There are mushrooms growing at the bottom of my tree — what should I do? (Mooresville, Indiana)

There are mushrooms growing at the bottom of my …

A fruiting body is the reproductive organ of a fungus that has already been eating the inside of the tree for years. By the time anything shows on the outside, decay is established in the root plate or the butt of the stem — the exact structural zone that holds the tree upright. This is the one common finding where an outwardly healthy tree can come over whole, roots and all, in an ordinary thunderstorm. It is an anchorage question, not a branch question. In Mooresville — Highland Meadows, Hadley Highlands and Rooker Run included, that's normally a hazardous tree removal job at $800–$5,000. Within weeks.

Why this comes up in Mooresville

AES Indiana is the primary electric provider in Mooresville, with Duke Energy Indiana the largest provider across the rest of Morgan County. AES runs an eight-year line-clearance pruning cycle. On a routine cycle trim AES hauls the debris away and stacks logs over four inches in diameter at the base of the tree, cut to handling length, for the property owner's use. On EMERGENCY work — storm restoration, limbs into the lines — AES does not clear the debris at all; cleanup is the customer's responsibility. As an investor-owned utility AES is also bound by the IURC rule: two weeks' notice, no more than 25% of the tree removed and no topping without your permission.

Mooresville's canopy

The 1950s-60s core carries trees that are now 65-70 years old — full-size shade trees planted with the houses, well over the rooflines and into the primary conductors. Because the town's code contains no tree chapter and no approved-species list, plantings were never steered toward or away from any species, and ash is gone to emerald ash borer as everywhere in central Indiana.

Morgan County rules

Mooresville's codified ordinances contain no trees, shrubs or urban forestry chapter anywhere in the code — nothing comparable to Franklin's street tree permit scheme — and there is accordingly no permit requirement to remove a tree on private property. General nuisance provisions (Title IX, Chapter 91) and the Public Ways and Property chapter (Title XV, Chapter 151) are the only places a dangerous or obstructing tree would be reached.

There are mushrooms growing at the bottom of my tree — what should I do?

Why this comes up in Mooresville

Mooresville's canopy

Morgan County rules

Crews near Mooresville

Humble Hunt's Services, LLC

Andy's Tree & Landscape

D & S Tree Service, LLC of Mooresville & Greencastle

OLIVOS TREE SERVICES PLUS LANDSCAPING LLC

Hair Cuts For Trees LLC

Sharper Image Tree Service

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