Plan B Forum

. . . or anywhere else for that matter.

Apparently the oak tree Macron and Trump planted at the WH last year has died.

It was harvested as a sapling from a WW1 site in France, shipped to WDC and then planted as a symbol of 100 years of US-French friendship. (I thought it went back further than that to Lafayette, but what do I know?) Anyway, Macron and Trump made a show of shoveling it in. (April 2018.)

Of course, like any agricultural product, it had to be quarantined - so a couple of days later it was dug up and taken to a quarantine facility with the presumption that it would be replanted later. But the tree has died in quarantine.

This does beg a few questions. The USDA quarantine rules are strict. (In my prior lifetime as an environmental scientist, I have often imported samples of soil for examination and have jumped through all the requisite hoops up to and including the eventual disposal of the material. One day when I’ve had a bit to drink I’ll tell you the story of getting 20 Coleman coolers full of explosive tainted soils onto an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to JFK and through customs in the US.) The regulations are good and protect the agricultural sector from invasive pests. I don’t know how you can plant a tree for a few days and then remove it to quarantine: by then many of the undesirable passengers will have moved into the soil. And I am certain that Macron and his civil servants who came up with the idea know the regulations well and would have checked with their US counterparts before going through with the plan - he didn’t show up at Dulles with it in his carry-ons.

Usually when something can be attributed to incompetence or skullduggery, I choose the former. With the cooling of the initial Trump/Macron bromance, I suspect that the urgency to get it back out of quarantine faded.

they probably planted it too deep.

that is usually the problem.

DON T mulch your trees and cover up the root flare!

they will rot and die.

it is better to have roots exposed than it is to bury the root flare.

just ask my dead peach trees......

Post by ex-khobar Andy » Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:05 am
. . . or anywhere else for that matter.
...

Usually when something can be attributed to incompetence or skullduggery, I choose the former. ...

I think there is a good solid thermodynamic argument to support that. Skullduggery involves a high degree of organisation and a significant input of energy as well while incompetence produces a higher degree of disorder and is energetically always downhill. I love science!


yrs,
rubato

It's not easy to kill an oak, no matter how old it is. This was probably caused by obstruction of the sun and now there is collusion to cover up the truth.

rubato wrote:

Post by ex-khobar Andy » Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:05 am
. . . or anywhere else for that matter.
...

Usually when something can be attributed to incompetence or skullduggery, I choose the former. ...

I think there is a good solid thermodynamic argument to support that. Skullduggery involves a high degree of organisation and a significant input of energy as well while incompetence produces a higher degree of disorder and is energetically always downhill. I love science!


yrs,
rubato

The Second Law of Thermodynamics rules!

everywhere and always

exactamundo


yrs,
rubato

entropy for all

"sudden oak death has been killing 100+ year old oak tress in california for >30 years. Trees get sick and die within 2 years, often.


yrs,
rubato

Here's one thing that is killing oak trees. Sudden Oak Death.

KDA reports infected rhododendrons sold at Kansas Walmarts, must be destroyed
BY KAYLIE MCLAUGHLIN kmclaughlin@wichitaeagle.com


JC RAULSTON ARBORETUM AT NC STATE UNIVERSITY
Some types of rhododendron plants sold at Walmart between April and June carry Sudden Oak Death disease. The state is asking people to destroy the plants to prevent spread of the disease.

If you’ve bought a rhododendron at a Kansas Walmart since April, you might need to destroy it.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture reported confirmed cases of an incurable plant disease targeting rhododendron genus plants that were sold at 60 Walmarts across Kansas and one Home Depot in Pittsburg, Kansas.

The plant disease, Sudden Oak Death, recently affected large plots of trees and other native plant species in northwestern states of the United States, but has also been identified in 10 mid-western states as well. For the first time, the disease is in Kansas.

The plants sold in Kansas with the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum originated from a nursery in Oklahoma called Park Hill Plants.

All rhododendron plants from this grower identified to be hosts or that could become hosts have been destroyed by the area retailers. Since there is no cure for the disease, the only way to stop it from spreading is to destroy the plants that are hosts.

According to the KDA, the following types of rhododendron purchased from those stores should be destroyed:

A Cat Cunningham Blush A Firestorm A Holden A Nova Zembla A Percy Wiseman A Roseum Elegans A Wojnars Purple

The above plants may not be the only plants affected. Red oak trees are susceptible. In addition, more than 100 species can be infected by Phytophthora ramorum.

The KDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture say that any gardening materials, including gardening shoes, that might have been in contact with infected plants must be sanitized.

The best ways to destroy the plants are to burn them or double-bag them in trash bags and throw them away. The root ball should also be disposed of.

Matthew McKernan, Kansas State University extension agent for Sedgwick County, said to be sure everything is removed from the host environment, he would recommend the double-bagging technique.

The trouble with burning, he said, is that some of the infected material could linger.

Heather Landsdowne, communications director of the KDA, said it is imperative the proper measures are taken because the disease can be spread through water runoff and surrounding soil. Once it’s been introduced, it lingers in residual plant tissues.

“That’s really why we released this information because we want people to destroy the plants that might be infected,” Landsdowne said.

McKernan said the wet weather isn’t necessarily to blame for the disease’s appearance in Kansas, but increased rainfall does create conditions more susceptible to water mold diseases, which is what Phytophthora ramorum is.

“Because we’ve had a significantly rainy spring, the conditions have been favorable for this disease if it were to be introduced,” McKernan said.

While the disease poses a threat to plants in Kansas, McKernan stressed that there is no risk to humans or animals.

Symptoms of the disease include, but are not limited to “foliar leaf spots, browning and wilting leaves, and brown to black discoloration on stems and/or trunks,” the KDA said.

Observed or “uncertain” symptoms should be reported to the local Kansas State University Research and Extension offices, McKernan said.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” McKernan said. “Pulling out a plant that might be infected is less costly in the long run than allowing that disease to establish.”


https://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/Wichita/