Ugly Trees Picture Thread

This is what happens when you sell up and move on. Brown Turkey Fig planted 30 years ago and neglected by the 3 subsequent home owners. Still producing ( for the birds! ).

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After finishing breakfast with friends I stepped outside of the restaurant and observed this butchery:

I don’t know what precipitated that one Bradford pear being topped so low when compared to the others, but it is pretty ugly. In fact, the longer I look the worse the situation appears.

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Those look like Ash trees. May have been hit by EAB? Unfortunately I also see a lot of that where I love.

While we do have a few ash and elm trees in this part of Georgia, those were definitely a row of Bradford pear trees.

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I see, the bark looks so similar to Ash.

Likely the easiest way to tell in these pictures is to zoom in on the trunk of the nearest tree, at about waist high, on the side from which the picture was taken. There you will see the telltale sign of a Bradford that split. On the far side, just to the left of the trunk there is another area that was cut. Based on the image from Google StreetView there was a section that broke off of that point quite some time ago.

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In street view the leaves are certainly Bradford. I suppose size is also a good indicator. Most Ash are larger than Bradford trees, and tend to have higher crotches.

This is a pic of a very old plum tree from my families old farmstead that we’ve had for 60 years. The tree was likely planted circa 1920 which was when the property was originally settled. The tree was very old when we bought the property 60 years ago. My best guess is that it is a Pershore plum, (very large yellow oblong Euro plum).

The tree is mostly hollow now, and the woodpeckers have taken a liking to it recently, so I’m sure it doesn’t have much longer. I grafted a couple of cuttings from it onto root suckers I’d harvested, so I’m hoping I can perpetuate this variety before it finally succomes to old age.

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I am sorry @tbg9b, but this thread is supposed to be about ugly trees, and that beautiful, well-aged plum tree doesn’t qualify. :slight_smile: Do you have a picture of something else that isn’t so picturesque that you could add?

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That is one cool looking tree though.

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“Beauty” is in the eye of the beholder. The reverse is true too.

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that’s a beautiful tree

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I am in full agreement, @resonanteye .

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Well thanks for the complements about the old plum tree, but I would never have consided the gnarly old girl good looking. She’s had a 4x4 pole supporting her for close to the last 50 years to keep her from toppling over. If you look closely at the base of the tree you might notice that I’m trying to harvest some root suckers from her before she ceases to be. Considering she’s at least 80 - 100 years old, does this make it likely that this tree is a natural seedling on its own roots?

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@tbg9b, it would be my expectation that your plum tree was grown entirely from seed, not grafted. I suspect that @clarkinks and some of our other venerable members who have much more experience than I do could offer up their conclusions.

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@Audi_o_phile @tbg9b

I’m not familiar with that particular plum. Many trees in my family are propagated from seed or root sucker. Not all people used rootstocks over 100 years ago. Still have several old suckering trees around myself which i always feel are worth their weight in gold like that beautiful old plum of @tbg9b. Maybe @scottfsmith or @fruitnut may know the variety better than me. We could guess it might be Severn Cross, Coe’s Golden Drop, Pershore, or other yellow egg plum. I’m not sure how to tell the difference. It is a wonderful story about your families old farmstead thank you for sharing it.

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I hope your wife doesn’t read this thread :sweat_smile:

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This is what Curly Leaf Plum Aphids can do to a tree,like this Flavor Grenade Pluot.They are relentless,even after multiple sprays.

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Sorry to see that. I think I’m getting hit with them too (or some type of green aphids) on the plum (and plum interspecific) growing tips. Also hit roses hard too. I blasted them all with Safer insectcidal soap.

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That looks artistic.

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