Oaks and madrones in Felton, CA thriving after mimicry treatments

Coast live oak with roots compromised by adjacent construction still faring well

In November 2020 I began fire mimicry treatments on several coast live oaks and Pacific madrones in Felton, CA. Last year, when I checked on these trees, they were already showing a nice improvement (see here). Now after two years nearly all of the trees are showing noticeable positive responses to the treatments, even at the height of drought conditions. Several of the oaks have undergone major stem canker surgeries, but still seem to be on the mend. Hope you enjoy these results as much as these trees.

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Big Sur oaks on the mend …

In October of 2020 I began fire mimicry treatments on 4 coast live oaks and one black oak here in Big Sur. The above oak also received a major stem canker surgery. Yesterday I checked on the progress of the oaks at the two year mark, nearly to the minute. I’ll never tire of seeing trees get healthier!

Before-and-after photos of ladder fuel management in oak forests

The photos here show several stands of old-growth coast live oaks in Carmel Valley, CA that were cleared, thinned, and pruned in order to reduce the ladder fuels and prepare these sites for future prescribed burns. Time-lapse videos of these and other nearby sites are presented in several recent posts.

Palo Alto oaks, pines, and redwoods thriving after fire mimicry

Yesterday I checked on several coast live oaks, ponderosa pines, a coast redwood, and a southern magnolia in Palo Alto, CA that I’ve treated with fire mimicry in recent years. The work began at one site about 14 years ago and at the other site 6 years ago. The photos at the 14-year site were taken at different seasons (winter vs. summer), so they are not an optimal comparison. Also, there was considerable construction around the trees and some limb removal since the original photos were taken. Still, it appears that these trees are thriving after fire mimicry treatments. Enjoy!

Two years of fire mimicry on coast live oaks in Salinas, CA

Today I inspected a grove of coast live oaks that have received fire mimicry treatments for the past two years. The results generally show improvement in canopy density and lushness, with the exception of one oak (photo below) that made a remarkable recovery last year, but ended up succumbing this year to stress and disease. Note the last photo set of this post showing the canopy of a nearby untreated oak for comparison.

Ancestor oaks show modest improvement after 2 years of fire mimicry protocol

For the past two years I have been applying fire mimicry treatments to a grove of Ancestor oaks, ancient (300+ yr old) trees that have been pollarded and otherwise tended in the past by the Ohlone People for acorn production and other uses. Today, I inspected these oaks and see that most have made a modest, but noticeable improvement in canopy density, despite the current drought conditions. Please note the final photo set, which shows a neighboring oak that was not treated.

Happy Earth Day 2022 from Big Sur, CA

Long-term response to fire mimicry of cedar trees in Los Altos, CA

Eleven years ago I began fire mimicry treatments on two Lebanese cedar trees in Los Altos, CA. At the time the owner had been advised by a local arborist that the cedar tree shown in the above photo was diseased and should be removed. Fortunately the owner resisted cutting down the tree and contacted me. I proposed treating this cedar (above) and another nearby cedar (below) with fire mimicry. At the time I had mainly been treating oaks and did not know if the cedars would respond in the same way. I’m happy to say that, after 11 years, the cedars are thriving!

Five years of surgical wound recovery in a coast live oak

As I’ve shown in several recent posts (here and here), results are starting to accumulate regarding the efficacy of surgeries to remove stem canker infections (including Sudden Oak Death disease) in oaks. Five years ago I performed fire mimicry treatments and a stem canker surgery on a coast live oak in Los Altos, CA. I have returned every year since to track the progress of the wound recovery, and whether any infection remained. The set of photos presented here indicate that after only 5 years the surgical wound has healed closed with no sign of further infection. I’m calling this one a win!

Fire mimicry treatment and surgery on a coast live oak in Kentfield, CA

In 2018 I began fire mimicry treatments on a grove of coast live oaks in Kentfield, CA. One of the oaks started showing signs of a stem canker infection (probably Sudden Oak Death disease) in 2019. So I performed a surgical procedure to remove the canker, and have continued to treat this oak with compost tea, mineral-rich soil fertilizers, and limewash. Here are photos of the surgery and recovery of the wound and canopy. Be sure to look at the last picture of this series …