Can someone help me identify this....thing on a Monterey Cypress?

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Does anyone have any idea what this thing might be? Tree is a Monterey Cypress, only a couple years old. And, other than this eyesore the tree has been growing like a champ!

I did some googling, the only cypress-specific disease I turned up is Cypress Canker, and this doesn't match the description. Could it just be a burl? Maybe an over-response to some kind of physical trauma to the trunk at that site?

It's not soft, feels just as dry and firm as the rest of the trunk.

Think the tree might be salvageable?

Any input is much appreciated.
 

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NOZZLE HEAD

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I could be wrong, but that looks like a grafted tree with some really cool “witches broom” anomaly at the graft union.

Try wrapping it in aluminum foil to see if the darkness gets it to put out foliage.
 
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@sorce - Raisin Brain - hadn't thought of that, definitely my favorite potential explanation.

@NOZZLE HEAD - I appreciate the input, but I doubt it's a graft. I got this tree two years ago as a 1/8"diameter, 2' tall whip. I guess I can't say for certain that this doesn't mean it's not grafted, but I can't imagine I'd not have noticed a graft union when it was that small.

I had wired the whole trunk to give it some movement, I'm still hoping it might be a response to physical trauma, rather than some kind of disease that might infect my other trees.
 

sorce

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Do you watch that questionable show "The Ozarks?", She does, so I get to see the same scenes over and over again since she always falls asleep....anyway. ..

The little curly haired blonde goes, "I don't know sh... about ffff....." That's how I feel about things like this...

But I had something similar growing in my elm roots, reckon it was a gall but I forgot. Cut it off and it ain't been back.

Sorce
 

Gabler

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Looks like a localized infection. I'd cut it off and apply an antifungal medication. Go for a systemic fungicide if feasible to cure the rest to the tree.
 

Wires_Guy_wires

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Most fungi don't cause callus-like growth; they eat away wood or form a sort of sponge in between tissue layers to suck on tree juice, fungi form fruiting bodies or let the tree leak out sap or resin through which they spread.
Systemic fungicides might not do anything at all, since this isn't likely to be a fungal infection.

So there was mechanical damage, now there's callus-like growth..
Could be pathogens, but it could also very well be regular repairs.

Can you cut a piece off and picture it for us? A small slice would do, a bigger slice is easier. If there's no tissue rejection or necrosis (visible because it's either mushy or a different color) then there are two options: this is normal behavior, or the infection is bacterial like Agrobacterium spp. can do to birches.
With bacterial infections, the foliage stays unaffected in most cases, because plants can encapsulate them pretty well, but this makes them harder to treat. With fungal infections, we can usually see entire compartments of the tree being affected since it's eating transport routes.
Due to the nature of conifer sap, I don't suspect bacteria to be the culprit.

If it's callus, you can just break it off or cut it back a little so that it might heal a bit smoother than it did now.. At least if the entire wound has been healed, otherwise it's likely to bulge again. The local tissue might die back a little though, and it can take a year or two before it makes any bark.
 
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Potawatomi13

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Looks like burl except on such young tree🤨? Try pruning off just below normal bark level, cover in liquid cut paste and see if growth continues. If were mine and growth continued😖then would cut deeper then cover again. If growth still continued would shorten tree below growth;).
 
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All, thanks for you advice and input. For curiosity's sake, I decided to go ahead with @Wires_Guy_wires' suggestion and perform Operation Walnut Lobotomy. I think the results suggest that it's just a burl.

The first photo shows the first slice. It looked pretty "woody" to me, so I decided to get back in there and take another layer off. The second and subsequent photos show the second slice. Looks just like normal wood, with a greenish tinge of cambium. It felt firm and moist like you'd expect of a slice of live green wood, not at all wet or mushy. And it smells nice and citrusy, just like the tree's foliage. So....tentatively a raisin brain (aka burl), I guess.

Bonus pic showing a buncha root growth out the bottom of the pot this year. This'll be a fun repot.
 

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Wires_Guy_wires

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All, thanks for you advice and input. For curiosity's sake, I decided to go ahead with @Wires_Guy_wires' suggestion and perform Operation Walnut Lobotomy. I think the results suggest that it's just a burl.

The first photo shows the first slice. It looked pretty "woody" to me, so I decided to get back in there and take another layer off. The second and subsequent photos show the second slice. Looks just like normal wood, with a greenish tinge of cambium. It felt firm and moist like you'd expect of a slice of live green wood, not at all wet or mushy. And it smells nice and citrusy, just like the tree's foliage. So....tentatively a raisin brain (aka burl), I guess.

Bonus pic showing a buncha root growth out the bottom of the pot this year. This'll be a fun repot.
Dang man! You could make a decent living in a hospital lab doing coupes (slices of tissue meant for microscopy).

Good to hear that it's nothing out of the ordinary.
 

Eric Schrader

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All, thanks for you advice and input. For curiosity's sake, I decided to go ahead with @Wires_Guy_wires' suggestion and perform Operation Walnut Lobotomy. I think the results suggest that it's just a burl.

The first photo shows the first slice. It looked pretty "woody" to me, so I decided to get back in there and take another layer off. The second and subsequent photos show the second slice. Looks just like normal wood, with a greenish tinge of cambium. It felt firm and moist like you'd expect of a slice of live green wood, not at all wet or mushy. And it smells nice and citrusy, just like the tree's foliage. So....tentatively a raisin brain (aka burl), I guess.

Bonus pic showing a buncha root growth out the bottom of the pot this year. This'll be a fun repot.
Curious if this is growing back, or not?
 
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Here's a photo of it this morning. Doesn't appear to be growing back at all, or really healing over for that matter. Which probably makes sense, can't imagine the tree is doing much growing between mid Dec-mid Feb.

I'm going to repot this tree sooner than later, and I'll probably try to carve this thing out completely at the same time.

@Eric Schrader , got any repotting advice for Monterey Cypress? I suspect the repot is going to be a bit of a challenge. I have two of these, both of which were shipped to me as whips with root plugs, which I just potted up. So....I'm expecting an absolute mess of a rootball which I'd imagine I'll have to mostly cut off. Given how vigorous these trees grow, I'm hoping they can take root work like Bald Cypress or Dawn Redwood. In your experience, how do these trees handle aggressive root pruning? Would you recommend a foliage reduction at the same time?
 

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