Shumard Oak & Chlorosis

17 years ago

My Shumard Oak that's been in the ground just over a year has been very yellow/light-green leaved all season w/ very few leaves. I've spoken w/ a number of people who are certain that the tree is suffering from chlorosis. I am so tempted to use a sulfur & iron product to help the tree (I use other organic techniques -- compost, sick tree treatment, compost tea, foliar feeding, organic amendments & fertilizer, etc.). However, I am hesitant because I do not want to harm the beneficial fungi in the soil, and I have heard that sulfur products are anti-fungal. Anyone have any input on this?

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Comments (4)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
I suggest that you take a soil test to determine the pH of your soil before you begin adding ANY pH altering products.
Kimmsr
17 years ago
Chlorosis has many causes and the only way to determine which might be the cause is with a good, reliable soil test. Below is a link to the Texas A & M USDA Cooperative Extension Service web site that will allow you to find your county office.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas A & M CES
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Very good!! that is good news to me. I have a clay, pH about 7.2-7.5, which I tend to keep moist on all my trees using a dripping system. Under natural conditions, the clay will be bone dry half of the year... and it is not compacted. Smivies, all the species listed do not show any sign of chlorosis here.... and I started with those due to their known tolerance. However, I don't know much about any other species. Now I want to expand and try other species. Hairmetal, I planted a very small Q. alba this spring, and it does not show any signs of chlorosis. Of course, it is still very young, and I wont draw any conclusions until a couple of years from now. It didn't do much this year, but we have some brutal weather from May-early July...The source of my tree is unknown, so I cannot comment on that..... osprey
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If it's a big enough tree, I'd seriously suggest hiring a certified arborist. Trees are a big investment and I don't try to second guess treatment if I'm not confident enough about what's causing it. We tried to grow a medium-sized Shumard Red Oak two springs ago, and in the span of one year it died from a double whammy of slime flux and borers. It was a messy and depressing death, and it was obvious by about mid summer that the tree wasn't going to turn around. One thing I've learned from arborists is that too much water looks the same as not enough -- you'll get the same burnt tip appearance on leaves. I'm not saying you're watering too much, that's just the other side of the coin. There's all sorts of other factors that can cause browning, so you'd have to get someone to look at the whole tree, see what the leaves look like from bottom to top, check the soil around the tree, see if anyone's spraying anything in your neighborhood, check the leaves against diseases, etc.
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lou_spicewood_tx
17 years ago
I think you got the wrong "shumard" for alkaline soil. Where did you get it from?

I threw mine out after a year. I have two shumard oaks that are drasitically different from each other. Each came from different place. One had dark green leaves, alot more leaves than the light green leaves and not many leaves either. I recall reading an article about the size of the buds, something about bigger size of buds meaning they are suitable for the soil??? I have no idea how to find that article though. You just have to find Shumard trees whose acorn came parent trees in alkaline soil. Makes huge different, i believe.

One interesting observation that I made was that light green leaves are turning RED right now unlike my dark green leaves shumard. Go figure...

It probably isn't worth fixing it. Get a new one but it seems to be very difficult finding the correct one. I asked Howard Garrett and he admitted that it's difficult to know which is which. He said to wait for a few years and find out. I chose to dig it out immediately and plant something else like Caddo Maple.
lou_spicewood_tx
17 years ago
Finally found it!

CLick on the link...

Here is a link that might be useful: Selecting the Right Red Oak

Shumard Oak & Chlorosis

Comments (4)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Kimmsr

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