planted late 11/2010

==>> time to take off the sold sign??

why is it electrified???

what has your seller said about it???? its guaranteed isnt it ???

ken

Hi Ken

The landscape job begun 11/2010 is not finished. I've left all the tags on things planted to date.

First with the rain and now with the heat, I haven't been on the landscapers tail to get this job finished. He was to be here this week and didn't come. So I'm still waiting ...

And he hasn't been informed yet of the problem with the red oak. I just found it myself today. Since I expect him back to finish up, I didn't want to put out an extra call. I know their schedule is real fouled up with the weather we've had this year.

There are some other problems, too, with plantings - maybe for another post. Heck. Trees planted too deep? I have an independent worker who is going to work on that. Burlap left on trees and still tied at the top. Native rhodos - that turns out aren't native.

The wire on the tree is for downlighting. Nonoperational since it was installed 11/2010.

Very discouraged. The yard is still torn up from the fall work. But I don't particularly want those guys out here on this job in this heat either. Est is 2 more days to finish the work.

What do you think about the sap bleed? I bought the red oak as a sale tree. It was not freshly dug but had been at the nursery for a few years, I assume. Dang.

ML

They look like borer holes to me. The tree is in some stress but that does not mean the tree needs replacement. Let the nursery know about it and take a wait and see. See if they will give you a longer warranty if need be.

Could it just be mechanical stress from the planting in the fall? We have a southern red oak at my parents' house that leaks sap from the places were the tree trimmer's boots grabbed the trunk. Obviously no one climbed this tree, but maybe there were nails or staples in the tree that were taken out and the wounds are "bleeding"

I don't think so. It's been many years but I've dug out flat headed borers out of the area where the foam is where the sap is coming from. The stress could be the result of the transplant process.

Thank you for the very helpful replies. I missed the obvious which was to inform the nursery of the problem.

I called the nursery office today, explained the problem, and asked for the best tree person on staff to come take a look at the tree. A written message was left for the nursery owner and the landscaper who did the work. One of them will be out here Monday.

I then went to the nursery on chance that they still had one of the larger red oak and was it exibiting the same signs. Found the red oak that I was looking for (same size) ... and it was NOT bleeding sap.

Also, the red oak pictured above is not actively bleeding sap today like it was a few days ago. We've had rain and temperatures have dropped into the mid 80s. More rain on the way over the next few days. So we shall see.

Thanks again for the help.

ML

I missed the obvious which was to inform the nursery of the problem.

===>>> thats why its helpful to have peeps detached from the problem .. lol ...

ken

The landscaper came out yesterday, Tuesday. The tree looked OK to him. Later that day I showed him the above pics. He didn't like the looks of the dark areas. So, we went back out to look at the tree again.

That I remember ... he said that we'd keep an eye on it. And he also said that once the rock work is finished they won't have access to that tree with the equipment. Hmmm ...

The crew and landscaper will be back out here working Thursday and for the next 3 to 4 days.

So now I still don't know what to do. Ask for an extended warranty to cover the tree through next year?

After tomorrow Thursday if the tree fails, I imagine the simplest way to remove it would be to cut it at ground level leaving the root ball in place and then replant a smaller red oak tree nearby?

So I'm inclined to go along with him and give the tree some more time to see what develops.

I don't think he knows what is wrong with the tree - the dark areas on the trunk shown in the picture above. It's still visible on the trunk now but it's not as prominent. The tree is still bleeding sap too but not nearly as much.

What do you think now?

ML

He's likely a guy who moves dirt around, not a plant expert. Not necessarily a bad thing, it is what it is.

It is a possibility that the tree was planted improperly (DD1), weakening the tree. Can you take a pic of the trunk at grade?

Dan

Thanks. This is the last pic on my camera chip. Will have to lookup how to delete some pics to give more room on the disk.

So here's the pic of the trunk at ground level. Sorry it's only one pic. The tire tracks are from this past Tuesday. Not good but it didn't cause this problem. Small tree roots are visible on the ground surface.

{{gwi:395604}}

Also, I saw a white catepillar with a black head climbing the tree. I will try a google search of that. Beetles would be larvae, right? And catepillar = bufferfly?

I hope this pic is good enough for you to see trunk at ground level.

ML

Dan

The tree measures 17" caliper a few inches above ground level. Wow. That surprises me. Might it just be terrific stress on the tree at this point?

The catepillar doesn't seem to indicate a problem. fuzzy white with black head. I forget the name of it now.

I can have my independent worker come out and work around the tree trunk and root ball. Determine where the root ball is - although we both thought it looked fine visually. Check it though. Then lay some compost and mulch around it. Continue deep water. And see what happens?

I do think my independent worker will take more time and care with the tree. He has already done same with some other trees. As I said, this red oak looked OK at ground level visually, but I will have him check it to be sure.

Also, I don't remember there being a wire basket or burlap on the root ball, but it was a solid root ball not falling apart. The tree had been at the nursery ... "a while". How many years? I don't know.
ML

17/3.14 = 5 2/5" caliper.

The compaction by tractor is doing the tree no good, but the ~borer damage is key and I wonder if nursery will guarantee. Better get on it! Can't say for sure that tree is at proper grade, but could be OK.

Dan

As Dan says, soil compaction is a bad thing. Just think about the area the tree roots have to grow into. If you suspect that, you might invest in a soil probe and aerate the soil. As for the borers, I've seen large areas of borer damage and sunscald heal over with good management. Keep an eye on it.

Thanks.

What indicates borer damage? The bleeding sap? Or the dark areas on the trunk? There are a number of dark patches.

Borer from beetles? or what?

ML

Those dark patches are cankers which are not good news at all. They will bleed sap & eventually will weaken a trunk to the point that a severe wind storm can snap the tree causing failure. This is only time between your tree and what will occur at a later point. I'd say that tree is in serious stress.

The other holes I believe are cankers as well. If you want to be sure (check for borers: dig into the hole with a pocket knife to find/extract a borer) The holes are fresh enough to find out. Check em now.

Dax

OK. Thanks. I found a couple of articles on red oak borer. I tried to link them here yesterday but must not have hit submit after preview the message.

Now I'll look up cankers. Thank you.

It's really too bad.

ML

Just out of curiosity wash off the dark patches and rub the area with your hand a little, let it dry out and see if it's still there.

OK. We washed one side of the tree with cold water using a small scrub brush. Will report back the findings after it dries.

ML

I don't know if you need a scrub brush but was wondering if those patches are really just sap and not a canker. you'll know soon enough. Hopefully, the sap bleeding will slow down and the tree will heel in okay. You will have to give it some time to do this. Best of luck!

well i think if the people who planted the tree or you
didn't bust the bark and made it bleed it could be a
borer damage and even some bees do damage like
that to trees beetles do too

i don't know whats best to do about the problem
maybe plug the holes with tar or something