Chalara ?

[woodlander]

As requested I have been keeping an eye on Ash trees has anyone else noticed the number of Ash trees with all or partial leaf loss .Coming down the M56 yesterday they were very regular on both sides of the motorway and on the chester and wrexham bypass .
If this is Chalara it seems to be affecting older trees more than the younger ones contrary to what we have been told .I suppose it could be variation caused by the weather but many of my Ash trees have failed to leaf up at all be interested to hear if this is the case elswhere .

[oldclaypaws]

No its not chalara. Many of us have commented on ash leafing late this year
. Incidents of chalara are as yet only affecting a tiny portion of the trees

[greyman]

As OCP says, we have noticed how late most of the ash trees here in Sussex have been - a case in point is the very large tree in our neighbours garden that has only just leafed up - to the point where one section is still opening today. The other thing I noticed in our wood, this year, was that where as in previous years the ash have flowered as/before bud break I didn't notice any flowers visible at all. This might of course be due to very heavy crops of seed last year but I will be very interested to hear if anyone else noticed this in their areas of the U.K.

I have to be honest that unless it was rampant, I'm not sure I could I.D. chalara in most of my ash as they are all very 'toppy' and only the saplings would be evident.

[Whatisheatnow]

Ash is very late here in Ireland also. The young trees have luxuriant foliage but the older ones are very slow. There are some older ash trees with no foliage yet right beside those with good foliage. Can anyone explain this?

[oldclaypaws]

older ash trees with no foliage yet right beside those with good foliage

Snap. It seems trees with more light are very active, older slightly shaded ones are just starting to come out, that actually includes some of my shaded sweet chestnut where its below oak. Differing trees will respond to differing stimulii; some will be leafing earlier from the warmth/humidity, maybe older Ash waits for the winter groundwater to dry off a bit? Logically, if the ground is very soft and you come into full leaf, theres more chance of toppling over, so maybe something in the Ash roots senses its still very wet ground and is waiting for it to dry up a bit before it leafs? I'd guess the big old oaks have a far more extensive root system and are a bit more tolerant of wet ground.

All pure conjecture, I'm just guessing.

If or when Chalara does hit, it'll be the saplings and young trees that go first. I think I read older Ashes of 40+ tend to loose their outer twigs/branches, but regrow 'tufts' of new growth from the older wood, almost as if they've been pollarded. It takes several years for an old Ash to succombe, most seem to struggle on despite the disease.

[dredger99]

The ash is very late here in the N/East of Scotland also.