I don't know what lurker you're talking about. I haven't kept up with this thread. I continue to get posts in my email and don't know how to turn it off. Most of them were deleted without reading them. The tree was not ripped out of the ground. It was dug out however, the roots were entwined with the roots of 4 huge Pines so not all the roots could be dug out "gently". I told my son to do as little damage to the Pines as possible. He painstakingly dug that tree out as best he could. BTW, he has pulled shrubs out of the ground with his truck that were supposed to be thrown away. I can't kill anything so I took them, babied them and they are still alive today.

Sorry I got PO ed it's just not nice to have a tree that is getting big and it has to go ===>>> i know how that feels.. and it always seems to be a favorite .. or the most expensive.. or the one i waited the longest to find.. to add to the collection ... my point.. and i apologize .. if i did it with a lack of decorum ... was simply that the bugs were not the issue ... removing the borer issue will not heal that tree ... i suspect.. way to many peeps .. not necessarily us ... tend to want to chemically nuke plants when they see some bug ... and all i was trying to do.. was point out.. that 'fixing' the bug problem.. does not ID the problem.. nor fix the tree ... and that was something i was trying to 'teach' peeps.. other than the OP ... the audience.. is not simply OP ... as for telephone poling.. been there.. done that.. and have been avoiding such.. as my experience level has gone up .... heck.. i bet when this tree was planted.. your learning curve was much lower ... as to the tree today .... yeah.. it might be dying ... and it might only take it another decade to so .. or it may recover ... at this point there are only three issues ... one... and usually my key.. is can you take it down for free??? ... if you wait another 5 years.. you might have to pay to have it taken down .... so i really try to make the ultimate decision before money becomes involved .... two .... do you need the space ... three.. will you enjoy the experiment of how it reacts to it all ... or will it bug you to no end.. every time you walk out into the garden .... e.g. on my 5 acres.. i can forget about it.. and watch it for a long time.. and have alot of room and a chainsaw to make it fall down .... but back in suburbia.. in a small yard.. it would have driven my insane ... more so than usual ... and early removal would be in store ... but it always comes back.. to my ability to take it down for free ... your enthusiasm.. and your collecting inspires me.. please dont let a bad choice of a few inartful words.. stop you from inspiring us with your collection... and your curiosity ... once again.. i am sorry if i irritated the bee-gee-bees out of you.. THAT IS NEVER MY INTENT.. ken ps: back when i had my first house.. dad used to come over and 'help' all the time .... it usually took me more time to fix it all.. than the job would have taken in the first place.. but boy was he inspired to 'help' ....

I have two pin oaks and one has gotten some type of leaf fungal disease for several years now. Unless the disease defoliates the tree three years in a row, there is nothing to worry about. For example, I have about 8 large Sycamore trees around my borders at woodedge and they all have a terrible leaf disease. Most likely, some type of Anthracnose, which pathogen causes it makes little difference. Of course, if it is a smaller tree that is not yet well established, then some type of treatment should be considered. This site may help, http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2831/EPP-7634web.pdf

Do not under any circumstances plant a Sycamore anywhere near anything you want to not be destroyed by roots. Plumbing, sewer lines, concrete slabs, retaining walls...all will be destroyed by the roots of the Sycamore costing you immense amounts of damage. Then there is the leaf drop which after a fall windstorm can produce drifts of leaves many feet high, all of which are a fire hazard. Then there is the high allergen factor of Sycamore Pollen. Then the tree is also prone to rot on the inside, so that the tree falls on your house when you least expect it. What's worse is the tree is hard to kill even after you've cut it down, ground the stump, burned it, dumped round up on it, it'll still grow back. The only thing a Sycamore tree is good for is firewood and maybe woodworking. We recently bought a property with 7 Sycamores on it and so far they've cost us about $50,000 in damages. I've cut down half of them, the others will be gone by the end of the year.