Bur Oak Planting Problems (Too much water?)

12 years ago

Hi, this is my first time posting here, so keep in mind I'm a noob.

Last Saturday (5/5/12) I planted a 5" caliper, 18-20' tall Bur Oak in my back yard. It was B&B and had been out of the ground for close to a month. The root ball was 50" across and 3' deep, tapered.

It has been just over a week since I planted the tree, and now I am worried that something is wrong. The leaves are all turning brown and shriveling. We have had a crazy amount of rain since I planted it, not to mention I watered it like crazy the day that I planted it. Would this be as a result of too much water?

This is my first time planting a tree, so I really have no clue. I definitely don't want it to die, so please help.

I have posted pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20807577@N07/sets/72157629707692920/

If there is a way to post them here, let me know. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Images of the tree

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Comments (8)

brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
Hey Daniel, you did good for a first post. You even included picture!

Nothing wrong sticks out to me from what you wrote and showed us, but I do have a few questions that might lead to something:

1. Tell us about how you planted the tree, including as many details as you feel are reasonable. Did you amend the soil that you used to put back around the tree in the planting hole?

2. Have you actually checked soil moisture down a few inches in the ground, both around and in the rootball?

3. How's the drainage where you planted the tree?

4. I noticed the grass in that area looks sparse. Is that because of pet damage, poor soil/drainage, or what?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
why was it out of the ground.. presumably with the rootball exposed for a month ... ???

that alone is enough to make every leaf fall off ...

i dont know how you get past that EXTREME STRESS .. and then wonder if water is an issue ...

and where are you..

and why would i treat you differently because its your first post...

dont have time to look at all the pix.. over the hills and thru the woods to grandmothers house we go .. which is my moms .. if i need clarify ...

ken
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I'm at least glad that you planted according to the root flare depth and, as j0on03 said, chopping out the girdling roots will pay dividends. Subjectively, I prefer a more natural arrangement. It appears that you planted yours in pretty much an equilateral triangle. If you are going to be planting that many trees you might "shake it up a bit." Obviously the windbreak would be more functional if evenly planted, but the property can look more park-like if alignments, spacings, and even initial sizes within a group of the same species are varied. It makes the scene look like the seeds were blown in and grew where they fell. And a last thought - that may be an external workshop, but it is on a concrete block foundation. As strong as bur oak wood is I wouldn't be too worried about a branch crunching the structure for a LONG time. But as the red oak pic below shows, over time oaks have powerful roots. Planted 8-9' away from the patio about 17 years ago... hortster
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Thanks. The leaves aren't at the top. They are in the lower part of the tree... Watering it may be tough since it's surrounded by fence (in the corner of backyard) 8 feet spacing... Next door never waters yard. In the back, it's just empty lot. I do water deeply every week or so during the summer if no rain though. All of other trees including shantung maples look very healthy in rocky limestone soil. Bur came from Lowe's so I wouldn't be surprised if it had major girdling problem because I have seen others from lowe's when they were pulled out of ground. They both had big ball of circling roots... Oh well. That was my very first tree I planted. Didn't know any better back then. Dax, Come down to Texas this fall. Plenty of acorns from both trees! I love Q. Buckleyi. Probably my favorite oak tree. I collected a bunch of acorns from it but unfortunately they germinated in the fridge way too early. Need to do a better job of storing them over the winter. You can tell them apart by looking at their buds in fall/winter. Q. Buckleyi has buds that is all equal size (co-dominate). That's why they tend to have multiple trunks in the wild. Q. Shumardii has larger central bud while the lateral buds are smaller. I can also tell which is which that is not suitable for alkaline soil. if the buds are 1/8" of an inch, they will suffer badly in the alkaline soil. It's common around here unfortunately. Buds need to be at least 1/4" to do well here. My neighbor directly across the street has the wrong red oak and it's so ugly. All yellow leaves that are turning brown. Have to see that every day out of window. I provided info about it to them and they haven't done anything for 2 years! Getting worse every year... Damn shame. I need shade from there (hot afternoon sun). Not only that their next door neighbors somehow killed nice sized lacebark elm over last weekend! All leaves are brown right now... Oh well. Gonna be tough digging that bur oak out...
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strobiculate
12 years ago
ken...it's not uncommon for a tree dub b&b to be held out of the ground for an extended period. actually...that's kinda the process of b&b

too much water generally causes a wilty appearance and yellowing of older leaves. although that would be the first thing to check, aa mentioned above.

what comes to mind based on description and pics has more to do with environmemt and physiology.

on the other hand...Q. macros are subject to a number of things that can make the foliage look funny but that don't really bothrler the tree.
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wisconsitom
12 years ago
I'd first point out that a 5 inch caliper is a big move. Nearly all of us agree that generally, moving smaller stock is much more successful. The fact that it started browning up after the transplant-is this assumption correct?-makes me think it may have been well-rooted into the mulch or whatever material it was healed in at the nursery. This too is commonplace. So if I'm right so far, it is experiencing high amounts of transplant shock due to being a rather large tree that has, like all transplants, lost most of its functional root capacity.

No amount of watering will make up for this root loss, although no water at all will, of course, hasten its demise. So, I doubt you've over-watered per se, but I'm thinking it's just having a tough time without a decent root system. If there's sufficient reserve energy stored in the remaining roots and other tree parts, it may be albe to produce new foliage.

+oM
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stmif
12 years ago
Almost a month ago, I planted a thirty gallon container, young, Bur Oak that measured 8'2" tall, 3.5" diameter, and 5'6" drip line, in my front yard. The soil here in Watauga, TX is generally dry most of the time and full of rocks/fossils (prior to housing development here it was, rocks, cattle, weeds, and Mesquite trees - no farming of crops due to poor soil - ROCKS!), and use of a pick is necessary to dig here. Now some of my leaves are turning yellow, and some have turned brown and fall off on the touch. However, it is only a few. I googled images and the closest thing I could find was Bur Oak Blight (a fungus!). My hopes are that it is just a temporary shock due to the new, poor soil. I do water (slow drain from hose up-slope, for over an hour or until it runs over the sidewalk, which is down-slope of the tree) at least every five days, unless we get a GOOD LONG rain. Anyone know about or how planting shock symptoms present themselves? Or perhaps just over watering/under watering? Thanks for any input/knowledge.
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franktank232
12 years ago
That is a huge tree to be planting. Wow. Impressive. Just my opinion, but I really think you'll have to give it a winter and see what it looks like next spring when everything buds out. At that point i think you'll know what you have (a dead tree/a living tree)... Just keep it moist (not too moist) and keep your fingers crossed.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
frank... stm is piggy backing on an old post.. the pix are not related to his recent query ...

stm.. its good to see you searching for an old answer.. but after that.. you should start your own post.. mostly so replies come to you.. rather than OP dan ...

BTW dan.. whats the update on your project ..

ken
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scotjute Z8
12 years ago
I worked for a college landscaping department years ago moving trees about this size in the fall and spring in east Texas. The survival rate was not good, probably less than 1/2 still alive after 2 years.
Keep flooding it with water about twice a week thru the summer. Hopefully it will make it. At the rule of thumb of 10 gallons per inch of trunk, you should be watering at least 50 gallons per time, but with the height, more like two or three times that amount seems called for. Good luck.
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Bur Oak Planting Problems (Too much water?)

Comments (8)

brandon7 TN_zone7

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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strobiculate

wisconsitom

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

scotjute Z8

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