In 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic, I kept my focus on tending trees and began fire mimicry treatments on a grove of sick and diseased coast live oaks in Salinas, CA. Well here they are, three years later, flourishing! One diseased oak, however, did not survive despite a valiant recovery effort in the first year. Note also, in the final photo set, that the untreated (control) oak has died.
Fours years ago I initiated fire mimicry treatments on a grove of sick and diseased coast live oaks in Aptos, CA. Many of these are “Ancestor” oaks, centuries-old trees that thrived under the care of the Ohlone People – living Native artifacts if you will. Sadly, one of these ancient oaks was too sick to be saved, and died in 2021.
The images here indicate that most of the oaks have responded favorably to the treatments as seen in the increase in foliage density and lushness. It still truly amazes me that a few hours of work once a year can make such a difference for an oak grove.
I’ve haven’t been posting many results lately due to my focus on a major writing project that you will hear more about soon. Thanks for your patience! Meanwhile, let me take some time and share some recent results in the next few posts.
Today I want to show you a grove of oaks in Hillsborough, CA that I’ve been treating with fire mimicry every few years since 2012. Notice how the trees have developed denser, lusher canopies. This is mainly due improved soil fertility from compost tea and mineral amendments.
In November 2020 I began fire mimicry treatments on several coast live oaks and Pacific madrones in Felton, CA. Last year, when I checked on these trees, they were already showing a nice improvement (see here). Now after two years nearly all of the trees are showing noticeable positive responses to the treatments, even at the height of drought conditions. Several of the oaks have undergone major stem canker surgeries, but still seem to be on the mend. Hope you enjoy these results as much as these trees.
In October of 2020 I began fire mimicry treatments on 4 coast live oaks and one black oak here in Big Sur. The above oak also received a major stem canker surgery. Yesterday I checked on the progress of the oaks at the two year mark, nearly to the minute. I’ll never tire of seeing trees get healthier!
The photos here show several stands of old-growth coast live oaks in Carmel Valley, CA that were cleared, thinned, and pruned in order to reduce the ladder fuels and prepare these sites for future prescribed burns. Time-lapse videos of these and other nearby sites are presented in several recent posts.
Yesterday I checked on several coast live oaks, ponderosa pines, a coast redwood, and a southern magnolia in Palo Alto, CA that I’ve treated with fire mimicry in recent years. The work began at one site about 14 years ago and at the other site 6 years ago. The photos at the 14-year site were taken at different seasons (winter vs. summer), so they are not an optimal comparison. Also, there was considerable construction around the trees and some limb removal since the original photos were taken. Still, it appears that these trees are thriving after fire mimicry treatments. Enjoy!
Today I inspected a grove of coast live oaks that have received fire mimicry treatments for the past two years. The results generally show improvement in canopy density and lushness, with the exception of one oak (photo below) that made a remarkable recovery last year, but ended up succumbing this year to stress and disease. Note the last photo set of this post showing the canopy of a nearby untreated oak for comparison.
For the past two years I have been applying fire mimicry treatments to a grove of Ancestor oaks, ancient (300+ yr old) trees that have been pollarded and otherwise tended in the past by the Ohlone People for acorn production and other uses. Today, I inspected these oaks and see that most have made a modest, but noticeable improvement in canopy density, despite the current drought conditions. Please note the final photo set, which shows a neighboring oak that was not treated.
Sudden Oak Life by Lee Klinger 
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