strange juice??? from a little Sophora

Koala

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This is a a little tree I've been pruning since a few years now. It's a Sophora Japonica pendula, maybe 15 years old . Mostly deadwooding and light pruning. This year winter has been very long and more dead branches than usual. What is strange I noticed a sort of juice , but not very liquid, tacky and a little smelly too. Colour is orange, pretty dark. It is not comin out from the cuts, but from the main biggest branches. Got the chance to go back there this week, and with the growing moon it is comin out much much more. Unfortunately I got only my cell phone with me, so quality of the pics is not that good.....any idea???

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Don't lick it up if you are pregnant.
It is one of those old folk remedies used to induce abortion.

I don't know how to tell if a Koala is pregnant or not, so I thought I'd better warn you!;)
 
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  • #5
Don't lick it up if you are pregnant.
It is one of those old folk remedies used to induce abortion.

I don't know how to tell if a Koala is pregnant or not, so I thought I'd better warn you!;)

Oppsss...too late....I am a curious one.....should have told me before :lol:

Anyway I'm a male Koala...so no problem ;) ...... nice to meet you Stig. I'm Marcello. :beerchug:
 
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  • #6
Bleagh! Cool looking tree, though.

You should see it in summer... very nice shade . Branches grow till they touch the ground . Older trees are beautiful in winter, without leaves, just like living sculptures.
 
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  • #8
What does it smell like? does it put off an odor like rotten fruit?

Can't remember exactly...could remind of something rotting...very intense...and bad for sure
 
That last picture sure looked like borer damage to me. Did you scrape it away and look for holes?
 
Not sure if its on the list of hosts for phytopthera ramorum? so called 'sudden oak death'.
 
I will do some research..

The foul smell is a good clue. Oaks in FL get alcoholic flux, which is different from slime flux. It does NOT eventually kill the tree in many cases and it IS treatable by drying the infection out so it can be compartmentalized.

the goop on the sophora looks like a systemic bacterial infection that may have a chemical cure. Phosphite or bacastat or even paclobutrazol may be worth a try. View attachment Ooze in the News small.pdf

even the utah extension folks in skwerl's link describe treatment, but this does NOT apply to Marcello's tree where the ooze is coming out of living bark. the below excerpt seems reasonable except for the oval shaping of the excision; that is misinformation. Because sap does flow laterally, it makes no sense to remove any healthy tissue.

If the fluxing is noted soon enough, the tree can be saved. Waiting and hoping the problem will correct itself often results in a dead tree.

Trees suffering from bark/cambial infections may be saved by promptly cutting away diseased tissue. On small branches it is best to prune the infected branch off at a lateral. With larger branches or trunk infections, remove all discolored bark down to the wood. Cut around the infected trunk or branch until you come to healthy, yellow-green cambium. In some cases this means removing a lot of bark...
The next step consists of shaping the wound to allow it to heal properly. Remove infected bark creating an oval shape. The long part of the oval should be parallel with the trunk or limb. Make the margins of the cut smooth and clean. Sterilize the knife with rubbing alcohol between cuts to prevent spread of the bacteria.

The final step involved cleaning the wound with a disinfectant such as rubbing alcohol or a 10% solution of bleach (1 part household bleach and 9 parts water). Watch the treated area for evidence of recurring disease activity. If tissue on the edge of the wound begins to flux, a spot of diseased tissue may have been missed.
 
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  • #18
Hi Marcello, welcome to The Treehouse. Interesting looking ooze coming from that tree. Whereabouts in Italy are you?

I'm from the north....in the country but not that far from Milan :X

sure there are better places where to live in my country..:lol:.........anyway...that's it

Thanks for the welcome :beerchug:
 
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  • #19
Thank you Trelooker. Very interesting.

the goop on the sophora looks like a systemic bacterial infection.... .

I was thinking something like that. Probably the disease is comin from a very bad old wound, due to the breaking of one of the main two branches. The cut was not properly made and I think the tree never compartmentalized (..hey...take it easy...that was before I started taking care of the baby...;) :lol: )
Anyway till now the tree had never given any particular stress sign....only a little bit more of deadwood last year ( I blamed it on the long winter)....
Today coming back from work I went there ( tree is near to my house) and the situation seems very bad... many buds and new little leaves dried off, some of the main branches are drying as well....and that goop is stil increasing.

...that may have a chemical cure

Seen the situation I don't even think it's worth trying. Removing all the branches and twigs that are drying would mean leave only 1/3 or even less of the canopy...infection seems very bad...and very strong too... I'm still surprised on how fast the process is going on.....
every cure now would result in a futile care, IMO. Think soon I will stop her suffering with a fast painless death.... :blackknight:
 
every cure now would result in a futile care, IMO. Think soon I will stop her suffering with a fast painless death.... :blackknight:

Yes prognosis is poor based on your description. I've seen big oaks go fast from stinky goop disease.

How near Florence are you?
 
G, are you thinking of a referral? I was going to suggest a certain professor from out that way :/:
 
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  • #24
No , that's Trentino, I'm more near Milan. Why??? do you like the mountains up there?
 
I love all the Tyrol region, especially the skiing. I used to do business with CSF in Vicenza, and more recently, Turboden, another great Italian company.
 
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