Background: 3 years ago this Quercus Alba (White Oak Zone 8) was growing in undisturbed woods. Then I came along and cleared most everything around it so I could put down a house and have a yard. I left it and all the other mature oaks because oaks. This occurred in the winter/early spring.
A septic tank was put in about 25-30 feet away, with the leach field going away from it. Power company came within 10-15ft on the right side with their trench.
As the year progressed it started dropping leaves and looking unwell. Year 2 it still looked unwell and had a good bit of crown die back, coupled with brown leaves, late bloom and early leaf drop.
It’s now year 3. The dieback seems to have stopped, and it’s spring growth is green and health looking (where it’s actually occurring).
There are no serious bark sheddings, lesions, dead areas I can see other than peripheral branches.
I had an arborist come out and they offered mixing in biochar with an air spade ($1000) and trimming dead branches ($800), neither of which I’m thrilled about paying (that’s an old quote as well, may have gone up since 2 years ago).
Do y’all think this thing can rebound with a nice big mulch bed around it, gentle fertilizing this year, and crossing my fingers? Or is this thing becoming a safety hazard with proximity to my house?
by guywholikesplants
2 Comments
This is textbook retrenchment. It looks like it’s on its way out, though it can persist like this for who knows how long… If you love white oaks, plant more little ones now.
You had to do what you had to do to have a house and septic. However, you damaged too many roots, both directly (crushing/cutting) and indirectly (changing grade, compacting soil). That tree is dying, and needs to be removed. I would watch all of the trees surrounding your house over the next 5 years for signs of decline, and remove them if they can drop on your house.
It’s too late to save these trees (we PREVENT construction damage, not cure it), but here’s some good articles on the subject for anyone else visiting this post:
[https://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/fo-ProtectTreesConstruct.pdf](https://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/fo-ProtectTreesConstruct.pdf)
[https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/SP576.pdf](https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/SP576.pdf)