Q. A friend has a beautiful, large, old (and productive) fig
tree on a property she owns in an older neighborhood. She just observed for the first time large conks. Is there anything that can be done to save the old guy? She loves the tree and is pretty devastated, and is willing
to invest to save it if possible. She would definitely have you out to consult
if that could be productive. Thank you, and I have been loving your blog for years!
Conks, or bracket fungi, can be diagnostic on trees as to which disease is present and how aggressive it might be.
A. Nice pictures. My presence there wont
help her or the tree I think. It is possible this “rotting disease” was brought to your tree on dirty equipment. Your decision to remove the tree is
probably necessary at some time. When, I am not sure. If the tree develops weaknesses that could lead to damage or other safety issues, it is time for pruning or removal.
The conks
are because of some internal rotting. The color, shape and size of the conks
may be an indicator of what disease it has and how aggressive it is. To my
knowledge, there is no armillaria root rot locally. To me it looks more like
oyster mushroom type of internal wood decay. Presence of conks low on the
tree can mean the rotting is in the roots or crown of the tree. In this case they seem to be higher on the trunk. Try identifying
which disease it is by the conk.
Figs regrow very easily from new suckers
coming from the base if it has to be cut down. The internal rot CAN be an
indicator of a problem and how serious it is. If you an invite an arborist to look at it, of course
they will recommend removal. If the tree looks otherwise healthy, then I would
knock them off if not wanted and watch the tree for safety weaknesses. It would be a loss to lose fruit but it could be fruiting again in a fairly short time after cutting back.
Make sure any pruning is done using
sanitized equipment. Eventually, most likely, the tree will have to be removed.
How soon you have to do that depends on how aggressive the disease is. (think
cancer, some are more aggressive than others). Maybe removal as soon as a few
months to a few years.