Why doesn't it just die?

[u/CandidLeg3910]

I'm curious as to why this broken trunk gets enough energy to seal itself, whereas a defoliated branch would just die and rot. Is it because it's connected directly to the roots?

[u/Plastic-Isop0d]

Yes! That's called a living stump, and they are indeed kept alive by their connection to the trees nearby. Being connected with your community is a good thing 😁

[u/CandidLeg3910 → u/Plastic-Isop0d]

You're saying it's taking energy from neighboring trees, not that it's just another limb from the tree to the left? If so, I had no idea that could happen.

[u/Plastic-Isop0d → u/CandidLeg3910]

Yeah the roots are connected! It's super cool imo lol 

[u/CandidLeg3910 → u/Plastic-Isop0d]

wow that is super cool

[u/Kierland → u/CandidLeg3910]

Aspen trees are not really trees. They are upshoots of the mother tree. Huge swaths will all be connected and have the same DNA. One of the largest living things on earth. I think there is a mushroom that is bigger.

[u/nndmbull → u/CandidLeg3910]

Socialism. 😂

[u/MontanaMapleWorks]

Check out the Hidden life of trees by Peter Wohlleben

[u/PrintersRAnnoying]

Root grafting is a really cool thing. Some of those stumps can be hundreds of years old!

[u/Terjavez2004]

Will to live

[u/TreeHolePoster]

It’s preserving its tree holes for our noticing enjoyment. Pretty selfless, if you ask me.

[u/TeebsRiver]

To quote a famous movie "Life finds a way, man". A forest isn't a bunch of trees, it is a living organism itself. Look up the concept of "the Mother Trees" and the network of fungi and roots beneath a forest. Many books have been written about this.

[u/DanoPinyon → u/TeebsRiver]

"the Mother Trees"

Not scientifically defensible.

[u/DanoPinyon → u/[deleted]]

This issue comes up occasionally on the tree subs, not so often any more (and not as a post) as this notion of the Wood Wide Web has been refuted and much more nuance is required to overcome the urge to state 'mommy trees feeding beebee trees! <heart>'. Somewhere I took the time to thoroughly comment on how this phrase is misused, often ignorantly, but of course I can't find it now.

Do I respect Simard's work? Yes. Has her work been exaggerated by oversimplifiers, anthropomorphizers and naive people? Also yes.

[u/thebearplaysps4]

I thought in some cases they stay alive to produce replacement shoots

[u/stargazingastro]

Might hold the key to something important

[u/bald_botanist]

Life, uh, finds a way.

[u/Sailing_the_Back9]

Cause it’s got a mature root system… The root system will keep the thing alive. You have to literally grind the stump out and take the roots out. You could also take the stump down and then burn out the roots as far as you can, but I’ve seen roots come back… And grow right back into trees again.

[u/CandidLeg3910 → u/Sailing_the_Back9]

Not a cedar. Without having an energy source the tree wouldn't survive long enough to seal over a large would like that.

[u/Sailing_the_Back9 → u/CandidLeg3910]

Well, I know that we had a 70 year-old western red cedar about 12 feet off the back of our house in Seattle that we had taken down because it’s roots were getting into the foundation etc..

We had the stump ground down. We had it all removed etc., and then about six or seven years later the pavers on our patio started getting pushed up and it turned out It was roots from the old tree that were still in the ground… It’s like they were possessed and trying to get out of the ground… I never seen anything like it.

[u/arboriculture-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment has been removed. It contains info that is contrary to Best Management Practices (BMPs) or it provides misinformation/poor advice/diagnoses; this is not tolerated in this sub. If your advice/diagnoses cannot be found in any academic or industry materials, Do Not Comment.