What does it mean if the top of a yellow cedar tree goes brown? Is it safe for Ivy to completely encircle the trunk of a large douglas fir? all the way to the top? Should the ivy be removed, and how? The ivy has stems about 6" thick. There is a white liquid dripping down the tree. Are the trees dying, and are they a threat to fall on the house? How often do arbutus shed their leaves?
What kind of cedar are we talking about? - A small globe variety (Thuja occidentalis 'Little Giant') - A mature 35' Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) Epiphytes are plants that characteristically grow up and into the canopy of their hosts. Typically, such plants, which would include some ivy's, do not cause death, but you should look for extreme girdling, which is causing severe constriction of the main leader/trunk or any lateral limbs/branches. If so, you may want to question the value of this particular tree! 6 inch diameter ivy will definitely be placing a large amount of stress on your Douglas, but you will have to take into account the time and money it will take to remove the problem...............that is depending on the size and maturity of this tree. In addition, always keep climber/worker safety in mind. Is removing the pathogen worth risking someone's life! The white liquid could either be host specific to the Douglas Fir or the ivy or an unobserved fungal body. Most-likely, you are noticing typical sap flow that has leaked out of the bark and gravity has graciously brought its presence to your attention. Arbutus.................Arbutus menziesii (Pacific Madrone) is an evergreen tree. Leaves are persistent until the new leaves are fully grown, 2 to 5 inches long. The mature leaves are then shed in the summer of the SECOND YEAR, turning red before dehiscing. T. Shane Freeman
Yellow cedar - Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (link to Virginia Tech Dendrology Department). I usually assume browning of the crown in a conifer means that the tree is on its way out, but I could be wrong - it's not my area of expertise.
In severe cases of Hedera 'infestation, the mass of ivy leaves causes the tree to have greenery only at the tips. I understand that eventually the tree may die if left encumbered with the ivy, but if it is not too bad, you can remove it and hope that the tree will eventually fill in. I had a couple of trees de-ivied (also with trunks of ivy 15 cm in diameter) and they have recovered quite well. If you don't want to go to the expense of having someone remove all the ivy, take a saw and cut a 30 cm. section out of all of the ivy trunks, and then put up with a season of dead ivy leaves raining down, followed by continued vigilance that it doesn't start to creep back up. After the first mess, there isn't much visual problem as the ivy trunks are close to the tree, but it can take a long time for it to die after you have cut it.
