Dying Oak Tree?
We're in N. Texas and obviously it is starting to get HOT, but I don't think it has been too bad, however, our new Oak tree has been struggling for the last month or so. The leaves have started to brown and fall from the tree. I need a little help confirming what might be stressing the tree and find a solution that I can hopefully implement to get it to turn around the issue. I have included some details about the tree and some photos of the leaves which have fallen in an effort to give as much information as I can. Thanks.
Tree Planted: Dec. 2016 (New Build)
Tree Circumference: 4in
Tree Height: 14 ft
Irrigation Type: Dedicated Bubbler
Irrigation Water Schedule: 2x Daily 10 mins (I have the bubbler throttled down quite a bit). I also have 2 other trees on the same zone which are doing just fine and thriving.
Comments (6)
Seth M
6 years agoThanks for looking at this. Below are some additional photos. My grass is watering 2x /wk.
Picture Facing East looking at West facing part of Tree.
Picture Facing West looking at East facing part of Tree.
Picture Facing North looking at South facing part of Tree
Tree base. I recently cleaned up mulch to get it less compacted.
Base of tree. We got a pretty good rain last night and I ran it after cleaning up the mulch to see how the water sat in the basin of the mulch and if it was running off in any particular direction. I noticed it "drained" towards the irrigation hose. I'm thinking about drilling some holes around the base of the tree with my hand auger to try and give it a little more ability to soak down into root ball.
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enormous oak tree - dying - best use of wood??
Comments (13)In my experience, most regular saw mills don't want a residential tree due to hardware since they have large circular saw blades, and damaging a tooth or two is an expensive thing to fix. However, bandsaw mills have much less expensive blades. Often folks with bandsaw mills will be happy to either take the logs or do the sawing at your place and turn them into lumber. DH worked at a regular saw mill in his younger years and now has a portable bandsaw mill. We are both woodturners and he often gets calls from neighbors or other turners about trees that they would like to have sawn into lumber for woodworking of various sorts, including turning blanks. Depending on Don's tree, there may well be some good wood in it so it's probably worth a phone call to see if once the tree has been taken down by someone qualified there will be interest in it as wood. The pin oaks I grew up with started branching above the second story windows, and poor lumber often makes great turning stock, though since it doesn't grow in this area much we haven't ever gotten a pin oak so I don't know for sure how well it turns. Other oaks are fine. Here's a link to an article about woodturners salvaging an old elm on the other side of the state from you: http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/missouri/article_b880f39a-4840-5418-9139-4ac39f45929a.html and below is a link to a St. Louis woodturning group. Here is a link that might be useful: woodturners of st louis...See MoreOak tree dying
Comments (5)Emma Yang, I can't help you, but, where are you? And are you sure it's an oak? Of so what kind? I can try to move this question to the top of the heap, hopefully someone can help you. I am guessing you are on the west coast? I am likely wrong. I hope someone can help you Emma....See MorePLEASE HELP! potted oak tree is dying. brown roots
Comments (5)i havent. i re potted it into a bigger pot and used new soil. and have been keeping an extra good eye on it. it is still alive but i ant tell if it is getting worse or better. as of right now its a brown stick in a pot. haha but is still green inside and the roots aren't brittle. just brown. i snipped a small root the other day to see what it looks like inside and it is not white but not brown...See MoreHELP! my potted oak tree is dying. erie out and brown roots
Comments (4)If the roots have circled it is probably doomed. Perhaps someone from the Bonsai area can suggest something because I only know enough to be dangerous. From my reading root pruning normally starts in the second year of growth when the roots are small. The top growth and the root structure needs to be in balance. If the roots are woody at this age cutting too much off will probably kill the tree but you could try removing the ends of the roots a little at a time along with some top growth. Much will depend on the type of oak you have selected as some are more sensitive than others. The Health Forum is generally for things like pulled muscles or nagging health issues....See MoreSeth M
6 years agoGreat advice Ken on getting into the dirt rather than just looking at the top level. I wasn't surprised that the soil wasn't dry as I feel like 2x should be enough, but again, I'm guessing and not sure at all. But this is what I found.
I was able to easily dig through the top layer of "fill clay" from the original planting. I then was able to hand dig to the natural soil from the tree, in whatever fashion it was originally planted in
As you can see, that hole was full of water. And I was able to push my arm deeper in the water up to my elbow and it was all very very wet.
I purposely tried to find the edge of the original dug hole and I was able to find it. As you can see, the clay has basically formed a clay pot and is retaining water...possibly too well.
From what I'm seeing here and from digging into this...I might have an overwatering problem because of the lack of drainage which the clay "pot" is causing. A few searches show that overwatering essentially suffocates the tree. So I'm going to turn off my irrigation from the tree and dig another hole tomorrow to see what the moisture level looks like.Any other thoughts?
toronado_3800
6 years ago
Marion_ 6b
6 years ago
toronado_3800