In a recent livestream, Ryan used a piece of aged pressure treated wood as a support block on a Juniper. Some viewers were concerned about toxicity issues with their trees doing this. An option I am starting to use are scrap pieces of synthetic deck planks. They have the added advantage of being quite rot resistant. The pic. here is a scrap piece that I used as a wall of a raised bed for 2 years. No deterioration noted yet. Easy to cut or drill as the needed too.
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I honestly think that Ryan knows what he is doing. He would never put a tree -especially such a precious yamadori- in danger by using something that is toxic for the tree.
Even if the piece of wood he used was treated- which I do not doubt- it was in contact with the tree only for a few minutes. Surely the tree was not affected.
The pressure treatment of the wood, even if it is weathered, is still quite active and the preservative can be plant-toxic.
Some synthetic decking has plant toxic additives in them (mildewcides such as zinc sulfate) and is not recommended for ground contact however 100% cellar PVC products are and I believe pretty safe for in-pot blocking. They last forever and are easy to screw into.
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