Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger

Happy Halloween! Today’s canker surgery on a ghost (coast) live oak gave off a real Halloween vibe. The surgery was gruesome, deep pockets of dark, discolored diseased tissue spreading inside a centuries-old oak. Let me take this grisly opportunity to show how I’ve been able to remove potentially deadly stem canker infections in oaks.

The first steps are to gather the necessary tools (large axe, small axe, multitool, grinder w/ cutting edge), sterilize the tool cutting surfaces with a blow torch, and prepare the surgical area to collect the diseased tissue. I’ve already identified, roughly, the extent of the canker by observing the areas of bleeding, as seen above in the lower trunk just to the left of center.

Donning gloves, hat, and eye protection I began the surgery using a large chopping axe with a two-foot handle. For surgeries I prefer to use chopping axes, which have narrower heads than splitting axes. My initial efforts are to find the limits of the infection so as to isolate it from the rest of the tree. In the above photo the dark-colored diseased tissue is clearly visible in the center of the image. The reddish tissue is healthy bark, and the white tissue is healthy wood. I sometimes say “the redder the better” and “wood is good”.