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Arizona Gardening

Chilean Mesquite

17 years ago

My mesquite tree is oozing out a lot of sap. I did noticed ants at the base of the tree. Could ants be causing this, or something else? Is this anything to be worried about?

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Comments (7)

lazy_gardens
17 years ago
They do this when they have too much water, and occasionally if they have a bacterial infection. Cut back on watering (if it's been in the ground more than 2 or 3 years, no water is needed)

And ants spent their lives running up and down those trees. I don't know what they do up there, but it's normal.
aztreelvr
17 years ago
Sometimes mesquites also ooze sap in response to overpruning. Be sure you never remove more than 25 percent of the living foliage (branches/leaves) in any year. The best time to prune desert trees (mesquite, palo verde, acacia, etc.) is in May as they recover more quickly at this time.

Follow lazygardens advice on the watering and you won't need to prune as often. Your tree will grow more slowly and have stronger branches.
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It's hard to say for certain from just a picture. I will say that frequent shallow watering will cause the absorbing roots to stay near the surface leaving them susceptible to drying out when the watering schedule is changed or temps increase. Based on the fact that Mesquites, in general, can survive on the natural amount of rainfall that occurs in the desert these trees were given more water than they 'needed'. Is root rot possible? Yes. Could the roots have been stressed when you changed the irrigation? Possibly. The trees could also be planted too deeply. The link I included is a fantastic website for irrigation advice. Here is a link that might be useful: Irrigation guidelines
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A common reaction to overpruning are the suckers or watersprouts you see growing from your tree. The rule of thumb for pruning is to never remover more than 25 percent of the live tissue (foliage, branches) in any year. More than that sends the tree into a stress mode and can make it vulnerable to pests and diseases. Mesquites are commonly overwatered in our urban landscapes. This causes excessive growth of foliage/branches often contributing to 'wind throw' or blowing over or leaning. When applying water place your emitters or hose at the edge of the branches and not next to the trunk. Follow Lazygardens advice on how often to water and your trees should be fine.
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rose2u
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks, I learned something new. I will follow the advice and cut back on watering. As for pruning I'm not going to touch it until I have too.
cliftonsridgway
17 years ago
I am considering purchasing a large chilian mesquite tree for my back year. I have also considered a california pepper tree. Which is best tree?
MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
17 years ago
It's difficult to recommend one over the other with so few details but I can offer some info from my new favorite book: "Pruning, Planting and Care by Eric A. Johnson"

Chilean Mesquite: Semi-evergreen, 30' high x 30' wide, Full sun, Hardy to 12F, Moderate water use. Mesquites in general require a large volume of soil area because they have rapid and aggressive root growth. Withoug enough soil area for roots to spread, serious problems occur, especially in windy areas. Trees will topple over. They also require adequate and deep moisture so those roots go deep, deep, deep. This way they will have a good anchor in windy times.

On the upside, mesquites are beautiful trees with interesting branch structure. They are hardy and use little water.

California Pepper: Evergreen, 25' high x 40' wide, full sun, hardy to 20F, full sun, low to moderate water use. Growth is rapid and branches hang to the ground. Use in open garden areas where competitive roots can spread freely. White summer flowers develop into clusters of red berries in winter. The challenge of this tree is also wind related when the trunks and branches become large. Quite often they are damaged by wind storms. Limb breakage causes trees to become unbalanced and exposes the trunk to decay. Prune to thin out excessive growth early in spring prior to hot weather.

HTH.
Mary
rbp1939
15 years ago
I'M LOOKING FOR PRUINING INSTRUCTIONS FOR MY YEAR OLD CHILEAN
mainpestcontrol_roadrunner_com
13 years ago
ants crawl up and down many different trees collecting honeydew caused by avid and other insects. ants will even cultivate avids and deposit avid babys in spring on the trees so the can collet the byproduct of avids(honeydew). usually this will not damage tree unless tree is already stressed or near death anyway. the honeydew reduces the photosynthesis process.

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