In Texas summer is getting milder and i noticed my oak is all browning up. At first though it was the fall but it’s too early also don’t see the same on nearby trees. During summer I had drip irrigation run for 5 min everyday for two months. From the looks of i think its stem rot. My reasoning:
- saw ants at the base (potentially dead wood inside)
- yellowing of leaves from edge then gradually browning (since it’s not starting from centers/veins) might not be root damage
- some young leaves look green(some part of the parts are undamaged)
Someone at my local Homedepot suggested to use Bioadvance 3 in 1 (Insect, disease and plant mite control), but the label says not to
use when the tree is stressed! I’m confused 😩 If anyone here knows, please let me know whether my observations are correct and how I can save him 🙏
by rahul1613
5 Comments
Hard to tell from the picture… You’re sure this oak though?
I’m not a professional but I would work on exposing the root flare.
https://www.clemson.edu/cafls/vincent/articles/show_me_your_root_flare.pdf
Some trees sometimes can turn color earlier than other trees.
I’m not sure on the irrigation but you may have been over watering Or even under watered. You should measure how much water the tree is actually getting.
Remove the supports.
Remove the ring.
I would not use any chemicals until you could rule out the other things.
Looks like cedar elm. Feel the leaves, and if I’m right, they should feel coarse.
When I lived in DFW, I always had to tell people that they can’t treat their trees like their grass. Trees like (relatively) infrequent, heavy soakings instead of shallow, frequent watering.
If it’s super, super hot, water maybe 3 or 4 times a week for the equivalent of 20 gallons each time. When it gets cooler, you can cut that back to two or three times a week (even once or twice a week in winter).
The other commenter is right: remove the supports, expose the root flare, and keep the mulch off of the trunk. All of those things could damage the tree if not taken care of.
The tree is most likely stressed because 1) Texas is f-ing hot, and the summers are getting hotter, which also means that 2) it has to also deal with being in the hot sun with no shade while it establishes its root system, so 3) it may need to use even more water than it otherwise would. It’s losing its leaves early to cut it’s losses and try again next year.
I would advise not using the stuff from Home Depot. With a tree this young, proper watering, establishment, and mulching are your biggest factors contributing to success.
And, honestly, in Texas, even under the best conditions, the trees sometimes die.
Is this a new housing development? It looks like every tree in the background is also staked. I install landscaping plans for developments and young live oaks and elms are very popular yard and sidewalk trees. They can have the problem you’re having from a few different problems, usually over/underwatering, but also from the soil being very clay-ey so the roots it’s trying to put out can’t get to the good soil and the tree isn’t getting sufficient nutrients. The fertilizer in the root ball it was planted with will usually last for a while, but if the roots can’t get to new soil, the tree will end up suffering. I’d suggest a soil test. Also pull off some of that mulch from the base and remove the ring.
It’s also possible that the landscapers who planted it were rushing and did something wrong out of carelessness or negligence, like chopping roots to make it fit into the hole they dug because the soil was really hard and they didn’t want to hack at it any more. I’m not condoning this, just saying that it happens.
1. A rule of thumb: the chances are excellent that garden department employees at the BigBox can’t troubleshoot your plant problems.
2. Obligatory standard comment: tree-killing tree ring is killing another tree. May be planted too deeply as well.
3. Aside from the drip being too frequent, the likely emitters on this tree (either 1/2 or 1 gph) mean the gallonage delivered is minuscule.
4. No information is given nor can I tell how long the tree has been there. If more than a year, remove straps.
5. Will addressing 1-4 save the tree? Builders planting crappy quality trees is #12 most common problem on Reddit tree subs, and no guarantee it is quality nursery stock. Meaning: if it dies, likely because the lowest bidder improperly planted a crappy tree.