Shown here are several birch, apple, and pine trees that were treated last year with fire mimicry. Telling from the photos it appears that the birch trees have response moderately, and the apple trees have responded significantly! The pine trees have yet to show much response. This seems to be typical of pines, which can take several years before showing visible responses (see here and here).
This is exciting news! A coast live oak in Big Sur appears to have been cured of two stem canker infections (possibly Sudden Oak Death) using fire mimicry and surgical methods. Furthermore, no new infections have occurred on this tree. While I’ve reported on the progress of other coast live oaks that have received fire mimicry and surgery (see here, here, and here), this is the first oak that I feel confident has been cured of a stem canker infection!
There is also evidence at the same site that the deep cracks forming in other coast live oaks, cracks that allow infection by stem canker disease, are healing well. And, no new cracks are forming. Published studies have shown that “the presence of unweathered bark in bark furrows, (is) positively correlated with disease (Sudden Oak Death)”. Note in the photo below that the exposed unweathered bark is healing.
I recently inspected several cork oak, coast live oak, mayten, bay laurel, and cedar trees that I treated with fire mimicry methods in February of this year. The positive responses of these trees to the treatments after just six months are pleasantly surprising. The photos below tell the happy story . . .
Sudden Oak Life 
Recent Comments