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Pin Oak - Why are leaves going yellow?

10 years ago

We live on a street where every home has a Pin Oak tree out front. Some of the trees are perfectly green and some are all yellow. Ours is half green and half yellow. Any ideas what a solution might be?

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
have you ever had your soil tested ....

talk with your county extension office.. about such in regard to the county soil ...

in the mean time.. do you see any correlation between who has their lawn sprayed.. and who doesnt????

and finally.;. where are you.. big town ..

ken
ronalawn82
10 years ago
tugg01, I note that the leaf in the foreground is half green and the other half - less so.
This Person has a similar problem with his marijuana plants; and (s)he has tried all the remedies that should have worked; but none of them did.
I would start at the tip of a "yellow" branch and work backwards to the point of attachment to another branch or the trunk. Look for any sign that would indicate that conducting tissues have been compromised - a canker, mechanical damage, borer activity and the like.
If you find nothing worrisome, then look at ground level on the same side of the discoloration. Very often, but not always, something done to one side of the root system will show up in the leaves on the same side.
Incomplete fertilization, or inattentive application of weed and feed to the turf can show up as a discoloration or other adverse signs on shrubs and trees in the landscape. Other causes may be fungi or mechanical damage.
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I have two pin oaks and one has gotten some type of leaf fungal disease for several years now. Unless the disease defoliates the tree three years in a row, there is nothing to worry about. For example, I have about 8 large Sycamore trees around my borders at woodedge and they all have a terrible leaf disease. Most likely, some type of Anthracnose, which pathogen causes it makes little difference. Of course, if it is a smaller tree that is not yet well established, then some type of treatment should be considered. This site may help, http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2831/EPP-7634web.pdf
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My first thought is actually nitrogen deficiency just as a reminder once again: providing nitrogen after August 1st can result in the death of a tree next year because the wood could go into winter without having "hardened off" is the term used and thus the wood/bark and buds for leaf growth as well as branch growth) would be affected. Think of Nitrogen this way: Heavy amounts will certainly green up your tree (this is what lawn company's do to make a lot of money - they fertilize as often as up to every two weeks with a lot of "liquid applications") but, in order to keep the leaves green, they are as the first responder notes, using too much nitrogen while the probelm most-likely is occuring in that the uptake of other "trace minerals" isn't quite happening. Chlorosis can be ruled out immediately upon examination of your photos. Lou is 100% right that you have the wrong tree. The correction of soil alkalinity (nitrogen boosts as to temporarily-only correct the problem (nitrogen is a significant by-product of pelletized Sulphur ("pelletized" is the old farm word I know) and of course Sulphur helps to aid in the recovery of chlorosis/chloratic symptoms but once again, you're dealing with "minerals and in all forms really as these are the building blocks for all living things." Minerals of course are also found in water... There's a lot to break down in this type of question to come to a logical answer, but still one that's a guess at best. The "Green Light" products offered are 'organic' however Sulphur while it seems and I did'nt know this as actually "inorganic" - yet the Department of Agriculture deems it as "organic" , or at least that's how I'm interpreting Lou's words currently along with a lot of other erroneous information I've either learned reading or from previous bosses, etc-. I used to spray mainly fruit trees with an organic firm and we used "liquid copper" as well as "Liquid Sulphur." And I recall my boss mentioning that the USDA has deemed these to be, "organic." Those words always stuck in my mind even though I was getting this "organic" crap all over my body, in my skin, and in my lungs. Not pretty folks. I'll let Lou sort this one out for me as I now don't understand precisely his comment. I do believe that he is trying to make a distinction among Sulphur in bottle or hard form, versus "natural formation of Sulphur" derived from decayed mulch. Is this right Lou? Overwatering can also be ruled out in my opinion because this produces the outside of a leaf to brown-up. In this person's case, large patches are observed. I still stick to my guns and say that the splotchy-burning is a reult of drought and that your tree is suffering from a lack of trace minerals which could include nitrogen. Do keep it watered once a week for a good while and if you have time, let it almost dry between waterings. Continue this schedule until this time next year at a minimum if you're going to be stubborn by keeping this tree. It's not a hopeless case, but it is something you'll need to continue addressing. Regards, Dax
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Gardeningrandma, Im was told by my builder that it was a red oak...but that means nothing in all honesty. I pulled a leaf and It does appear to be a silver maple. Good call. Now the branch with the yellowed section in question is quite long...perhaps 6 - 7 feet but only the top half has the damage which is why I was wondering what was going on. I am new to tree terms so bear with me...but the runners (new limbs) beneath the yellowed section are a healthy red color on their bark, and the ones in the yellowed section are a dull gray like the trunk of the tree. I wish I could change the topic now! I feel so uninformed.:) I will investigate it for branch or bark damage. I did not know where to start but now I have learned something. If that's the case and the branch wants to drop, I will be taking a huge chunk of the tree away but I suppose it needs to be done. I have never pruned before as I am a new homeowner with new homeowner responsibilities.
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It has long ago been proven putting rocks in the bottom of a container is a bad idea. Doing so raises the perched water table higher into the container and the tree's root system As to your soil test results, the nitrogen should be high, the phosphorous should test rather low and the potassium should be high. Below I have posted a link showing citrus with a potassium deficiency. https://www.google.com/search?q=potassium+deficiency+citrus&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS900US900&oq=potassium+deficiency+in+citrus+leaves&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0.27068j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-B AND https://www.yara.us/crop-nutrition/citrus/nutrient-deficiencies/potassium-deficiency-on-mandarin-citrus/
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Kimmsr
10 years ago
Chlorosis of Pin Oaks is most often traced to a soil that has too high a pH. Most Oaks, but Pin Oaks especially, evolved in soils that were wetter and had more organic matter then many they are growing in today. You are at a disadvantage since, as I recall, AgCanada does not do soil testing. However, they should be able to direct you to a lab that will.
tugg01
Original Author
10 years ago
I live in the interior of BC, Canada. A rural area with forest nearby. I haven't done a PH test yet. I did a more thorough inspection of the tree and added this picture of what I found.
kimpa zone 9b N. Florida.
10 years ago
Looks like scale. Here are 3 types of scale that oak get from a Penn state book:

Woody ornamental Pest management
insects and mites, 49
Golden oak scale: Horticultural spray oil can be applied as a dor- mant treatment. crawlers may be managed with formulations of acephate, azadirachtin (ornazin 3% ec only), bifenthrin and imidacloprid, buprofezin, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos (Dursban 50W only), cyfluthrin, cyfluthrin and imidacloprid, dimetho- ate, dinotefuran, flonicamid, horticultural oil, hydrophobic extract of neem oil, imidacloprid, insecticidal soap, lambda- cyhalothrin (Demand cs, scimitar cs, and scimitar gc only), methidathion, and thiamethoxam. Marathon 1% g and Marathon 60 WP are labeled for use only on plants grown in containers, flats, benches, or beds.
management hints: select and apply horticultural spray oil according to label directions. this scale insect makes small pits in the bark on twigs. crawlers are active in mid-May. repeat applications may be needed. (p. 352)

Oak kermes scale: Horticultural spray oil can be applied as a dormant treatment. crawlers may be managed with for- mulations of acephate, azadirachtin (ornazin 3% ec only), bifenthrin and imidacloprid, buprofezin, carbaryl, chlorpy- rifos, cyfluthrin, cyfluthrin and imidacloprid, dinotefuran, flonicamid, horticultural oil, hydrophobic extract of neem oil, imidacloprid, insecticidal soap, lambda-cyhalothrin (Demand cs, scimitar cs, and scimitar gc only), malathion, methi- dathion, and thiamethoxam. Marathon 1% g and Marathon 60 WP are labeled for use only on plants grown in containers, flats, benches, or beds.
management hints: select and apply horticultural spray oil according to label directions. crawlers should be managed in mid-May. repeat applications as needed. (pp. 364, 366)

Obscure scale: crawlers may be managed with formulations of acephate, azadirachtin (ornazin 3% ec only), bifenthrin and imidacloprid, buprofezin, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos (Dursban 50W only), cyfluthrin, cyfluthrin and imidacloprid, dinotefuran, flonicamid, horticultural oil, hydrophobic extract of neem oil, insecticidal soap, lambda-cyhalothrin (Demand cs, scimitar cs, and scimitar gc only), and methidathion. management hints: select and apply horticultural spray oil according to label directions. egg laying and crawler activity occur over an extended period. sprays may be applied when crawlers are first active, from mid- to late July through early august. crawler sprays may need to be applied into early september when an infestation is severe. (p. 384)

The spray timing is for Pennsylvania, Zone 6
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
not being one with the attention span.. to actually find the crawlers that cant be seen with the naked eye.. and always thinking about such.. a few weeks after they are no longer in that stage ...

i usually default to a systemic like bayer tree and shrub ... one application.. and yoru problem is solved.. and in my experience.. for all but EAB.. they will not come back ...

at that point.. the issue is whether the cost is out weighed by the size of the tree.. and it would be cheaper for me to simply cut down the tree and be done with it..

how that all flushes out in canada.. is beyond me ...

the scale.. at that level of population.. are sucking the life out of that tree ... and if you have had no pH problems before.. and others in the area dont.. then my gut tells me it is NOT a soil issue ... but my gut has lied to me before ...

you might want to contact a local pest management company for a local opinion as to your options....

ken

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