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chlorotic pin oak -- what's going on / photo

16 years ago

I live on a block with all new street trees approx 3 years old. They get regular water and annual compost and are generally well-cared for. A couple weeks back I noticed some of our neighbor's trees leaves were losing color. This weekend it spread to ours. Is this something to worry about? The leaf in the photo is after one or two days. The neighbor's trees are much more faded.

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Judy_B_ON
16 years ago
Chlorosis is often the result of alkaline soil or neutral soil with a plant that needs acid soil. What kind of soil do you have? If not acid, that could be the problem.

Pin Oak is also known a Swamp Oak and needs regular watering. According the link below, many of the trees available for sale in the nursery trade are grown in the south where the soil is acid and they are cultivars that are adapted to acid soil.

If this was a city planted tree, call the municipal forester or your city parks department and ask where the city sourced the trees. Acidifying the soil sufficiently to grow a tree is impossible; the city should replace the trees with locally sourced cultivars or another species suited to your local conditions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pin Oak
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This is definitetly not the normal retaining of it's leaves. It is the same thing (whatever it was) that happened to another one of our pin oaks last year (we have about 10 in our own yard, and they fill the woods that surround us). I am so unfamiliar with calling the local "extension office". Is it in the phone book as "[Name of County] Extension Office". And then you call that number and ask for their "tree expert"? Why does/would the county have a tree expert anyway?? (To take care of the trees in the natural woods of the county??) I wouldn't have thought to do it on my own, but I will try it out. The other two items mentioned here don't seem to match the look or symptoms of what we're seeing. Thanks, though; we're looking for all suggestions. Miss Mary
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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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Providence could be all the more important if you consider the Rotundiloba form of sweet gum, to avoid the spiky balls. So the question becomes, what about that one in particular? Unless no one using the yard likes to go barefoot. Per the link I'm providing, sweet gum is only recommended for acid soils as chlorosis develops in soils with pH > 7.5. Any reason you're stuck with these 2 choices? Some oaks better tolerate higher pH than pin oak, from what I recall. Aren't there some 'local provenance' Shumard Oak in Texas that can handle higher pH? If so, would one work in your area? Richard. Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a link to a PDF on sweet gum.
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