| We moved into our first home six months ago, and inherited some beautiful flowers,shrubs and trees, including a lovely pink dogwood in our backyard. This spring it flowered gorgeous pink flowers,then turned over to all green foliage with no problems. It is approxiamately 18-20 feet high,however we are unsure of the age-- the house itself is 45 yrs old. The only thing we have found unusual about the tree,is it's trunk. It appears to be "hollow" from about soil level to 1 1/2 feet up.It has multiple trunks, so to speak,not just one big thick one as most other trees...it sort of spreads out from the earth in 3 or 4 different directions,and if you look directly down the center of it all,it is "hollowed" out for a short way up,and then closes up. It has not worsened or changed in any way since the very first time we saw the tree before purchasing the house,so we are reluctant to think it is an animal or disease,but we are novices and unsure.As I mentioned before,it did bloom beautifully and turned over with healthy green foliage,with no signs of "intruders". Our concern is to handle this correctly if there is anything at all to be done..we've grown extremely fond of the dogwood,and want it around for a long time to come. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time. Sincerely, Theresa Farrell. |
| Unfortunately, any big hole in a tree trunk is always a bad sign. Whether the problem will become critical and kill the tree sooner or later on depends on the cause of the hole. Generally, holes no matter what the source originally act as conduits for infection and infestation and thus ultimately weaken the tree and make it dangerous. I would strongly suggest you consult with a professionally trained arborist about the prognosis (and safety) of this tree. |
