Tree Removal: Eastern Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)

This past week we said goodbye to an eastern hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana). In the spring of 1994, Professor Ed Leuck collected this specimen as a seedling from the Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park. It was cared for in a container for two years, and then planted in the ground on April 15, 1996. Since the little tree grew into a nice sized medium tree, we must say that it enjoyed nearly two decades in the arboretum, growing in full sun at the bottom of a gradual slope. Its declining health was first noted in 2017. Now, in the spring of 2022, its canopy is completely bare with no signs of new foliage.

This eastern hop hornbeam was at minimum 28 years old. It developed a thick, sturdy trunk with the characteristic peeling bark.

Further down the trunk, we see that the bark is peeling too much! Sadly, this is more evidence that our eastern hop hornbeam is dead, and given its proximity to foot traffic, it's best to remove it from the landscape.

Here is the tree before any work has been done.

Now the lower branches have been removed, everything we can reach from the ground.

Now the top has been cut out.

Finally the trunk is gone.

These limbs and small branches constitute the biggest mess of the removal. Trunk and large branches were disposed separately. These limbs were quite sharp and heavy. Take care when handling hop hornbeam!