branches that looked as though they might break from their weight.
I wonder if the wounds enabled to Fungus to take hold?
I have informed Tree Alert but from what I have discovered about the fungus it is fatal. You will see from the photos she is huge. The mess of the falling needles will be enormous and then I have the “ joy” of having the tree felled. I do use wood burning stoves but lost a massive Beech in the same gale and lost a huge Silver Birch in a gale last year so up to my eyeballs in wood.
I would love if someone could inform me my tree might recover but not read anything positive yet. My Cedar is the only tree of its type that I have seen for miles around and I live surrounded by farmland, how on earth did my tree contract this fatal disease I ask?
This is what she used to look like! Other photos are of the Beech and Silver Birch just to show I do not exaggerate!

 

I’m so sorry … what a beautiful tree that is. My late parents had a similar’Aurea’ in their last garden … they loved it.

Too late now but could it possibly have been infected by contaminated tools? Something for other folk to be aware of in the future.

 

My neighbour’s tree, same as yours, same age, got the same thing here in Derbyshire about ten years ago. Neighbour wasn’t a gardener at all. Never did a thing, never “got a man in”. Somehow the tree caught it. Neighbour not interested, just “it is what it is” attitude. I contacted various authorities with photos and somehow or other the tree was removed without the owner doing anything.

 

Disappointing is a under statement it is possible it got it after pruning but you'll nver really know . I'd just enjoy the tree while it last which may be many years, unless you are advise by woodland trust / others to remove it .

 

That's a shame I hate to see big trees die.
Although its big its young and should of had a couple of hundred years may be to live.

 

Sad....

 

Such a shame and such a beautiful tree.

I also love beech trees and we have some magnificent ones in our local area but there are so many that have succumbed recently with none, seemingly popping up, to replace them.

 

I actually cried when I saw the old girl had fallen over, silly I know but these old trees are irreplaceable. Perhaps not quite so silly as I was pleasantly surprised at the outcry when the sycamore was felled for no good reason at Hadrian’s Wall.
My old Beech was aged by an arborist friend of mine at about 250 years old. It was the 2nd biggest Beech I have personally seen. It had a circumference of 17 ft and people who came to move the huge limbs reckoned it weight in the region of 8 tonnes!
I am lucky and still have thankfully, some mature trees and have glorious Copper Beech which are quite substantial(see below)but miss my big Beech. As you say there would not appear huge numbers of trees being planted to replace those lost other than the ghastly Sitca Spruce! I have some of these hellish things too and could not care less if they fell down but oh no it has to be the ones I treasure.