Im so sorry I can't help you. I have all kind of oaks in my garden but know little about diseases. Did you google oak wilt? I did and it didn't look like it matched your pics, but perhaps if you google it yourself you'll be able to relate and compare. My first thought is overwatering and being that we've are having a rainy spell, it might not help things. Another suggestion would be to take a few leaves to your local ext. office and (hopefully) find someone qualified or familiar with oak diseases. IME, some of my young trees have looked pitiful/weak enough that I was ready to yank them out but abstained. A year later, they are fine as they acclimate. But this may just be wishful thinking.

How do you know it's a disease? It's only 7 months in its new location. Could this just be transplant shock? I wouldn't go applying a fungicide right away unless I absolutely knew for sure that was the problem. A lot of beneficial fungi live in symbiosis with oak trees. If the plant is struggling, killing off its symbiotic partners may finish it off.

When you got it, was it root bound? Did you loosen the roots so they could grow properly? What kind of soil do you have ? We planted one at the old place and during the winter it lo looked like that but after it started gett in g watered in the spring, it always perked up. It wasn't evergreen for a few years

They are oak wilt resistant

I hope it gets better, they are such great trees

I've had so much bad luck and heartbreak over the years with plants that I don't invest too much in any of them now. Now I "shotgun" plant dozens of trees at a time, as small seedlings, of a variety of species, in random places, and inevitably many will die...but some will grow faster than any store-bought tree ever will. That's the way nature makes forests and it works wonders for me. It's cheap and easy and I never have to worry about diseases or fungi or pests or picking the right spot or being heartbroken.

If unable to get by local extension folks, can query them on line at: Extension - Ask an Expert.

Answers are not immediate, but can target experts in your state and/or county with your question and photos. If you do try this and get an answer, please let us know. You've put in some really nice trees; best of luck with all of them.

vos, I doubt it is over-watering. I have watered it very little with the recent rain, and my chinquapin got the same amount of water but is doing great.

miradus01, it is worth noting that the tree already was sick when I bought it, as I mentioned in my original post. Transplant shock seems unlikely given this fact and from early spring observations when the tree looked very healthy. I don't plan on applying fungicide until I hear back from the county extension.

Jolan, I did loosen the roots so it could grow properly. The soil type if mostly clay. I'm not sure about PH levels, but it is worth noting that my chinquapin oak, which is also a member of the white oak family, is doing really well.

bostedo, I left a message with the county extension and expect to find something out soon.

Thank you everyone for your input.

I hope you hear back soon with a solution 8 ^ )

The tree is still alive but has made no real progress so I dug it up and discovered it was still root bound and my loosening job didn't do the trick. I cut the roots about an inch in and pulled what I could apart and reset the tree with mulch and plenty of water. it is still alive 2 weeks later from that but looks dreadful. I pruned the dead branches. I will wait to see if it grows new feeder roots. If it does, it should come back strong in the Spring. If not, I will buy another one.

Much appreciation for letting us know what was going on with your tree. It may help others down the line. We're hoping with you that it comes back and grows fast now that the roots have been loosened.

Once I planted a tree that I purchased in a very large pot. After a few months it started wilting. I dug it up and below the soil line I found that a cord, from when it was balled and burlaped, had cut into the trunk. I took it back and the nursery gave me another one.

I recently had to discard a drummond red maple b/c it was so rootbound it had strangled itself to death. I, too, didn't do a good job of separating roots. I should have taken a pic of of how the roots were, super tight girdling. That poor tree must have been in that 15 gal pot for years. I thought it was a bargain but now I see why nursery had it so cheap, they must have known the days were counted on this one.

taylor, maybe that happened to you also.

Bossy, it appears the same thing happened to me. Since I was new to trees (and still am but I have learned and read a lot since then), I didn't know what to look for at the nursery. I am really hoping the tree pulls through, but it was stuck in the 15 gallon container for way too long.

I'm also in zone 9a by the way.

It's always tempting with any plant, not just trees, to buy the biggest one which often is a plant left over from last year. I've made that mistake more than once. The advice is to buy the current years offerings to avoid the root bound problem. Sometimes the older root bound plant will grow and thrive, especially if you loosen the roots, but not always.

I bought a couple of large Mediterranean palms in 4 or 5 gal. pots for $10 each once and thought I got a bargain. Inside the pots it was just a mass of roots. I loosened them the best I could although the roots were very stiff, and nursed them along for two or three years and the darn things just sulked and never would grow. Oh well, we learn from our mistakes.

Howard Garrett, The Dirt Doctor, has a radio program here in the DFW area and gives advice on organic gardening. He has a "sick tree" treatment on his website that may help. Here is a link or you can google "The Dirt Doctor".

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/garden/Sick-Tree-Treatment_vq382.htm

Thanks for the advice and link linda. I certainly don't fault people for going all organic, but I have read enough research papers to conclude that nitrogen fertilizers in proper quantities are not bad for plants. The issue with my tree goes back to the nursery keeping it in a 15 gallon pot for way too long. Circling roots have choked the tree, possibility to death, unless my intervention succeeds.